Okay, maybe you are in possession of a galaxy-sized brain and have already imagined a crossover between two of the fantastical, fictional universes created by author Neil Gaiman. I’m a huge fan of Gaiman’s Good Omens and The Sandman—both the original novel/comics and the screen adaptations on Amazon Studios and Netflix, respectively—but I have to admit I hadn’t pictured what these worlds colliding could look like. Thanks to some gorgeous and poignant fan art, however, the concept has been fleshed out, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
On X (formerly Twitter), artist Zinc (@AmeresLare) posted a beautiful two-part comic crossover extravaganza. Titled “a long nap,” the fan art shows an all-too-plausible scenario. The demon Crowley, played by David Tennant in the Good Omens TV show, is known for taking extended naps—once, for most of the 19th century. This is what we see in the first panel: Crowley, in his 19th-century attire, is asleep and has entered the Dreaming, the domain of Morpheus a.k.a. Dream, the protagonist of The Sandman (played by Tom Sturridge in the live-action flesh).
a long nap ? #GoodOmens #TheSandman https://t.co/5lZuwuk6Il pic.twitter.com/hDAblPag7e
— Zinc สังกะสี (@AmeresLare) September 14, 2023
“Don’t you have anything to attend in the Waking, Serpent of Eden?” Dream asks Crowley, to which Crowley responds, “Can’t a snake take a nap after a good meal?” Dream then admonishes, “You have been sleeping for nine months,” but Crowley is unbothered: “Didn’t know your realm has a closing time.” This is accompanied by an adorable rendering of Crowley asleep in the Waking in snake form, kitted out in a nightcap.
I adore Zinc’s depictions of both characters—they really capture Crowley’s fashion sense and louche expressiveness, while the zoom-in on the starry-eyed Dream demonstrates that character’s enormous presence as the personification of dreams. In the second panel, the tone of Dream meeting Crowley again has shifted considerably and taken on a heartbroken tinge. Both Crowley and Dream are wearing modern clothes to reflect the present day. “How long are you going to stay here this time, Crowley?” asks Dream, looking pensive. “Till the end of the world, I guess,” answers Crowley. The scene shifts into both of them gazing into Crowley’s dream—a vision of the angel Aziraphale’s bookshop, where a happy Aziraphale and Crowley are dancing. (In the series, their dance was interrupted by the arrival of a legion of demons, and Crowley’s desperate last act of kissing Aziraphale didn’t persuade Aziraphale to choose him over a fancy new job in Heaven.) “You cannot live in the Dreaming forever,” Dream tells Crowley. But Crowley responds: “I can certainly try. It won’t be long anyway.”
It’s easy to imagine Crowley, distraught over the way things ended with Aziraphale in the season 2 finale of Good Omens, would make an extended escape into the Dreaming. Crowley has a tendency to want to run away from his problems (relatable), and the idea that he could both escape the Waking world and exist in a place where a version of him and Aziraphale could be happy is wrenching and on point. Further, Good Omens season 2 ends with the threat of the Second Coming approaching, so Crowley’s right that he might not have long to wait until the world ends. While the aloof Dream isn’t always the most sympathetic of listeners, I can also picture him taking pity on Crowley for a while and giving him that respite in the Dreaming. Dream knows what it’s like to suffer, after all, and he and Crowley are both massively powerful beings who might be able to understand each other. I’d love to sit in on more of their conversations.
The creativity that abounds in fandom gives us moving and extraordinary works of art every day. Visual artists, writers, and video and gif-makers are just a few subsections of the fans who help broaden the horizons of the original canon and drum up new possibilities for our favorite characters. While Neil Gaiman has given a definitive response on his Tumblr when asked if Good Omens and The Sandman take place in the same universe—”No.”—there are no limitations on fandom making this sort of crossover happen. And, well, we can also dream: I’d give quite a bit to see Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer from The Sandman show up in Good Omens‘ Hell. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap to envision exactly that.
(images: Zinc on X (Twitter), Amazon Studios, Netflix)
