Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
In the Sandman cosmology, there was a Creator (who may or may not be what we think of as God) and Lucifer (then known as Samael) was God’s Second in Command, the most powerful, important and beautiful thing there was that wasn’t their Creator. And yes, when Lucifer dies Death will be there for them, but that doesn’t diminish what Lucifer (especially on Lucifer’s home turf) is and does.
I keep coming across new Sandman fans who have leapt to the conclusion that Morpheus is bad with children.Â
In the comics, according to both Calliope and Daniel, Morpheus is very good with children. Â Morpheus only had his falling out with his son, Orpheus, after he was grown up. Â According to Calliope he used to make him musical instruments and was very doting.
Also Morpheus was very loving with the child, Hope in The Sandman: Overture and clearly wanted to adopt her as his own.  He told her bedtime stories and gave her dreams of everything being kind. And he tried to protect her. Â
In The Sandman: The Kindly ones he helped some children who were on their own adventure and gave them ice cream.
Also Morpheus kneels down for children to speak to them at their level.
You know that meme of âIâve only had (insert animal or person here) for five minutes but if anything happensâŚâ thatâs Morpheus with Hope.Â
throwing my hat into the ring with yet another âwhat if hob and morpheus were sat at a table againâ fanart because I LOVE THEM. the dialogue is based on this quote from tom sturridge.
below is the letter received by Neil Gaiman from the âconcerned mothers of americaâ in â92, and his response :)
he mentioned this letter in a recent interview with Pink News:
âI remember getting a very grumpy letter from the âConcerned Mothers of Americaâ, informing us that due to the number of gay characters in Sandman they would be boycotting us and we had to repent,â he said.
âWe never repented and the sales just went up, and up, and up. So I never really worried about their boycott.â
anddd hereâs the letter about trans rep for @fandom-geek :) (absolutely love this letter)
Transcription of the letter in the first picture:
Dear Sir:
Do you feel proud of yourself for supporting crime and corruption which is engulfing our country? Violence and death rule the streets and thousands of innocent people are murdered in their homes and elsewhere. Its excessive and needless emphasis on homosexuality, profanity and Christian bashing is well-documented and intentional. The most effective way we know how to strike back is to BOYCOTT those who promote it, and unless you stop glorifying homosexuality, we will refuse to buy any of your comics. We urge you to write to Don Wildmon, P.O Box 2440, Tupelo, MS 33803, telling him you are tired of lost sales and will honor our request and, after publishing it in the AFA journal, we will again buy your comics.
CONCERNED MOTHERS OF AMERICA.
Neil Gaimanâs response, written in italics:
I have this vision of all the Concerned Mothers of America opening their American Family Association Journal and eagerly scanning the letter pages to find out if the boycottâs over, to see if they can all rush out and start buying SANDMAN again. That was a typed postcard, postmarked Steubenville, Ohio. The next letter was handwritten (and very impressive) parchment scroll.
Transcription of the letter from the second picture:
Dear Dream Scribes, I have been following SANDMAN since the âDollâs Houseâ storyline, thanks to a friend who introduced me to the book. Intelligent, well-written books are a rarity in this field, I believe, and Iâve been delighted with SANDMAN. This dark fantasy is obviously a labor of love from a very creative and talented writer and numerous equally capable artists. (And yes, I ended up buying the trade paperbacks as well.) Iâm writing because I want to thank Neil Gaiman for the current âA Game of Youâ storyline. There are several subjects that are taboo for comics (probably because of the âlowest common denominatorâ audiences of most books as much as any social stigma), including and especially gender identity. The subject has almost never been touched upon, much less dealt with in a mature, understanding manner. Until now. The character of Wanda is one of the most articulate, fully-drawn portraits of a transgendered individual that Iâve ever come across. Every word, every reaction rings true. Frankly, Iâm surprised⌠Transsexuals are usually stereotyped as freaks, drag queens or worse, instead of being treated as real people. This storyline means something very personal to me, because Iâm also a transsexual with much the same personality as Wanda. I keep feeling like Neil Gaiman has written me into the story. (Another friend of several years, whoâs been trying to relate to me since my âcoming out,â confessed that reading these issues of SANDMAN did more to explain transsexualism than anything else heâd ever come across. âThatâs you, isnât it?â he said to me. âI think Iâm finally starting to understand.â) I loved Wandaâs reaction to the âchromosomesâ comment on page 19 of the current issue (#35). Thatâs exactly how I feel. Thank you for the most well-written series Iâve ever read, from the first issue to the present, and thank you forâŚwell, understanding the subject well enough to create a true person in Wanda. I realize this whole letter is focusing on what some would consider a mere supporting character, one whoâll be gone when this storyline is finished, but itâs these fully-realized touches that ultimately make up the rich texture of this series. Everything is important, and a good story depends just as much on peripheral elements as it does on the central characters. Besides, I thought youâd appreciate some feedback from a real transsexual who admires what youâre doing with these characters. I shouldnât have been surprised to find such insightful writing on the subject in the pages of SANDMAN; it is one of the most intelligent titles in the medium.
Sincerely, Laura Adams.
bonus: since the whole page actually contains at least three letters (ones visible on the pictures provided by OP anyway), to the similarly nosy bitches that want to read the other letter, hereâs an extra transcript below the cut. this is the aforementioned âhandwritten in a very impressive parchment scrollâ one.
Published with an âon sale dateâ of September 1992, which means it hit the comic shops at the end of July 1992, so people were reading this exactly thirty years ago.