Imperfect Hosts is issue 2 of the Sandman comic series, created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Dringenberg. It was originally released on January 3, 1989.
Synopsis[]
Morpheus, King of Dreams, gets reacquainted with his home realm of the Dreaming and the colorful characters who populate it - including the brothers Cain and Abel, and Lucien, the librarian. He also discovers how much his absence has affected the Dreaming and the greater universe.
Summary[]
Cain and Abel are in the House of Mystery when they are interrupted by a sudden visit from Gregory the gargoyle, who is carrying a nearly dead Lord Morpheus. The brothers nurse him back to health. Because he is still very weak, Dream requests that they give him something he created, and they offer their letters of commission, which he gave to them at the creation of the Dreaming. He absorbs the power of the letters and continues his journey to his castle in the Dreaming.
He finds the castle abandoned and dilapidated, with most of the inhabitants gone or a shadow of their former selves. Lucien the librarian greets his master and suggests that he speaks to The Fates to locate his missing tools. Dream gathers some symbolic offerings from people's dreams and summons the Three-in-One. He is granted three questions, one for each of the fates (and, coincidentally, his tools). He learns that John Constantine has the pouch; an unknown demon traded the helm from Ruthven Sykes; and the ruby was "passed through a mother to a son" -the answers of this last riddle can be found with the League of Justice. Before departing, the Fates ominously state "Your troubles are only just beginning!" Dream decides that in his weakened state he should start with John Constantine, him being just a human.
In the House of Mystery, after their master's departure, Cain gives Abel a present - a gargoyle egg that immediately hatches. When Abel suggests naming the baby gargoyle Irving, Cain becomes furious and kills his brother, a habit of his. After coming back to life, Abel decides to name his pet Goldie, saying "I'll think of you as Irving... in my heart" and then tells it a short, wishful story about two brothers who loved each other and never killed one another.
Meanwhile, a 90-year-old Mrs. Ethel Dee tracks down her imprisoned son John Dee in Arkham Asylum after a decade-long search and visits him, learning that he's unable to dream.
Appearances[]
Featured Characters[]
Supporting Characters[]
Antagonists[]
Other Characters[]
- Gregory
- Goldie
- Ethel Dee
- Dr. Huntoon
- John Dee
- Eve (mentioned only, as "Raven woman")
- Fashion Thing (mentioned only)
- Brute and Glob (mentioned only)
- John Constantine (mentioned only)
- Choronzon (mentioned only, as "a demon")
Objects[]
Locations[]
Continuity Notes[]
- Gregory the Gargoyle is Cain's pet in the House of Mystery comics and was a regularly featured character in that title.
Trivia[]
- Dream's quote, "It was a dark and stormy nightmare..." is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night." The phrase was originally penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, First Baron Lytton as the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford.