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in: Dick Giordano/Executive Editor, Dave McKean/Cover Artist, Neil Gaiman/Writer,
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Sandman Vol 2 36

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"Over the Sea to Sky": In The Land, Barbie is surprised by the familiarity of all of the objects she sees in the house she grew up in, which happens to be the home of the Cuckoo, who poses a threat to The Land and all of its inhabitants.

Quote1 Hush now. I need silence from all of you, while I do uncreate this land. It is an old land, and it is time for it to rest. Quote2
— Dream

Sandman (Volume 2) #36 is an issue of the series Sandman (Volume 2) with a cover date of April, 1992.

Synopsis for "Over the Sea to Sky"

In The Land, Barbie is surprised by the familiarity of all of the objects she sees in the house she grew up in, which happens to be the home of the Cuckoo, who poses a threat to The Land and all of its inhabitants.

Barbie encounters a small blonde girl who claims to be the Cuckoo. Not only that, but she claims to be Barbie - an aspect of her that exists within The Land. She explains that the name Cuckoo comes from the idea that little girls often fantasize about being a princess from another land, and that one day, their real parents - the king and queen - will come back for them. She drags Barbie into what was once her old bedroom, and shows her how the friends she made in The Land were merely her old toys brought to life; a dog, a dodo, a rat, a monkey. The little girl asks whether Barbie likes her, whether she has a right to live, and to be happy. Barbie admits that the girl has a right to live and to happiness, though she is becoming more and more confused and dazed by this experience. The Cuckoo asks whether Barbie would mind it if she had to kill and destroy her. She claims she needs to in order to be really happy. Still in a defeated trance, Barbie simply agrees. The Cuckoo then strides outside and orders her Black Guard to take Barbie down to the Isle of Thorns.

Late at night, Thessaly, Foxglove, and Hazel walk the path of the moon until they find themselves bathed in sunlight in The Land. Thessaly realizes that they are in a very old dream, and she is determined that they should find the Cuckoo. As they wander around the landscape, Hazel stumbles upon the corpse of Wilkinson the rat. Fortunately he has not been dead long, and Hazel prepares to ask him some questions using her witchcraft. Wilkinson isn't happy to have been contacted after death, but he does tell them that the Cuckoo resides in the city below, and offers his apology to Barbie for having failed her.

Afterwards, Foxglove can't help but asking Hazel whether it's true that she got herself pregnant. Hazel admits that while she hasn't taken a test, it seems likely. Foxglove is angered by this, but eventually, she comes around to the fact that her girlfriend will be having a man's child. Hazel promises that she really does love Foxglove.

In the room where Barbie's body is sleeping, Wanda Mann watches over her friend, trapped in the room with the re-animated face of George. George comments that there seems to be something wrong with Barbie, noting that the porpentine around her neck is flickering. Suddenly a crash from outside catches Wanda's attention. The wind is dangerously strong, and she looks out the window to see someone trapped under some garbage bins on the street below. Putting on her coat, Wanda struggles to get outside. She finds an old woman - the same woman who encountered Martin Tenbones earlier - and helps her to her feet. Carefully, Wanda drags the woman indoors and up to George's apartment.

Cuckoo drags an unconscious Barbie to the Isle of Thorns with Luz' help. On the island stands a monolith called the Heirogram. It is as old as The Land, and Cuckoo supposes that the man they call the Heiromancer was able to understand the characters inscribed on it. Cuckoo hopes that when the sun sets, she will be able to use Barbie and the Porpentine to escape the skerry and make her way into real worlds and other dream worlds.

Suddenly, Cuckoo spies Thessaly and her companions on the horizon. Knowing they've come for her, she rushes up to Thessaly and claims that the Cuckoo has kidnapped Barbie, pointing to Luz. Dutifully, Luz admits to being the Cuckoo, and without hesitation, Thessaly snaps her neck. She explains that the lesson she needed to teach the Cuckoo was that there are no second chances. Cuckoo begins influencing the women, entrancing them as she begins to wake Barbie and take her up to the Heirogram. She reveals to Barbie that the destruction of either the porpentine or the heirogram signals the death of The Land, the destruction of both ensures it, and once done, she will be able to travel to new worlds. Cuckoo leads Barbie up to the stone. There, Barbie swings back her arm, porpentine in hand, and brings the gem crashing down against the monolithic heirogram. There is a brilliant flash of light, leaving neither the gem nor the monolith intact. Cuckoo dances around happily, pleased at having won. In the real world, the porpentine disappears from around Barbie's neck.

With the two totems destroyed, Dream finally decides to take action. He appears in The Land and demands to know who called him. Cuckoo doesn't know who he is, nor that it was he who created The Land in the first place. Dream turns away from her, sensing that it was actually Barbie who summoned him, despite not being entirely in control of herself. He returns control to her, and she rushes over to her friends. Dream releases them from their trances too. He has them all keep quiet while he begins to uncreate The Land.
First he turned to Luz, and drew her into his cloak. Then came the entire population of the world, each entering the blackness of his cloak and disappearing. Finally, a beautiful woman approaches. Dream explains that by the terms of the compact, he must uncreate The Land which he created for her out of love. Sadly, she enters his cloak as well. At the last, he scooped up the entirety of The Land in his hand, and allowed it to blow away like dust in a breeze.

Now, turning to the three women who came on the moon's road, Dream demands to know if they are aware of the trouble they caused. He recognizes Thessaly as a Thessalian, a witch. Because of them, the moon has tumbled into the sea, and they have no way to get back home. They are now trespassers in his land without his consent.

Back in the real world, George warns that the storm outside is more than a simple storm. The building is old, and it may not survive the strong winds. As if in answer, the roof suddenly crashes open, and Wanda, Barbie, George, and the old woman are buried in debris.

Appearing in "Over the Sea to Sky"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • The Cuckoo (First appearance)
    • The Black Guard
    • "George" (Zombified)
    • Luz (Also as merchandise) (Dies) (Resurrected) (Erased)

Other Characters:

  • Alianora (First appearance)
  • Barbara Wong (Single appearance) (Voice)
  • Elves
  • Fairies
  • Giants
  • Jim Morrison (Single appearance) (Voice)
  • Maisie Hill (Real name revealed) (Dies)
  • Martin Tenbones (As merchandise only)
  • Prinado (Also as merchandise) (Resurrected)
  • Trolls
  • Wilkinson (Appears only as a corpse) (Also as a spirit) (Also as merchandise) (Resurrected)
  • Billy Hill (Mentioned only)
  • Centaurs (Mentioned only)
  • The Devil (Mentioned only)
  • Fauns (Mentioned only)
  • The Giant Spiders (Mentioned only)
  • Jesus (Mentioned only)
  • Joan-Ellen Mann (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
  • Johnny McNamara (Mentioned only)
  • Judy (Foxglove's ex-girlfriend) (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
  • Jim Morrison (singer) (Mentioned only)
  • Lou Reed (Mentioned only)
  • Rutger Hauer (Mentioned only)
  • Velvet Underground (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:

  • The Porpentine (Destroyed)

Concepts:

Notes



See Also


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