Still tracking his objects of power, Morpheus travels to Hell itself in search of his helmet. It seems it's fallen into the hands of a higher demon, and there's a realm of devils standing between Morpheus and his property...
I'm a little confused as to how exactly I should rate these. They are the same series, and the story is just building up. Amazing artwork, and witty dialogue though. Lucifer <3 At the mention of Arkham Asylum and Justice League I was like, whaa???
Hope in Hell starts off by Dream gathering courage to go to Hell and find his lost helmet. When he gets there we get a few glimpses into his past and a big clue what will happen in the future since Lucifer Morningstar swears to seek revenge.
“Ask yourselves, all of you… What power would HELL have if those here imprisoned were NOT able to DREAM of HEAVEN?”
Fuck if that alone doesn’t get you jazzed on reading this, I don’t know what will. Easily a top 5 single-issue narrative in the entire series. There’s just so much meat on the bone of this short little narrative, all the while STILL adding in little details to get explored later.
The art gets upped in creativity even further. The title page for this issue is one of my absolute favorites.
Gaiman also just has so many cool ideas. The oldest game sequence is just so much fun to read.
No puedo parar de leerlo. Esto es realmente increíble: atrapante, entretenido, profundo e hilarante. Este número sobre el descenso al Infierno es uno de los que más me gustó hasta ahora. Cuando termine con todo Preludes and Nocturnes voy a escribir una buena reseña. Mientras, a seguir avanzando con esta maravilla hipnótica y cautivante llamada Sandman.
Disclaimer: I have made it a point to acquire this series second hand as to not directly financially support the writer and their reprehensible actions. While I think it’s important to keep the actions in mind while reading as a direct reflection of the writer and what story decisions are made, a lot of other people put hard work into this series that I believe deserve support as it still remains a pivotal piece in the DC universe, art, and comic spaces that I legitimately want to try and engage with. Thank you for your understanding.
Wow the artistic depictions of hell in this issue are amazing!! Legit the art team had to of worked overtime, from the layers of demons, to David Bow…I mean Lucifer, just everything about Hell looks so good! I do have to admit, the show unfortunately ruined a lot of the suspense for me but it’s still so cool to see some of these moments play out with this art. This issue marks Dream venturing into hell to retrieve his helmet, I guess he is more comfortable dealing with the enemy he knows in the hordes of hell than something he doesn’t know a thing about with the Justice league and Doctor destiny, which unfortunately only gives Doctor destiny more time as the end of this issue reveals Destiny’s mother had died and she left him a strange looking eye on a chain. No clue why the Arkham guards would give him that knowing his track record but it is Arkham after all. But getting into the main story, we see Lucifer jump from the dark depths of dream space right down to the front gate of hell where he rings the front gong as a doorbell and demands entry as an honored visitor as the lord of the realm of dreams and nightmares as he is here to talk to Lord Lucifer Morningstar. The front guardsman gave Morpheus a bit of sass and Morpheus ended up throwing him away, where Etrigan showed up to take his place and guide Dream to Lucifer. Dream actually recognized Merlin’s demon and made a comment about how his rhyming indicates a rise in hell hierarchy, but that does bother me a bit as Etrigan has rhymed since his first series and the rhyming in this issue is a bit sub par. But Etrigan is tricky in his own right and on the way decides to route their path so they go past souls locked away on a cliffs edge. This turned out to be why purposeful as a woman by the name of Nada recognized and had a history with the dream lord. But Morpheus appears different to her in face and name as she knows him as Kai’ckul. As he passes she begs for forgiveness and asks if he still loves her. Dream confirms he does but he has not forgiven her and continues on leaving her behind. WHAT HAPPENED THERE?! It took so much in me not to look up spoilers for this character, that’s wild.
Finally Etrigan leads Morpheus to the kingdom of hell, which looks quite a lot like what his kingdom used to look like, general shape of the castle I mean, but a lore more centered in hell. Heading upstairs Lucifer is waiting to welcome their guest and immediately asks if Dream is here to join forces and rally his realm with hell. Dream is not and apparently has humble thoughts on that as well as his family. With that out of the way Lucifer asks to get to the point and Dream mentions needing his helmet that one of the demons of hell has. Unfortunately it won’t be as easy as just getting it, things have changed in hell. Even if Lucifer isn’t willing to outright admit it, they are not the sole ruler of hell anymore. Since what I believe they are alluding to is the fight between heaven and hell in the pages of swamp thing, hell is now ruled by three beings. Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Azazel. Once the other two rulers of hell make their approach and welcome their guest only then can they take action to get dream his helmet back. The only thing they need is the demon’s name as there are millions of demons…Dream does not know it, but luckily Lucifer has a suggestion…they summon ALL of the demons in hell to surround them and then Dream can point out who has it. I mentioned it earlier, but WOW the scene where the world shifts and suddenly Dream and the lords of hell are standing on a lone pillar surrounded by millions of demons is such an impressive work of art. Dream looks out and recognizes a lot of the demons from nightmares they have passed through, but he still doesn’t know who. But if they have his tool, then he can use the bag of sand to help track it down. He takes a bundle of sand in his hand and sends it out like a homing beacon until it encircles one demon…Chronozon, duke of hell, is the one who has Dream’s helmet. But here’s the problem, he traded for it fair and square and has broken no laws of hell. The demon proposes that if Morpheus wants it back…he must fight for it. Dream agrees and formerly challenges the demon, not knowing in his mind if he is strong enough to do it. As the demon is challenged he gets to choose the battlefield and change reality around them to his will. Suddenly the world shifts to find them in the “hellfire club,” which a just hell with a club theme as Dream and the demon both head to the stage. The game is one of stories, something Dream is a lord of, and the game works as one person tells a story intent on snuffing out the other and the other must swiftly return with another story to take them out. For example, the demon starts with a dire wolf ready to stalk its prey. Dream returns with a horse mounted hunter that stabs the wolf. Understand? All the while they exist inside the club while reality shifts around them, both instances existing at the same moment. If there is any failure of nerve or hesitation or not being able to shift into a defensive shape due to lack of imagination…you lose. So with the first two out of the way, the demon replies to Dream’s horse with a stinging horsefly sending the hunter flying. Dream responds with a spider that captures and consumes the fly. The demon becomes a snake, and Dream becomes an ox that curses the snake. The demon becomes anthrax to destroy the ox, and Dream decides to abandon the offensive…opting instead to become a world floating in space. The demon becomes an exploding nova that destroys the world. Dream becomes a universe spreading life to everything…the demon becomes anti life…Dream finishes the battle and wins by becoming…Hope. The demon sputters and us unsure of what to say, the game is over and the demon lost and for his punishment the twins agony and ecstasy come in and rip the demon away as Dream’s helmet is restored and his drip is finally back. But as Dream is ready to depart the lords of hell laugh, they are surrounded by millions of the lords of hell…why should they let him leave, what power have dreams in hell? Morpheus looks out at Lucifer and all the demons and challenges the question, and begs them to ask one question: “What power would Hell have if those here imprisoned were NOT able to dream of heaven?” The demons grew silent and as Morpheus walked towards the exit they parted ways and let him through. Lucifer couldn’t help but look on and mutter under their breath that one day they will rise up and destroy the likes of Morpheus. But for now the lord of dreams takes his leave from hell with his helmet successfully in hand.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The first appearance of Lucifer Morningstar! This issue follows Dream of the Endless as he journeys to recover his helm, which was said to be traded to a demon, and where else would a demon be than in Hell? Dream finds many things in Hell have changed, and is led by The Demon (Etrigan) to Lucifer's palace where he discovers Hell is now ruled by a Triumvirate.
Finally, the three Lords of Hell summon all the demons to a single location where Dream uses his sands to locate the one who has his helm, the two "duel" for it, and Dream is victorious, leaving Hell unstopped, but leaving behind a severely upset Lucifer who swears vengeance.
As someone who has seen the show first, I have yet to come across something that hasn't been portrayed yet in the adaption, there are though some changes that I find most necessary to the story that were done for the show.
Morpheus' hunt for his stolen artifacts continues as his lead into his missing helm takes him into Hell. To his astonishment, Lucifer's grip on Hell has weakened forcing the once monarch of Hell to form a triumvirate with the demons Azazel and Beelzebub. Convening with the three Lords of Hell, Morpheus requests them to aid in his search for his helm. Not fully receptive to his requests, Lucifer has the entire legions of Hell converge to intimidate the Lord of the Dreaming and mockingly asks him to identify the demon who has stolen his helm. Morpheus is able to identify the demon Choronzon as the one in possession of the helm, and Lucifer allows him to challenge Choronzon to a duel to win it back. The pair go through a grueling challenge of wits, with Dream winning after invoking the concept of "hope", the core tenet that allows Hell to even exist. Lucifer is notably frustrated with Dream's victory, but allows him to exit Hell unscathed. Though it is immediately apparent that Lucifer has larger plans yet to be put into motion.
A primeira grande edição de Sandman, perfeita em cada quadro. Morfeu vai ao inferno, enfrenta um demônio num jogo de “realidade” e o próprio Lúcifer Estrela-da-Manhã.
Isso tudo num monte de referências, como a floresta dos suicidas, baseada no inferno de Dante, em que os suicidas, imóveis, só podem se manifestar quando feridos, como acontece com a árvore de que Morfeu tira um galho: já que terminaram sua vida pela própria destruição, só por ela poderão ter vontades no Inferno.
“What power would HELL have if those here imprisoned were NOT able to DREAM of HEAVEN?”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
There are things that I particularly like in this issue, like the drawings of the demons. They are more like gross alien species rather than scary devils. The Dream King entered into a contest with a risk of him being a slave in hell forever, but the contest turned out to be a child's play.
Also, inasmuch as I like the classic design of Dream's helm, I still don't know its purpose.
Dream reist in die Hölle und haut Lucifer, Beelzebub und Azazel samt Choronzon in die Pfanne. Die genialen Höllenvisionen von Kieth mit Gaimans durch und durch poetischer Sprache machen diese Ausgabe zu einem ästhetischen Highlight, das fast ganz ohne Action auskommt. Absolut herausragend!