relating to dream

Preludes & Nocturnes is obviously a very vivid and colorful graphic compilation. I would even go so far as to describe some of the images as being psychedelic. Something that really stood out to me was the fact that Dream and Death (as characters) were both very colorless. What is the significance of their very black & white complexion in contrast with the rest of the graphics? I can think of a few reasons why Gaiman decided to do this. The most apparent would be to make them stand out in the novel, make them obviously different from the rest of the cast. Reflecting on McCloud though, I thought it could be for another reason. McCloud talks about how when something is a cartoon, it becomes more subjective and relatable. I think that could have something to do with why Dream has no color. It makes him look less like a human other than ourselves so we can relate to him more. We can become part of the reality that is not matter.

Why would Gaiman want us to relate to the Sandman? I think because this story follows a more traditional "hero has a goal and he goes through trials but overcomes" scenario, the Sandman could appear to be too much of a perfect hero figure. However because of the artist's decision to make him colorless, along with the way the character is set up, (which we discussed in class) as if we are him, he is made to seem less iconic and heroic. Obviously, the plot helps with that, considering the fact he is trapped by humans for a lifetime and eventually wins out because of luck. But I think it was integral to the story that we relate to Dream.