Closing Dreams

I finished Preludes and Nocturnes tonight. I will have to say it is a fantastic graphic novel. I think when I have time and money (they cost around $20 each) I will certainly continue the series. It was a lot easier to follow than I thought. I got the hang of it. Man, it sounds like it was too much of a chore for me to read this, but it was not. So, needless to say, Gaiman did an excellent job of narrating a graphic novel. The illustrations were not bad, either. Each one is paired up with a different artist. Some of the sketches were pretty raw and pretty gruesome, but they certainly helped move the storyline right along.

Basically, Preludes wraps up with Morpheus finding his tools. He reclaims all of them. The sand was the easiest to claim. The helm was more difficult because he had to descend to hell in order to claim it. In Hell, we find Lucifer has two other "co-monarchs" to help him run the show. In order to win his helm back, Morpheus has to battle with one of Beelzebub's minions. They do a stand up type routine only using animals and death. Obviously, Morpheus wins or there would not be another 11 graphic novels based on the Sandman to follow.

The ruby that helped him was being held by a mortal named Dr. Dee. He was a patient of an asylum. His grasp on this ruby basically turned him into a Tolkein's Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Dee basically withered away because the ruby had so much power over him. Dee breaks out of the asylum which has him detained and hijacks a car. After he reclaims the ruby (we find out that Dee's mortal power currently has more sway in the ruby's doings than Morpheus' own powers) he goes to a diner. There, he plays a game with the world of sorts. The segment is broken into 24 hours. Over the span of hours, he plays with everyone there and invades the world of dreams of people all over the world. This causes much pain, panic and devastation. Armageddon is being predicted because of everyone's wild behaviour and erratic sleeping patterns. We find out a piece of Morpheus' soul lies within the ruby and that is why it is so powerful.

Finally, after time, Morpheus finds Dee and challenges him in the world of dreams for his ruby. Dee smashes it within the dream world thinking it will destroy Morpheus; it only makes him stronger. Morpheus then defeats Dee and sends him back to the asylum. The world sleeps and life order is restored.

The novel ends with Morpheus meeting up with his sister Death.

So, some interesting things to point out.

1. Morpheus basically resurrects in the ending of the graphic novel. Today is Easter, a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am not comparing them, I am just pointing out how interesting it is that I finish this on Easter Sunday. Morpheus' resurrection basically restores order to the world.
2. A Jew shows up in the final pages. I find this interesting because, as I stated, I have been exposed to a lot of things Jewish lately.

So, tomorrow, I will lead in with my H book. I am excited about it and will explain. It is like nothing I have ever read. All I can say is that it is going to be trashy and fun!!!

Today, I took a four hour road trip to Toledo, Ohio with Dena. She had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago so she cannot drive. I brought her home to her family. They are great people! I met a baby named Chloe and Dena's dog, Drama (named by the Humane Society shelter because she was crazy!). The food was good and I have had a lot of good conversation. It was interesting to see how divided the family is with Democratic and Republican views. Such a good segway into next week's reading. I heard some Palin bashing and Palin loving, Obama bashing and Obama loving. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and a whole other cast of characters including George Bush showed up in conversation. Wow. I am getting the hang of politics very slowly. Scandal is the only thing that really interests me...Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Palin, McCain, our lovely Governor Sandford and his bestselling author wife and the great Rod Blagoyevitch, former governor of Illinois now reality TV star.
Tonight, Dena, her sister Missy and I dyed Easter eggs. Remember the Paas mixture? I do! So, we had fun doing that.

Right now, it is time for me to go to bed. I have a long day of driving to do! YAY for Ohio! Tomorrow, flat-ass Indiana and the ugly Chicago Skyway.

Night and when you dream, dream of me, tonight... -Tony from Tonight, West Side Story