McCloud and Sandman or Morpheus or Dreamlord or…

The illustrations in Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel Sandman use almost every trick in the Scott McCloud book! The most creative part is the use of the gutter throughout the book. Sometimes there is a lot left to the imagination between that panels, and sometimes there is so little left to the imagination that the characters and scenes are spilling out into the gutters! Still other gutters might not be gutters at all but parts of a much bigger picture set behind all of the panels.

The Sandman novel doesn’t stop there! Color is more vibrant in this novel than it was in any we have previously read! I have been considering what the significance of color is in this novel. It seems to have a number of different effects on a reader. It can set a mood, or a tone for certain scenes, and it can excite emotion within the reader during others. Color can signify good or evil and pain or happiness. In The Sandman’s case it can also signify the perspective of the picture such as page 25 part 1 of the novel when the blue tinted panels represent the view of the Sandman in his orb. Along with the color of perspective there seemed to be an interesting portrayal of certain characters throughout the story. Most prominently, I wondered why it was decided to represent Lucifer the way he was represented. In the first panel, on page 8 of the “Hope in Hell” chapter, that Lucifer is introduced he is presented typically as a dark shadow with wings and horns, but in the next panel he is blonde haired and dressed in white and a bit feminine looking. (A bit like early ‘80s David Bowie!).

I think Gaiman was trying to present a bit of an ironic image by presenting Lucifer in a white jumpsuit. I also think he was attempting to make a connection between Lucifer and Morpheus. This way it seems clear the the lords of the unworldly realms all seem human despite our common ‘misconceptions.’

When it comes to the illustrations in this novel McCloud's book is the perfect reference because Sandman contains all if not more of the stylistic choices explained by McCloud! Sandman is a novel that I think asks the questions abut our perceptions of reality. I wondered toward the end what my own perceptions of dreams were. Which answers perfectly the question of "What significance do the illustrative and textual qualities of this book play in the reading of it?" Well, they were good enough to get me to think twice about the way I perceive dreams!