He is the Sandman, Lord Morpheus, also known as Dream.
In Preludes & Nocturnes Sandman journeys to Hell in search of his missing helm - a magical artifact he has carved "from the bones of a dead god" and imbued with a bit of his power.
The panel above shows something that takes the Sandman by surprise: Following an unsuccessful attack on Heaven, Hell is now being governed by a Triumvirate. The original Lord of Hell, Lucifer, is shown on the left; Beelzebub, Lord of Flies, in the middle; and many-eyed Azazel to the right.
Here's the first of Sandman's headaches in the Infernal Realms : When asked who among the million or so demons in Hell has his helm, our intrepid Master of Dreams doesn't know.
Later on, Choronzon, A Duke of Hell, challenges Sandman to the oldest game, a portion of which is shown in this panel.
If the Sandman loses he has to be "a plaything of hell, for eternity". Very serious stakes.
When getting ready to leave, Sandman is faced with a dire situation.
What to do when a million demons won't let you leave Hell?
All this happens in issue no. 4 of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Preludes & Nocturnes collects the first eight issues of the series. Starting with Sandman's capture and escape in the first issue, we follow the Dream Lord as he retrieves his lost artifacts of power: His Helm, his Ruby and his Pouch of Sand. Along the way we encounter John Constantine, the Justice League, and, as seen above, Lucifer and the Hordes of Hell. The collection ends with issue 8 and the acclaimed introduction of Dream's elder sister, Death.
Posted by Pete Albano - October 24, 2011
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