akicilj

[truepenny]

Somewhere in the run of Sandman [ETA: make that Swamp Thing], Cain and/or Abel explains the difference between a mystery and a secret. Can anyone remember where that is? Or did I make it up? (N.b., it is NOT in "The Parliament of Rooks.")

ETA: Found it! Thanks to hhw pointing me at the wikipedia entry.

In Swamp Thing 33, "Abandoned Houses" (collected in Swamp Thing: Love and Death), Cain tells Abby Arcane Cable, "Mysteries are wonders that you can ponder and share. Secrets are a burden to carry alone!" And that's the quote I was looking for.

Many many thanks to everyone who chimed in.

Comments

[hhw]

according to the wikipedia entry for them, it was in "Swamp Thing."

[hhw]

A Sandman Annotations page says the secret/mystery definition is Moore's, not Gaiman's: "Under Moore's terminology, a mystery may be shared, but a secret must be forgotten if one tries to tell it."

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Oh silly me. Of course there's a wikipedia entry.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

You didn't make it up, and I remember Abel talking about it. (Cain then kills him, not that this is a novel experience or anything.) Possibly it was in Swamp Thing. (Wikipedia is saying Swamp Thing, but I think it was /also/ in Sandman.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

That's the problem I've been having in placing it. Because it's what happens every time we check in on Cain and Abel.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Sadly, my Sandman comics are elsewhere so I can't check.

[adelev.livejournal.com]

My husband, who is a comic books expert, also thinks it is in Swamp Thing. He told me it would take him a little while to get to the right boxes in the basement, but I should be able to get an exact reference for you later tonight.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Thank you, but tell him there's no need. I have Swamp Thing 33 (in the collection Swamp Thing: Love and Death), and I've found the thing I wanted.

I do, however, very much appreciate the offer.

[adelev.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found what you were looking for. My husband found the quote before I saw that you already had it, but he considered it a fun and interesting challenge, as I suspected he would. He found the same quote, so I was able to tell him he found the right thing!

[kate_nepveu]

There appears to be a list of all character appearances here : http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/lore/sandfaq1.html#1.1 , though either I'm skimming too fast or it's not that reliable.