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"Thermidor" Yet another item titled "Thermidor," this is a short story in comic form, written by Gaiman as part of his Sandman series, and illustrated (badly) by one of eleven artists (specific credit is not given). The back of this volume of Sandman stories contains the usual "all stories, characters, and incidents. . . are entirely fictional" disclaimer, and boy is this true in the case of "Thermidor." This is quite possibly my least favorite work featuring Saint-Just ever. Please be aware that the following descriptin contains spoilers. One of Gaiman's gothic-out-the-wazoo characters uses a woman named Johanna Constantine as an agent to do his dirty work. Under the pseudonym of Jeanne Bonchance, she carries a head belonging to her employer's son, the Orpheus of Greek mythology, around Paris. Saint-Just comes looking for it when he finds out, spouting such lovely rhetoric as "Liberty is a bitch who must be bedded on a mattress of corpses." As it turns out, Johanna had managed to become Saint-Just's lover in less than a month, which is almost as implausible as her list of other accomplishments (stealing papers from Russia, getting involved in anti-slavery movements in Louisiana, and being tried as a witch in Egypt all, within the course of eight years). Eventually she leads Robespierre and Saint-Just to Orpheus' head which she had hidden in the lime pits. Orpheus then bursts into song accompanied by all the other severed heads in the pits. Saint-Just and Robespierre fall into a trance, and Johanna escapes with her bodyless friend. Gaiman then announces that Saint-Just and Robespierre found themselves speechless and unable to defend themselves on 9 Thermidor. . . because of the singing severed head, of course. Johanna deposits the head on a Greek island and never sees him again. In terms of characterization, this the least accurate portrayal of the Revolution I've ever had the misfortune to come across, singing heads aside. It is also horribly drawn-- even the most ardent hater of Saint-Just would have to admit he wasn't that ugly, and since when was Robespierre fat? And how Gaiman managed to connect the myth of Orpehus to the French Revolution is beyond even my rather overactive imagination. I read this comic twice in the six or seven years I owned it, and it has the honor of being one of the few Saint-Just related items I decided not to keep in my collection. Saint-Just
with Johanna This comic
may be purchased at Amazon.com--
but if I were you, I'd save my money. |
