The third Sandman volume, Dream Country is a collection of short stories following the Doll's House arc. While there is no overarching story arc in the collection, there is of course a sense of relevance as each part develops the Sandman's universe and other characters - especially his sister, Death, in the final part.

Included with the set is an interest bonus - a copy of the script for one of the parts (Calliope). Neil introduces is as merely an example of one script, for one issue, in one comic series by one author. It is a fun little bonus, and he likens it to the curiosity of a magicians show - while it may ruin the illusion for some, most people have an insatiable, unquenchable thirst to see how it is done.

As always, the artists change from story to story, or at least every few stories, offering different artistic styles that enhance each story and make them even more unique. This works particularly well in a collection such as this, where each story is really its own separate story. ( )

My heart is torn on this one between three and four stars. I loved two of the stories and found the other two very interesting and compelling, but the content is such that I couldn't recommend it to most of my friends, and I didn't enjoy that part either. I don't understand why the focus on the horrible things people do to each other and the graphic portrayal of it makes it worse for me. I probably won't read more of these, or only selected stories because I really don't care to have those images in my mind and they are hard to get out. It's too bad, because I love the idea of the stories of The Sandman and his sister, Death. ( )

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I caught a lot of crap this weekend reading my graphic novel around a bunch of veteran comic book readers. Apparently, I am not to read the introductions, and it is absolutely ludicrous that I would read the published script at the end of Volume 3. It was an interesting reading environment; I am a very vocal reader, and when something is funny, I laugh out loud. When something is strange, I read it aloud to make sure it makes sense to me. The guys were quite amused I'm sure. In any case, I digress.

Dream Country was unlike the previous two Sandman books because it was really a collection of short stories in which Dream makes an appearance rather than chapters in a story about Dream. The first story, "Calliope" was about a muse that had been captured by one famous author and given to another in order to inspire further best sellers. I enjoyed this story because I aspire to write, and I can certainly sympathize with the frustration the authors feel when they have no ideas. However, the really sad part of the story is the complete lack of respect both authors have for the muse. The one who captured her refers to her as a cow, and the one who obtains possession during the story rapes her and doesn't even feel guilty about it. Dream rescues her by cursing the latter author with a plethora of ideas, which he finds so all encompassing that he has to write them on the walls with his own blood in order to get them out.

Incidentally, this is also the story for which the script is provided in the back of the book. It was really interesting to see how the artist, Kelley Jones, interpreted Gaiman's words. Gaiman's comments were really amusing too. At some point, he randomly apologized for being too tired to finish a certain number of pages in a night. He also makes several wry comments mid explanations. The script was quite long: several pages longer than the actual story. My boyfriend made the comment that perhaps the bloated scripts were one reason The Sandman series has a new artist for every book. I think not, but whatever.

The second story features felines as the main characters, and it left me a little cold. I wanted the cats to change the world with their dream, as the afflicted cat promised their concurrent dreaming would. However, I guess I see the validity in the idea that cats cannot agree on anything and are therefore incapable of community action. Still, I think from the fantasy aspect, the story would be more subversive if the cats actually did manage to change the world. A theme that seems to be running through the books is that though things never happened, they can still be true. And in this case, our imaginations simply have to make the alternate universe true for the cats.

The third story is the one about Shakespeare that seems to have attracted a great deal of critical attention. The writing was actually mostly Shakespeare's, and the twist to the story was that the actual characters were the audience. Once again, Gaiman seems to be playing with the idea of truth. The truth of the actual characters validates the truth of Shakespeare's version of human nature. It was interesting. I like the completely fictional idea that Shakespeare's son Hamnet hangs out with him for a while though. It increases my respect for Shakespeare as a man, even though I know it is completely untrue.

The fourth story featured a character that I knew nothing about, and I really didn't find it that interesting, except that Death showed back up, and I like her. Rainie, or Element Girl (?), longs for death because she can no longer function in society. She goes out to lunch with a friend and loses her fake face she has put on for the occasion. Death leads her in the right direction for suicide, and it was a little touching maybe. But mostly, I was just interested in what her body was made of. I am sure that there is a running theme through traditional comics about the inconveniences and difficulties of being superhuman, but this story really didn't wrench my heart the way it could have.

So, back to introductions (I'm tacking this on at the end--can you tell?) I did not enjoy the introduction to The Sandman: Dream Country as much as I enjoyed the previous intro (The Doll's House), but Steve Erickson did provide a nice anecdote about a dream he had about his father shortly after his death. I liked the previous intro because it was all about fantasy, and that is really my thing. And, so far, Dream Country is my least favorite of The Sandman series because I like Dream, and I missed him. Thank goodness I have another seven to read. ( )

Four independent stories -- a captured muse, a cat on a mission to change the world, the world premier performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a mutant longing for meaning in her mutilation ...

For those who seek justice, wisdom, and revelation -- words spoken by a dead crow, nothing but bones and feathers:
"Justice is a delusion you will not find on this or any other sphere. Wisdom is no part of dreams, though dreams are a part of the sum of each life's experiences, which is the only wisdom that matters. But revelation? That is the province of dreams." (47)

The third installment in the hugely successful Sandman series sees a departure from the main plot arc. Instead it is four short stories that all involve Dream in some way. The first is "Calliope", a story about a muse who was once the lover of Dream and the mother of his child who has been trapped by a human to help him write more. She calls for help but it seems Dream himself has been imprisoned and cannot help her. The second tale is "Dream of a Thousand Cats" where a single cat is trying to get 1000 cats to dream the same dream at the same time. Once cats ruled the world and hunted humans as their playthings. Humans changed the world by all dreaming at the same time and the cats want to change things back to their proper order.

The third tale is "A Midsummer Night's Dream" illustrated by Charles Vess. It tells a tale of the first performance of Shakespeare's play in front of a very unusual audience consisting of the fairy folk from the tale on their last trip to our realm. The final story is "Facade" about Element Girl who just wants to die. She is a superhero after entering a pyrimid and being blessed with gifts. She sees it more as a curse setting her apart from everyone else. She has to make faces for herself but they don't stay for long meaning she is seen as a monster by others.

My favourite story was "Dream of a Thousand Cats". It was a great idea that humans changed the world and all concept of the world by dreaming the same dream at the same time. I also really enjoyed Facade and the welcome return of Death, another of the Endless. I look forward to reading more and getting back to the main plot arc. ( )