The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections/ Neil Gaiman

The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman graphic novels, dark fantasy, adventure, historical references 292 pages

A lot of my problems with this volume come from the format. I'm going to repeat something I said about Gaiman's Vol. 3 when I say that I HATE DISCONNECTED VIGNETTES! Tell a story for chrissake! Yes, these vignettes were a little more connected because they featured characters that we had already seen before, but I still would've rather seen a major story arc.

Some of the vignettes, especially those featuring more prominent historical figures (which seemed to be a theme in this volume) were really out of place. One vignette, which featured Caesar Augustus and a midget pretending to be beggars, was especially bizarre. Similarly, Gaiman tells a story by having us follow Marco Polo through a desert in the dream world in which the only redeeming quality is a brief cameo by Fiddler's Green, one of my favorite characters from Vol. 2.

That being said, there were a few vignettes that were connected by one character--- Morpheus' son, Orpheus (I know...really clever naming scheme there, Neil...) Before you start ragging on the fact that Morpheus' son is just his name without the "M," you should know that the story's Orpheus is the one from Greek Mythology. He went into the underworld to rescue his girlfriend and all he had to do was not look back at her until he got out of the underworld, but he couldn't help himself and lost her forever. We see a more expanded version of this Greek tale that features a fusion of the Greek pantheon and the Endless-- Morpheus' brothers and sisters. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this story are the first appearances of the black sheep of the Endless family, their red-headed brother whose lack of pallor and abundance of likable personality set him apart from his brothers and sisters. You can definitely tell that Gaiman is enjoying teasing readers with this character.

While the Orpheus storyline is enjoyable, it isn't even told in a linear fashion, which could be cool, but is instead obnoxious and confusing. You learn some things about Orpheus in the present that ruin his story from ancient times. A little planning on Gaiman's part would've been nice.

Annie Fuller credibility scale (pre- 6): 2
Annie Fuller credibility scale (post- 6): 1