The Sandman - Issue 10 - The Doll's House

RECAP: Issue 10 - The Doll's House

Recap: It took one issue of The Doll's House to hook me on The Sandman and all future works by Neil Gaiman. It remains my favorite volume in the series, with Season of Mists running a close second. This issue has a lot to unpack, especially after the seemingly self-contained Tales of the Sand earlier. While new readers might question what the story of Nada and Morpheus has to do with the events of the Doll's House, I can only advise them to wait and see. The end is very much worth the journey.

We are introduced to many of The Sandman's most iconic characters in The Doll's House, but this issue has and always will belong to Desire.

Next to Death, Desire is the most famous of The Endless family. Desire, modeled after the incomparable Annie Lennox, is, in my memory at least, the first mainstream depiction of a non-binary character. Back in the day, this concept probably ruffled the same feathers as it does now, but it's perhaps the most accurate description I can imagine when one thinks of desire as a whole.

The first page of The Doll's House introduces Desire and the Threshold, Desire's realm. Thank you, Mason Park Alexander, for ensuring I can never again imagine Desire without seeing your sublime portrayal. The issue also introduces us to another member of the family, Despair, who even now I find disturbing to look at. Then again, Despair is never meant to be anything but distressing. Despite their absence during Morpheus's incarceration, we see that the family communicates with each other when Desire summons Despair to their gallery.

Their meeting reveals that Desire is no fan of their older brother. The duo apparently engages in tricks on Morpheus and even played some part in the tragedy of Nada. However, there is now a chance for mischief because there is a new Dream Vortex, a woman.

The woman is Rose Walker, the friend of Judy who died in the massacre at the 24 Hours diner back in Issue 6.

We meet Rose after she wakes from a dream full of foreshadowing, next to her mother, Miranda. Both are passengers on a plane about to land in England. Upon arriving, they are greeted by 'solicitor' Mr. Holdaway. Holdaway's mysterious client has invited the Walkers to England for reasons unknown, and Holdaway gives nothing away when he drives mother and daughter to their meeting. During the trip, Rose falls asleep again and is transported to the Dreaming.

Through Rose's eyes, we view the state of the Dreaming after Morpheus's return to his realm. Lucius is taking a census of all its inhabitants, including Abel, and hears whispers about the Dream Vortex, which he dismisses as gossip. Returning to Morpheus, we learn four major arcana are missing. Brute and Glob, the Corinthian, and Fiddler's Green. At this point, Lucius also informs Morpheus the natives are restless by the possibility of a new vortex. Morpheus, proving nothing gets past him, points out to Lucius the vortex is in the room with them, watching.

Rose is awakened because they've arrived at their destination, a lavish home for the elderly where Holdaway's client resides. Once again, we see the interweaving threads of Gaiman's storytelling as we meet Unity Kincaid again, awakened from almost a century of sleeping sickness. Unity is Holdaway's mystery client, and she's brought Miranda and Rose to England for a reason. Miranda is the child Unity unknowingly conceived following an assault during her long sleep.

Leaving Miranda and Unity to talk, Rose wanders the residence halls and enters a dark room to find the Three Fates. As usual, the ladies are unnecessarily vague, offering cryptic words Rose doesn't understand. As a result, the confused Rose squanders her three questions which is a shame because they could have helped her find her missing brother Jed or warned her against the Corinthian and Morpheus. When Rose turns on the lights, she is alone in a janitor's closet and understandably freaks.

Back in her grandmother's room, Rose listens to Unity's tale about conceiving a child while asleep and how she enlisted Holdaway to track down the infant upon waking. Amidst this explanation, Dream watches the family secretly from Unity's doll house. Unity gifts Rose a ring or, in this case, an annulet which finally illuminates to Rose what The Kindly Ones were trying to tell her. Her dreams are coming true, including the warning about the Corinthian.

Even before Boyd Holbrook so magnificently knocked the portrayal of the character through the stratosphere, the Corinthian was my favorite. I only wished I hadn't read the Collectors first because the reveal of who and what he is, is simply chilling. Credits to Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones II for the art on that last page. From start to finish and to the final panel revealing poor Davy's terrified expression, it's a masterclass in horror that is still a series best. Reading it today doesn't lessen the impact one damn bit.

And that brings us to the end of the Doll’s House which is an appetizer of what's to come.

That’s a wrap, folks! Tune in next week.

NEXT: Issue 11 - Moving In

PREVIOUS: Issue 9 - Tales in the Sand