24 Hours (The Sandman #6, Preludes and Nocturnes)
"All Bette’s stories have happy endings. That’s because she knows where to stop. She’s realized the real problem with stories--If you keep them going long enough, they always end in death."
Hello Dreamers,
Before I dive into the next issue of our journey through The Sandman, I need to do a little bit of housekeeping. As those of you who are also subscribed to The Creative Cure will already know, I will replace my corresponding newsletter podcasts with article-native readouts. You can read all about it in this linked update:
About My Podcasts
I am a writer and connect most with the written word, and for those of you who need accessibility features or prefer a readout version of this newsletter: that can be provided via Substack without massive effort. I will upload the readout to today’s article to all the usual podcast platforms so people who are following there will also get notice (they will already get the auto-generated readout), but from issue #7 onwards, Shadow Truths will stay entirely Substack-native, and the readouts will only be available here. So if you are happening to listen to this on your favourite podcast platform: All the details are in the show notes for you.
With that out of the road, let's finally delve into an in-depth exploration of “24 Hours”. I have to warn you straightaway: If you are reading along for the first time (or if you intend to watch the corresponding Netflix episode), this one isn’t for the faint at heart, and you will need to buckle up for a journey through terror, madness, and dark desires. This isn’t just any comic book issue; it’s a journey through a day that you wouldn’t want to experience in real life, and you maybe want to leave the lights on when you read it. To say it in Neil Gaiman’s own words:
“Sandman 6 was the first time I tried to break all the rules of what had been done in comics to date, to go as far as I could go. In that story, a small bunch of people are essentially tortured to death over a twenty-four-hour period. A lot of readers said they stopped buying Sandman after issue 6 and didn't come back for ages, until they were told it was safe.”
—The Sandman Companion, by Hy Bender
I will keep this newsletter pretty free of distressing imagery or descriptions, but there are mentions of mutilation, murder and suicide, so proceed with caution if these are topics that have the potential to upset you.
Let’s start with a quick summary…
Picture this: A small-town diner becomes the stage for a tale of terror, all thanks to John Dee (the Dr. Destiny arc has been dropped from the TV series, as already described in previous issues). With Morpheus’ Dreamstone in hand, he is flipping reality itself—in a place that is usually more about flipping burgers (sorry, couldn’t resist). Over the course of a single day, starting bright and early at 10am, John takes six ordinary people and subjects them to a nightmare they can’t wake up from.
The issue, which masterfully blends horror, psychological thriller- and supernatural elements, is mostly viewed through the eyes of John Dee, with occasional peeks into the minds of the diner’s patrons. It’s early April 1989, and Dee has chosen this diner in Mayhew as his twisted playground. And the games he plays are anything but fun. He starts off easy and simply keeps the patrons from leaving. But as the day goes on, things get… well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want your kids reading over your shoulder.
Dee’s power is terrifying. He uses the ruby to make people’s deepest desires come true in their dreams, but he takes pleasure in twisting these dreams into something really dark and dangerous (either for themselves or others). He turns the diner into a stage for his sadistic performance, making the patrons worship him, spill their darkest secrets, and descend into depravity.
As the reader/viewer, we simply can’t help watching with fascinated horror how Dee manipulates reality and reduces people to their base instincts. It’s like watching the proverbial car crash…
As the day turns into night, news reports start rolling in, and it’s clear that Dee’s influence reaches far beyond the diner. The world is falling into chaos, and it’s all because of his use of Dream’s ruby.
By the next morning, everyone has gone through a journey of first mutilating themselves or others and then finally killing each other or themselves. By hour 22, everyone in the diner apart from Dee is dead, and John is starting to get bored. It is at this point Dream finally arrives after being incapacitated by the altered ruby in the previous issue.
For the Netflix TV series, issues #6 and 7 (“24 Hours” and “Sound and Fury”) have been turned into one episode, but since I follow the comics layout, we won’t get deeper into the rest of the TV episode at this stage. Just so much at this point: The TV series focuses much more on what happens when you take people’s dreams away from them instead of granting and twisting them. As we have already established in previous newsletters, the Netflix series puts a much stronger focus on Dee’s own trauma and his issue with lies, and this is also noticeable in TV episode 5.
“24 Hours” contains many interesting themes and is also a quintessential story in Dream’s own arc. We will dive much deeper into that in the next newsletter, because there is a lot to be covered about that in “Sound and Fury”. The most quintessential quote from issue #6 is (for me anyway):
This is also a wonderful throwback to Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon” btw:
"All stories end in death, and he is no true storyteller who does not tell you that.”
The Sandman is really such a rich tapestry of interconnected stories, and #6 fully slots into the larger narrative:
Dee’s possession of Morpheus' ruby highlights both Dream’s power and vulnerability. Its theft and subsequent misuse sets events in motion that affect both Dream and humanity. Dee's actions threaten the fabric of reality, and Morpheus must eventually address the consequences of that. We also get many clues about Dream’s nature and his potential vulnerability that foreshadow future conflicts and his character arc (a bit more about that in the next issue).
"24 Hours" is probably one of the issues that (often uncomfortably so) delves most deeply into the human psyche—our deepest desires, fears, and the often thin line between control and what happens if it slips. These are themes that echo throughout the series.
But in this issue, the technology anxiety and fear of scientific advancement that was still a real thing in the 1980s (I’m Gen X, ask me how I know ;)) is looming large. Dee's use of Dream’s ruby he has altered into the “Materioptikon” to manipulate minds pretty much reflected societal unease about technology's potential harm. And one could say that this unease has maybe started to resurface again with the more prevalent use of AI after we went through a couple of decades when technological advancement, and especially being globally connected, was regarded as real advancement.
We are also witnessing the use of tropes like “descent into madness”: The patrons’ psychological breakdowns mirror the horror genre's exploration of unraveling sanity and dehumanisation. The blurred lines between reality and delusion intensify the dread that we all feel when Dee essentially treats the patrons as subjects (or should I rather say “insects”?), manipulating their desires, forcing confessions, and basically even orchestrating an orgy. The loss of humanity and the blurred boundaries between victims and perpetrators are really central themes, because all patrons are both.
And of course we have the recurring central themes of dreams, desires and reality. Whether the angle is that Dee grants his victims their deepest desires (like in the comics), or strips them from the lies they, in his view, hold on to (like in the TV series), both reveal the allure and danger of unbridled wish fulfilment, but also the loss of hope.
As usual, the purpose of this newsletter is that you use stories and storytelling to help with your creativity and mental wellbeing, so here come a few prompts for you:
Reflect
Consider how dreams and desires shape your life. How do they drive your creativity? Are they hidden, or out in the open?
Write
None of this is a must of course, but if you feel like it, pen down a few of your secrets, fears, or dreams. You don’t need to explore the shadows within, but you can if you feel up to it.
Express and Care
Create visual art, poetry, or music inspired by issue #6, or what you have written down previously. Channel your emotions into your chosen medium. It’s not about creating great art—especially if you are an artist of sorts, the inner critic always likes to switch on. So as a suggestion: Change medium. If you are a writer, draw. If you are a musician, write. And so on.
This is a great self-care activity by the way. It’s not just about acknowledging our own darkness, but about finding balance. No light without shadows, no shadows without obstacles, but also no shadows without light. Use your creativity for catharsis and healing.
Discuss
If you didn’t know yet—Shadow Truths has its own community. Whether you would like to comment on this newsletter or engage with likeminded people in the chat, you can do all of that. Engage with others—talk about the blurred lines so clarity can set in. You obviously don’t have to do this with strangers, but it can sometimes feel easier than feeling judged by the people we know.
In essence, "24 Hours" is a haunting snapshot of human complexity. I personally cannot say it is one of my favourite issues because it truly is gruelling. But it is certainly one of the issues that left a very lasting impression on me. And it is also one of the most important issues in terms of larger themes.
I wish I could say, “I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter,” but it is hard to call “24 Hours” enjoyable per se (unless you are a fan of psychological horror). But I hope to see you again next time, when we will have a closer look at issue #7, “Sound and Fury”, in which Dream’s and Dee’s arc will be brought to its conclusion.
Up until then… sweet dreams!