My favorite moment in Sandman, from the finale by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
The first time you read Sandman, you realize early on that while Morpheus is ostensibly the lead character, he’s seldom the most interesting. You don’t dislike him, but he doesn’t stand out. Several of the best stories barely even involve him.
Then you get to the ending, and you see how the entirety of Sandman ties together into one big thing— a story about stories. You understand Morpheus’s role. You get what’s really going on. You catch how borderline meta the whole thing has been, with Morpheus representing Neil Gaiman more than might have been obvious. You figure out how central of a character Morpheus was, even when he was nowhere to be seen.
“I am prince of stories… but I have no story of my own. Nor shall I ever.”
And then, when you go back and read Sandman again with this in mind, it’s different. Better. Sadder, but happier. And that’s when Morpheus becomes your favorite character.
