SUPERMAN vs. SANDMAN

Superman Vs. Sandman


Unlike Superman, Sandman — or at least, Gaiman's re-envisioning of the character — was created in a cultural context where there are no clear divisions between 'good' and 'bad' and there is no universal reality. The way in which there are a multiplicity of narratives in the "Sandman" comics, is radically different that the alternate storylines of "Superman." And, where Superman is in part an archetypal character, Sandman is a direct archetype, one identified in myriad cultures. To the ancient Romans, he is Morpheus; to one African tribe, he is Kai'ckul; to his family, he is Dream; and to modern Americans, he is the Sandman. But above all, he is "Prince of Stories." "Sandman" is, at the highest level, about storytelling itself. At the lowest level, "Sandman" is a commercial commodity produced by D.C. Comics Inc. And, as appropriate in a Postmodern context, these "Sandman" narratives are about many things at once.

Postmodernism posits that we can only a...