Men of Good Fortune is issue 13 of the Sandman comic series, created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Drigenberg. It was originally released January 02, 1990.
Synopsis[]
In a stand-alone story spanning centuries, Morpheus grants an ordinary man named Hob Gadling a gift allowing him to cheat death. Over the many years, Morpheus revisits Hob to see how a human would deal with unlimited life--for better or worse. But both Hob and Morpheus learn surprising lessons...
Summary[]
In 1389, Death invites Dream into a tavern, saying he should for once meet the humans "on their terms". They overhear a man called Hob Gadling who insists that people only die because it is a bad habit into which they fall, and that he would have no part of it. Dream believes that this might be an interesting experiment, and so tells Gadling that, if he truly believes the way to live forever is simply not to die, Dream will meet him in one hundred years in the same tavern for a drink.
Gadling agrees, and after one hundred years they meet again. At first, when Dream shows up, Gadling believes that he had made some kind of deal with the Devil. Dream convinces him otherwise, and they agree to keep meeting every one hundred years.
During their meeting in 1589, Hob boasts his newfound prosperity, and Dream notices an aspiring playwright Will Shaxberd, who tells his famous colleague Kit Marlowe "I would give anything to have your gifts". Dream decides to make a deal with Will, the details of which are undisclosed so far.
By 1689, the fortune has turned on Hob: he has lost both his wealth and his family, now reduced to a beggar who can't even starve to death. However, for all the good and bad that happened, he still endeavors to continuing living.
In 1789, Hob meets with Dream again, now as a slave trafficker, though Dream discourages him from continuing that trade. This time they are ambushed by Johanna Constantine, a descendant of Hob's deceased friend Jack Constantine. The lady suspects the pair to be the Devil and Wandering Jew and seeks to use them to achieve wealth and power. However, Dream easily subdues her with his dream sand, and the pair leaves the pub, leaving the lady to face her old ghosts.
During their meeting in 1889, Gadling suggests that Dream has nothing to learn from their meetings, and the real reason for keeping the arrangement is that Dream is lonely and needs a friend. Dream is outraged at the suggestion and storms out of the tavern.
One century later, Gadling is waiting for Dream in the bar. When Dream finally turns up, Gadling admits that he didn't expect him to show. Dream replies, "I have always heard it was impolite to keep one's friends waiting."
Appearances[]
Featured Characters[]
Supporting Characters[]
Antagonists[]
Other Characters[]
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- Edmund (Chaucer's companion)
- Crispin (Hob's companion, 1389)
- William Shakespeare
- Kit Marlowe
- Michael and Tobias (Lady Johanna's companions)
- Lushing Lou
- Darren (1989 patron)
Objects[]
Locations[]
Continuity Notes[]
- Meeting with Hob is the "prior engagement" Dream mentions in the previous issue, which places the end of this story firmly in the middle of The Doll's House.
Trivia[]
- The issue mentions multiple historical events, from Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and the Western Schism to Margaret Thatcher's tax policy. Most of the relevant events are linked in Hob Gadling's article.
- The alliterative poem Piers Plowman that Edmund praises to Chaucer, curiously, is an allegory that mostly takes place in dreams.
- The vicar joke that survived centuries can be found here; reader discretion advised.
- Lushing Loo [sic] was a real person whose life story and mannerisms were taken from the book London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew (Vol. 4, p. 224). Her caution about "bloody Jack" is, of course, a reference to Jack the Ripper.