The Sandman - Issue 33- Lullabies on Broadway - Part Two of A Game of You

I recently watched Babylon 5 (my favourite sci-fi saga) and thought how much was going on in one episode. Showrunner J. Michael Straczynski by the way, is a big Sandman fan who named a race after Neil Gaiman and invited Neil to write one of Season 5's better episodes, Day of the Dead.

I write this now because my feeling after watching that episode is the same as reading that latest installment of The Sandman. Issue 33 - Part Two of A Game of You. Lullabies on Broadway is a gripping read from start to finish. How much is unpacked in this issue compared to the introductory Slaughter on Fifth Avenue requires a second read to appreciate. Part Two makes us experience a gauntlet of topics that are just as relevant today as they were at the time of publication.

Our recap opens with Barbie still pondering the Porpentine she received from Martin Tenbones before his death (sob) when her quiet reflection is interrupted by a buzz at her door. After tucking away the Porpentine safely, Barbie goes to the door and finds Hazel needing someone to confide in. Once Hazel's anxieties about not bothering Barbie at this late hour are put to rest, the two women sit down to talk. Hazel's distress is plain, and her problem doesn't lend itself well to being discussed with her other friends.

She might be pregnant.

Barbie's surprise sparks off a brief tirade from Hazel, who, like anyone who never wanted to be pregnant, is clearly terrified. I don't much care for Barbie's use of the word dyke in this conversation, as if Hazel needs any reminder, but I suppose it was permitted for the times. Hazel explains a one-night stand while Foxglove visited her parents, might be how she got pregnant. I'm assuming Hazel's sexual orientation was established early in life, limiting her interaction with men because no heterosexual woman would have bought the BS that her co-worker peddled to stay the night.

What follows is a rather thoughtful conversation about sex and procreation, devoid of the usual mores. It may be one of the best conversations in the series.

Hazel's naivete about heterosexual sex also extends to her ideas about birth control. When Barbie explains there are kits to confirm her pregnancy, Hazel states as a vegan, she refuses to participate in any test that ends with a rabbit being killed. For those who don't know, before the days of hormonal HCG testing sticks, the only reliable way to test for pregnancy was to inject a rabbit with a woman's urine and then kill it to examine the ovaries for any signs of enlargement.

Barbie assures Hazel this is no longer the case (Thank God!) and that a kit can be used instead. When Hazel questions Barbie if she has ever been pregnant, she confesses having been at high school but had an abortion. When Hazel asks if it hurts, Barbie reveals she felt no pain because an anaesthetic was used. Barbie is all kinds of brilliant here. She counsels Hazel on what to do to confirm the pregnancy and how she and Foxglove should discuss what comes next and offers some sage advice about men and their dicks.

Hazel leaves with her froggy mug, glad for the friendly ear and the advice, leaving Barbie to get some sleep. However, once alone, Barbie doesn't sleep. She's afraid to and ends up watching television instead. She overhears a news broadcast about poor Martin Tenbones, believed to be a big dog who escaped from a private collection. Despite her efforts, Barbie unwittingly skirts the edge of the Dreaming when a TV ad materialises into a vision of Hazel, Foxglove and their raggedy Ann baby.

Nuala, the fairy from Season of Mists, appears before Barbie. Nuala's been asked to warn Barbie that something sinister is coming her way but vanishes before any details can be provided. Barbie wakes up from the dream, vowing to stay awake, but is once again pulled into the Dreaming. This time, she watches Ken on a talk show, where Ken gleefully dissects Barbie's life and the people in it with savage cruelty. I'll bet he lives in a Mojo Dojo Casa House, too. Barbie tries to resist, but she eventually succumbs to sleep...

....only to wake up in the Dreaming. She's entering a place she knows with gossamer curtains in her way. When she pushes through them dressed as Princess Barbara, she finds that she is in The Land, and Wilkinson is waiting for her.

Strange things are afoot in the apartment building.

At midnight, the Witching Hour, creepy George goes to his window, waiting patiently. From panel to panel, the rest of the players go about their business unaware of the night's impending mischief. Foxglove and Hazel are in bed, with the latter reading Raymond Chandler. Thessaly sits before her dressing table like a Bronte heroine, brushing her hair a hundred strokes before bedtime. Wanda drifts to sleep, grumbling at hearing Barbie's TV set through thin walls.

Meanwhile, Barbie dreams.

At one o'clock, George finally acts, performing a bit of self-vivisection and releases the crows hiding inside his body. He tells them to fly, and fly they do, visiting everyone in their rooms and invading their dreams.

Wanda has a pleasant dream about forgiving the bullies who tormented her at school, promising to give them dresses when Weirdzo Lila appears before her. When Lila greets Wanda as Alvin, Wanda corrects her. This sparks a nightmarish scenario where Weirdzo Number One decides that Wanda needs to undergo an operation to make her imperfect. The sequence is loaded with the worst of Wanda's fears and reveals she isn't ready to surgically transition. It's pretty damn terrifying, even without the subtext.

Hazel's nightmare is just as terrible. She is on a train that stops and tells her to disembark at a flight of stairs. The stairs lead her to a cellar where Foxglove is waiting near a box. Inside it is the corpse of a dead baby, crisscrossed with stitches. Foxglove also has a baby, a boy, and they put both infants into a crib because Hazel's dead child is so cold. Except it isn't dead, rising to its fours, and for a brief moment, Hazel is proud. Until the corpse baby opens its hellish mouth of razor-sharp teeth and tears Foxglove's baby apart amidst his mother's horrified scream. The artwork here is grotesquely vivid and, frankly, repulsive. I seriously wonder if it would be published today. I'm somewhat surprised it passed censors back then.

Foxglove's dream is more like a visitation. Judy, her former lover who died in Issue 6's Open All Hours, stands by her bed. Judy's eyes are hollowed sockets, resulting from her self-mutilation owing to John Dee's manipulation. She calls Foxglove Donna, and Foxglove reveals Donna was someone else. She ended two years ago. Judy blames Donna for her death. If Donna hadn't left her, Judy would not have been at that diner to die terribly. It's a low blow, to say the least, because Donna had excellent reasons to walk away, but I suppose these are guilts that anyone would harbour when a loved one dies tragically.

Judy questions Foxglove who is still dazed by all this, about Hazel and whether or not their relationship is as fulfilling. It isn't, but Hazel's never hit her, either. When asked, Judy explains she could be a ghost or a dream. It doesn't matter. Judy just wants them to be together again.

It is Thessaly's turn, but Thessaly is having none of it. She wakes up while the crow, perched on her shoulder, makes an ill-advised attempt to invade her dreams. Gripping it with both hands, she studies the invader briefly and seems aware of what it is. The bird meets its fate when Thessaly smashes it against the wall before incinerating it in her palms. In his room, George experiences its death and doubles over. Our mousy vanilla type, as described by Hazel (Ha!), wastes no time getting to her feet and retrieving something from the dresser. Leaving her apartment, she ascends the stairs to George's door. When George appears at the doorway, Thessaly asks to be invited in while concealing a long-bladed knife behind her back.

In the Dreaming, Barbie is introduced to Luz and Prinaldo, whom they greet as Princess Barbara, the heir and saviour of the Land. Wilkinson is less impressed, seeing nothing in her capable of saving them all. He doubts she'll be able to defeat the Cuckoo or its Black Guards but takes comfort in the knowledge Martin Tenbones knows what he's doing. Barbie then sadly informs them that Martin has died. As Luz and Prinaldo join Barbie in despair, it's up to Wilkinson to rally them to action again. Barbie still has the Porpentine, and the Heirogram is still unbroken. While they have these things, there is hope. Besides, wouldn't Martin want them to go on?

Although uncertain, Barbie does remember the Porpentine needs to be brought to the 'brightly, shining sea'. Luz reveals that it is a long way away. To reach it, they must cross the mountain ranges, avoid the Black Guards and sneak by the Cuckoo's citadel.

After a moment of contemplation, Barbie tells her entourage they had better get moving then

And so ends Part 2 of A Game of You. Be back next week for Part 3!

NEXT - Issue 34 - Bad Moon Rising

PREVIOUS - Issue 32 - Slaughter on Fifth Avenue