Imperfect Hosts is issue 2 of the Sandman comic series. Created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Drigenberg it was originally released January 03, 1989.
Synopsis[]
Morpheus, King of Dreams, gets reacquainted with his home realm of The Dreaming and the colorful characters who populate it--including Cain, Abel and Lucien, the librarian. He also discovers how much his absence has affected the universe in the time since he was imprisoned.
Summary[]
Cain and Abel spend time in the House of Mystery, when they are interrupted by a sudden visit of Gregory carrying a nearly unconscious Lord Morpheus. The brothers nurse him back to health. Dream asks to give him something he created, and they offer their letters of commission, which he absorbs to gain some power, and continues his journey to his castle in the Dreaming.
He finds the castle abandoned and delapidated, 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. He's only allowed to ask three questions, and he learns that he should ask John Constantine for the whereabouts of the pouch; that an unknown demon traded the helm from Ruthven Sykes, and that the ruby was "passed through a mother to a son" and the answers 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 instantly hatches. When Abel suggests naming the baby gargoyle Irving, Cain becomes furious and habitually kills his brother. 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 got along without any murder.
Meanwhile, a 90-year-old Mrs Ethel Dee tracks down her imprisoned son John Dee in the 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 at the House of Mystery 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, 1st Baron Lytton as the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford.