Playing House is issue 12 of the Sandman comic series, created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Drigenberg. It was originally released November 28, 1989.
Synopsis[]
The chilling secret behind two of the escaped dreams is revealed, and it's connected to a pair of lost DCU Super Heroes! Meanwhile, Jed escapes imprisonment, but lands in the hands of the third, murderous escaped dream! Can Rose find him in time to save his life?
Summary[]
An alarm sounds in Sandman's Dream Dome, and Brute and Glob warn him of an approaching "Nightmare monster". His wife Lyta sends him off to battle, asking Hector to be careful. Despite living in a trance-like state, she is beginning to question her reality, like the fact that she's been 6 months pregnant for 2 years now. Alone in the dome, Lyta reminisces about her life in the shadow of her ghostly husband, wondering if this dream is truly all she's ever wanted.
In the waking world, uncle Barnaby beats up Jed, reminding the boy to behave himself next week when social workers are due to come and check up on him. Curled up in the basement, Jed is starting to feel that something is happening in his mind.
Brute and Glob are panicking and assessing their options while Morpheus is coming through the barriers they have erected in Jed's mind. Sandman tries to fight the intruder in his superhero fashion, but Morpheus doesn't pay much attention to him until he hears Hector's claim that he is "the Sandman, guardian of the dreams". This prompts Morpheus to burst into laughter, saying "Oh, humanity, I love you. You never cease to amaze me". When he destroys the dream and ejects all of its dwellers into reality, the blast bursts open the basement door, killing Barnabas and Clarice and freeing Jed.
Brute and Glob explain to their master that in his absence they've been trying to create a separate Dreaming with their own Sandman. Morpheus banishes the two into "the darkness", and sends Hector's ghost back to the realm of the dead. When Lyta accuses him of killing Hector, Dream replies that her husband died a long time ago. Before leaving, he mentions that one day he would claim her child gestated in dreams - something that Lyta vows she would never let happen.
Meanwhile, in Dodge county, Georgia, Rose's rented car breaks. Rose and Gilbert decide to spend the night in a motel. The one they find turns out to be booked out due to hosting a "cereal convention", but they promise to be gone by morning. In the meantime the Corinthian is making his way to that gathering; he is jumped by two thugs in an alley in Atlanta, but the nightmare quickly disarms them and proceeds to brutally murder the two. He then chances upon a hitching Jed, who's trying to get away "anywhere", and gladly offers the boy a ride.
Appearances[]
Featured Characters[]
Supporting Characters[]
Antagonists[]
Other Characters[]
- Dougie (thug)
- Joe-Bob (thug)
- Garrett Sanford (mentioned only)
Objects[]
Locations[]
- Dream Stream
- Barnaby's Farm
- Cereal Convention
Continuity Notes[]
- Forthcoming
Trivia[]
- Forthcoming