The Sandman - Issue 14 - The Collectors

In 1990, I was going through a comic resurgence. Crisis of the Infinite Earth resulted in the reboot of many DC titles, and I was knee-deep in Justice League International, Wonder Woman, and L.E.G.I.O.N. comics. Furthermore, books like The Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and The Killing Joke paved the medium's elevation from' funny book' to a serious art form. So when a friend gave me an issue of The Sandman claiming the series was the best thing he ever read, I was skeptical.

It was The Sandman, Issue 14 - The Collectors.

As a writer trying to find my voice, I cannot overstate this issue's influence on me. Firstly, it introduced me to The Sandman, and my reverence for the title still lives on today. Secondly, it broadened my mind to the stories I wanted to tell, that good characters come in all shapes, whether they walk in the light or shadows. It strengthened my belief that a story's plot line is only as good as the characters providing its emotional core. The Sandman did that for me and continues to do so, which is why I'm here, doing these recaps. This is my thanks to Neil and how his work enriched my life.

Okay, I'm done; let's get to the recap.

We returned to the hotel Rose Walker and Gilbert was forced to take refuge in Playing House. From the very first page, Mike Dringenberg's art and Neil's words paint a bleak picture that almost makes you feel the icy wind as you move from panel to panel. The titular Collectors are arriving, though if you were like me initially, their true natures were still a mystery. However, snippets of conversation in the lobby tell you this isn't a gathering of Shriners, especially when the guy at the registration table looks like John Wayne Gacy.

Rose is lamenting her dashed hopes for a happy reunion with Jed in her hotel room, especially after learning of the abuses her brother suffered during their time apart. However, if Rose wanted comfort from Gilbert, she's about to be disappointed. Gilbert tells her the Leatherface version of Red Riding Hood with its horrific ending. The artwork here is exceptional on all fronts and depicts the nightmare scenario unfolding to its gruesome climax. Gilbert ends this cautionary tale with a warning that an ill wind is in the air and they should take care this night.

At the convention, we get more scenes with the Collectors revealing the simmering menace beneath their so-called 'ordinary' personas. This is the first time we really see the Corinthian, and while I loved Boyd Holbrook's brilliant portrayal in the Netflix series, the character's slow reveal is more effective here. By the time we reach the book's splash page, there's no doubt what the Collectors are.

I admit to being disappointed in the Netflix version of the Collectors, finding the visceral horror of the story somewhat muted. When I first read this issue, my gut knotted the way it used to when I read those EC comics I wasn't supposed to as a child.

From Nimrod's distasteful joke to the graphic reveal of his activities in the Vermont shack, the line between comic book fantasy and everyday reality is frighteningly real. We live in a world where this happens, and a gathering like this is entirely possible. The killers appear normal, like anyone we'd encounter daily, linked by an insatiable need and connecting for the first time. Throughout the issue, random panels accompany the main plot, where the Collectors argue their various methodologies. These single frames are so normalized it's downright terrifying.

At the bar, one guest, a doctor with considerable eminence in the real world despite his grisly hobby involving leather neckties, is approached by someone identifying himself as the Bogeyman. As their interaction continues, the contrast between Bogeyman's fannish behavior and the Doctor's reserved countenance raises the latter's suspicions when the Bogeyman fails to recognize his own calling card. Even more alarming if you're a serial killer whose activities depend on anonymity is the Bogeyman's request for an autograph before hawking a magazine called Chaste.

Not long after, the Doctor voices his concerns about the Bogeyman to the Corinthian. As readers and the Doctor have already guessed, this is not the real Bogeyman. According to the Corinthian, the Bogeyman died three years earlier in Louisiana. I'll bet a month's salary the Bogeyman is lying in his watery grave, missing his eyes.

Both men then step into the same elevator occupied by Rose and Gilbert. While they discuss what is to be done with the imposter, Gilbert's reaction to the Corinthian is extreme, but he refuses to explain why. Instead, he scribbles a note and hands it to Rose when they are outside in the parking lot, warning her not to use it unless the need is dire, still quite shaken. Time is catching up with Gilbert, and he knows it.

Time also catches up with the Bogeyman's imposter, who is lured by the Corinthian to his room where the Doctor and Nimrod are waiting. The gig is up as it is discovered the trespasser is, in fact, Philip Sitz, the editor of Chaste, a skin magazine for sadists, I guess. Philip reveals himself as a wannabe, the sheep presuming to understand the wolves whose den he's wandered into. None of the guests are moved.

What follows is a thousand times more terrifying than anything portrayed in live-action without spilling a single drop of blood. Philip is strung up for the slaughter, forced to listen to the Corinthian's diatribe about the nobility of Collectors before the trio moves in for the kill. That last panel of Philip's life still chills me to the bone.

Meanwhile, at the convention, Funland (not Fun) discusses how he collects children at a theme park where the murders of his young victims are concealed by management to avoid bad publicity. A chance encounter with Rose causes Funland to fixate on her, which does not bode well for our young Vortex.

I know I'm going a bit long on this one, but the next page that dealt with a Collector's obsession with pre-operative transfolk left a big impression on me. While I hate the graphic image of their murder, this is the first time I'd seen their representation in any comic book. While Neil will do better by the trans community in a Game of You, this was a big deal to someone from Singapore, where discussions about gender identity were non-existence.

The following day Rose discovers Gilbert is gone, and she is alone with the Collectors.

The convention continues with a thoughtful conversation between one guest and Funland. You see, he came looking for help after years of escalating violence that culminated in his serial killing activities, hoping for empathy but only finding indifference. Funland can't get away quick enough, and we're left wondering what kind of help there is for this guy other than lifelong incarceration.

Funland's fixation with Rose finally reaches climax when he tricks his way into her room, intending to rape and murder her. During their struggle, Rose in desperation, uses Gilbert's note and utters the single word on the paper.

Morpheus.

The Lord Shaper arrives and sets things in order, saving Rose and placing Funland into a deep sleep, where he is accepted and forgiven by the children he murdered, playing together in paradise. Before Morpheus leaves, he tells Rose, still recovering from her experience, to go. He has business to attend at the convention, and it would be best if she isn't present for it. Although dazed, Rose does not ignore the advice.

The Corinthian has taken center stage, orating to the Collectors the grandiose nature of what they do and trying to attach mythic qualities to their violent, sadistic acts. It's the same rhetoric in a thousand manifestos authored by those who try to justify their thirst for a blood count. Unfortunately, the Corinthian's exultant speech is cut short by the appearance of Morpheus in his audience. Morpheus is unimpressed and ends his creation, but not before the Corinthian removes his sunglasses, and we see his eyes for the first time. Unlike the show, there's no dramatic showdown here; Morpheus puts down the Corinthian like an errant child, blaming himself for being a poor creator.

As for the rest of the Collectors, Morpheus' judgment on them might be just as damning. He removes fantasies in their heads, created to conceal the monstrousness of their action. They will no longer be able to hide in these delusions but be confronted with what they are. Evil.

In the parking lot, Gilbert reappears to Rose, who is still recovering from Funland's attack. He's carrying Jed, who spent all this time locked in the boot of the Corinthian's car. Rose doesn't understand what's happened, and Gilbert doesn't try to explain it to her, aware there will be consequences for calling on Morpheus. The most important thing now is getting Jed the help he needs.

The issue ends just as it began, with the reader feeling not cold but tainted. The Collectors leave contritely, robbed of their stories and delusion, scattering into the darkness of the night and within themselves.

And that's it. I ran a little long, but this issue means the world to me and even in recap, I wanted to savour it.

NEXT - Issue 15 - Into the Night

PREVIOUS - Issue 13 - Men of Good Fortune