The Sandman # 4 - Master of Dreams Part 4 : A Hope in Hell

This is definitely one of my favorite Sandman issues that I've read so far, which happens to be nineteen of them, and I can safely say its because the issue is simply a work of genius, and as a benefit it introduces my favorite comic book character...helping me catch up on him, pre-Lucifer. Anyways, before I go in depth, let me make it clear the art was a disappointment, but I won't take stars off for it because it was the 80's, you can't expect super-quality art.

Anyways, the story is Dream's quest to retrieve his helmet from Hell, and his plan is to meet with Lucifer, easy enough you should think, of course the issue is filled with unexpected surprises. The first is that at the Gate of Hell is none other than the rhymer, Etrigan, an unexpected cameo as far as I'm concerned but a welcome one, and I admit I actually did like the art of the Demon and enjoyed seeing him within his own realm, learning that he too is a devious one.

The journey to Lucifer's palace was like a tour of Hell, cool in my opinion, the Suicide Forests, the cages where those who had been condemned by entities were locked away, one of them being Nada, a mystery lover of Dream whom has angered him and thus has been locked away for 10,000 years...she begs for his forgiveness but he shows her none, once again showing the dark and moody side to this mighty entity.

Finally we get to the first appearance of Lucifer, but not in the splendor you should expect, it seems he has lost full control of Hell and now shares it with none other than Azazel and Beelzebub, a surprise to Dream AND myself (though I think it made me enjoy the issue even more, as once again it shows Lucifer is not the powerhouse everyone expects him to be), and yet a further complication, for it means that not all of Hell is under Lucifer's jurisdiction and Dream will have more trouble regaining his helmet.

Here comes however my favorite part of the issue, the challenge between Dream and Choronzon (the demon who has his helmet), it is an interesting game, I do not know how to describe it, but it is not a game for the witless and actually proves the cunning of Dream, yet another reason I like his character, the challenge in general was just a great scene as far as I'm concerned, I've always liked mind games.

Obviously Dream regains his helmet and proves his power once again when he walks out of Hell untouched simply by reminding all of the demons that should they lose their ability to dream of Heaven, they will have nothing, this made me laugh actually but still was a great moment. Lucifer swears revenge, something I am EXTREMELY excited to see, I can't wait for their next encounter. But at the moment the ruby seems to be Dream's focus and on the last page of the issue we get a little surprise, an inmate of Arkham Asylum receiving a precious gem that belonged to his mother and him saying that it was all he ever wanted...leading me to anticipate something spectacular from him.

The first few issues of this comic, The Sandman, showed that it wasn't going to be comic book business as usual, and hinted at greater things to come. With this issue, Neil Gaiman demonstrates how comic books can take their place among great literature.
 
The story concerns the Lord of Dreams traveling to Hell to battle a demon to regain his 'Mask of Office'. But no superhero slugfest, this. Before the monarchs and denizens of Hell, Morpheus engages in a storytelling type battle for his helmet, with his immortal soul at stake, and demonstrates how even without any magic powers, he still has power even in Hell. By the time he utters his final line, in the comic, the issues title "A Hope in Hell" comes crashing home in more ways than one.
 
All of this plus the enmity of Lucifer and strange events in Arkham Asylum hint that more fun is in the offing for future issues.  Comics just do not get any better than this.