Read through Sandman volumes 2 and 3. My thoughts:
! The Doll's House - So last volume was a fetch quest for Dream's items, now it's a fetch quest for the runaway dreams. I can dig it.
! Tales in the Sand - So we start off with apparently a one-off story that delves into Dream's past, and I guess explains the situation between him and his ex-lover that he encountered in the previous volume. So because he snogged some African Queen, the sun blew up her city. Wow, the sun's a dick. Who knew? But seriously, this is a very well-told story. It's full of those little narrative flares and ambiguities that may or may not be stretching, and I really like how there's a long panel at the bottom of each page that brings us back to the storyteller. And I guess this sets up the theme and foreshadows the events to follow, so yeah, it really works.
! The Doll's House - Ooh, Desire and Despair. Nice start. And then we get to meet this girl named Rose Walker who presumably will play the central role in the story to come. She falls asleep and - oh man. Really? They're doing the turn the book on it's side to read it thing? And not just for one page, but three pages. Well, I understand the idea behind it anyway. And it's not too cumbersome as long as the story's good, which it is. And so Dream discovers some of his dreams have run off (among which is The Corinthian whom I've heard is one nasty customer. A shame they spoiled his eye mouths here). Oh, and that woman from the previous book who was raped while in her coma/dream state is back. And she's reunited with her long-lost daughter and granddaughter. That's nice.
! Moving In - Man, the beginning of this chapter was weird. For a minute, I thought Rose was in a dream, but no, it's all real; Barbie and Ken and spider sisters and all. Maybe that was the point? Anyway, we also check in on Jed who seems to be having a pretty rough time (and you thought Harry Potter had it bad). Those dreams of his are delightfully cheesy though. Oh, and hi Brute and Glob. Also, Dream has a raven named Matthew who I continued to like more and more as the story progressed. And then Rose gets attacked by muggers, but is saved by the mystery tenant Gilbert. I like him. And that final page is awesome. Dream's ready to go out and whoop some ass.
! Playing House - Oh, so it's not just Jed that's trapped in the dream, but Hector and Hippolyta whose…physical bodies were brought into the dream? And apparently they don't age since Hippolyta didn't progress in her pregnancy......you know what, I'm not even gonna try to understand with it, I'm just gonna got with it. In any case, Dream rolls on in to stop it all, like a boss. Brute and Glob were okay I guess. Just generic monsters with generic names, though they did get one or two good lines. Oh, and unfortunately Wikipedia spoiled it for me that Hippolyta's son becomes the next Dream (or something like that?).
! Men of Good Fortune - And we get a break in the arc to tell this one-off story. Honestly, I was kind of dreading it at first, but I ended up really liking this story. The old-timey English was hard to understand at times. And, I dunno, you'd think to avoid being discovered, Hob would maybe try traveling to different parts of the world. Though maybe I'm just projecting my own desires, and I guess he'd still have to return to the tavern. Anyway, I like how the story defies your expectations. You think, having been granted immortality, this guy's life will eventually become terrible and he'll end up woefully regretting it. But nope, he's actually content with his longevity and all its ups and downs, and at the end of it all, Dream just wanted a friend. Nice story.
! Collectors - A convention of serial killers. How charming (oh, I get it. "Cereal" convention. Haha). But nah, I actually enjoyed this chapter, even if all these people are utterly despicable. After all, this chapter's all about the dark humor (though maybe Gaiman did dwell on the serial killer stuff a little too much). Oh, and I knew the fairy tales of old could be dark, but I've never heard THAT version of Little Red Riding Hood. And as if the wolf on his shirt wasn't obvious enough, the fat guy actually repeats a line from it. And, of course, Dream comes along to dispense some justice in the best way possible.
! Into the Night - Oh boy. Now we get to see the dreams of all those crazy tenants. God help us. Yeah, it's certainly crazy stuff and I imagine a fair amount of it went over my head, especially with the spider sisters. But anyway, this is about the Rose-is-the-Vortex subplot coming to a head. Oh, and Gilbert was Fiddler's green all along. Makes sense. Guess there's not a whole lot to say about this chapter though. It worked fine and that's about it.
! Lost Hearts - And now the conclusion. Poor Rose has to die for something that isn't even her fault. But Grandma Unity, who was about to die anyway, shows up and transfers the vortex to her in a noble self-sacrifice. Jed recovers and is reunited with Rose and their mother. Rose is shaken from the experience and her life won't be the same, but she will survive. "I suppose there are worse endings." You said it, Rose. Oh, and Dream puts Desire in his/her place complete with one last twist revelation. Killer.
! Dream Country - So this book doesn't really have a story arc, but really is just a collection of one-off stories. Which is fine, but the book has only four chapters, and it still has the same full retail price as the other volumes, which is kind of a gyp, but what are ya gonna do?
! Calliope - An artist who gains greatness at the expense of another. Which is a story that I feel has been told before, but I can't think of it for the life of me. Doesn't matter, this is still good. Even with his own bizarre reasoning, the writer does manage to come off as a total slimeball, which makes his comeuppance at the end all the sweeter ("the bigger they are…" as they say). And were those the Fates that Calliope summoned?
! A Dream of a Thousand Cats - Well, this is certainly an interesting idea. A story told from the viewpoint of cats. And Dream, of course, is in it, and he takes the form of a badass-looking cat. So I guess Dream just takes the form of whatever being convenes with him. Makes sense. And yeah, this was a really good story. It really makes you feel for the cat who lost her kittens due to the cruelty of mankind. Even if all of us aren't cruel enough to do something, this chapter does make you wonder about the ethics of "owning" a pet (which I think we've all thought about at one point or another). Dream's revelation though, about the previous universe in which cats were enormous and hunted humans and how the humans changed it, well...honestly, I wasn't sure how to feel about that. I supposed it wasn't meant to be taken at face value, but it just seemed like a weird thing for Dream to tell her. But then the next chapter came and...
! A Midsummer Night's Dream - "Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." Oh, I think I get it now. Doesn't matter if the cat universe thing was true or not. What matters is that they believe it and it gives them hope. Uh, but anyway, this story. Gaiman follows up on that Shakespeare thing from the previous volume and...yeah, this is good, but maybe I would've gotten more out of it if I'd actually read A Midsummer Night's Dream? But that's pretty much what it is, just Shakespeare's troupe performing to AMND's "real-life" counterparts. The banter of the real demons was amusing at times, but I guess the chapter got a little tedious after a while with all the text. Oh, and Puck escaped somehow (seriously, did no one bother to check for him?)
! Facade - The final story and, by far, the most depressing. The story focuses on Element Girl, a long-forgotten DC character who has the same powers as Metamorpho. And, of course, Neil Gaiman had to put some cruel dark subversive spin on the concept. But nah, hard it was to read, it was still good. At the very least, I learned a bit about the history of Metamorpho. I had no idea he got his powers from Ra. Personally, I think the scientific experiment thing from the DCAU makes more sense as an origin story. But anyway, turns out this is really a Death story. We've seen people who don't want to die, now let's see how she handles someone who does want to die. I guess the take away from this is that whether you welcome it or hate it, Death comes to everyone in her own time. Though apparently she can be coaxed, I guess. Well, I hope Rainie got the peace she wanted anyway.
! Final Thoughts: So I've noticed throughout the first three volumes of Sandman that Dream is really something of a party crasher. And I mean that in the best possible way. All these monsters and scumbags doing as they please, and then Dream shows up to show 'em what's what. Yeah, I like some good ol' comeuppance. But really, as much as I liked the first volume, I like these two even better. Volume 2 is, as you might expect, my favorite since it tells a cohesive story arc and does it even better than volume 1 (and it's not a measly four chapters like volume 3). So yep, I'm lovin' and I hope to read volume 4 soon.