The Annotated Sandman Edited and largely written by David Goldfarb Issue 70: "Which Occurs in the Wake of What Has Gone Before" Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli Disclaimer: Sandman and all related characters are copyrights and trademarks of DC Comics Inc. Sandman and this annotation are intended for mature audiences only. Notice: Commentaries and additional information should go to goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (Internet) or goldfarb@UCBOCF.BITNET. This material is posted by the editor directly to rec.arts.comics, and is licensed to appear on Compu$erve and GEnie. It is also available via anonymous ftp from theory.lcs.mit.edu in pub/wald/sandman. Please contact the editor if you see this material on any other forum. Reproduction in any form without permission of the editor (as agent for the contributors) is forbidden. Page 1 panel 1: Each of the Endless receives a messenger appropriate to their nature, although it is not quite clear why Destiny should receive a dove. If Destruction received a messenger, it would of course be a hawk, to reflect Destruction's warlike nature. Destruction also embodies change, while Destiny is stasis; perhaps that is why Destiny's messenger carries an opposite symbolism to Destruction's. panel 4: Notice that the first painting in the gallery is a mirror. We've seen before that the gallery of each Endless has a mirror where their own sigil would be. Page 2 panel 2: As seen previously, the frames here are views through mirrors, which is why we see Destiny in one here. It may be that Destiny, whose nature precludes hope, can be viewed as despairing. The black-framed picture is reportedly a self-portrait of Zulli. Page 3 panel 2: Death's messenger is a harpy eagle, a bird of prey -- possibly also an eater of carrion? panel 4: These are the kind of parakeet known as "lovebird". Page 4 panel 1: We've heard the true version of this rhyme in "The Parliament of Rooks": 40:7.3-4. Delirium's messenger would seem to have been a magpie. panel 3: For more information on this necropolis, consult issue #55. Page 7 panel 8: Note that Destiny's book has a miniature version of this very panel. Page 8 panel 4: The name "Eblis" derives from Arabic myth. Eblis was a spirit of fire, an angel. (He is referred to in Sura 18 of the Qu'ran.) When Allah made the first man out of clay, Eblis refused to bow down before him as commanded, and so was cast out of heaven and became an enemy of humankind. The usage here is thus an irony. "O'Shaughnessy" derives from Arthur W. E. O'Shaughnessy, a mid-19th- century poet. Most of his work is deservedly obscure, but one poem, entitled "Ode", has achieved a modest fame. Its theme is that art and dreams shape the world, and that poets and musicians are the world's true kings. It has thus been understandably popular with poets and musicians, and has been set to music several times. panel 7: "Creature" in its literal meaning of "created thing". Page 10 panel 4: The image at top right is Edvard Munch's well-known "The Scream"; the one in the middle is William Blake's "Ancient of Days". Page 11 panel 3: Note that the pictures have changed; they now seem to depict Egyptian funeral customs. Page 13: Note that there is no page number. Page 15 panel 2: There was a legend in medieval times that toads had jewels embedded in their skulls; this was a morality fable of beauty in ugliness. Page 20 panel 1: Note that the figures in the windows represent the dreams that we've seen Dream recreate: from left to right, Mervyn's pumpkin, Abel's boots, and Gilbert's flowers. Page 22 panel 1: Note Titania arriving at the top of the stairs. Page 23 panel 1: Alex Burgess is quoting the page from the _Liber Paginarum Fulvarum_ describing Morpheus. In issue #1 he was shown reading that page over and over. Note the Siamese cat on the rocks, probably the cat-prophet from "Dream of a Thousand Cats"; also the figure with the staff further up the stairs, who is quite possibly Odin. Release History: Credits: Greg "elmo" Morrow (morrow@physics.rice.edu) created the Sandman Annotations. Carl Fink (carlf@panix.com) noted the panel in Destiny's book, the pictures of Egyptian funerals, the lack of a page number on page 13, and pointed out the cat and Odin. Kevin Meehan (kevinm@acy1.digex.net) referenced Eblis; so did Jess Nevins (jnevins@bgsuvax.bgsu.edu) and Brian Roe (bar1@cornell.edu). Marc Singer (marcs@wam.umd.edu) noted the Blake picture. Amy Borden (borden@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu) identified Death's messenger.