|
Mervyn Pumpkinhead is a character in Neil Gaiman's popular comic book series, The Sandman.
Merv (as he is better known throughout the series) is Dream's jaded, street-wise, cigarette-smoking janitor. As his name implies, he has a pumpkin for a head, though at one point during The Wake a turnip takes its place. This reflects, perhaps, that Dream creates and recreates his servants in accordance with the dominant culture of the time. It is William Shakespeare who sees Mervyn with a turnip for a head, and he would not know of pumpkins - an American plant. Turnips, on the other hand, were well-known in the England of the time. It is possible that other creatures would see other heads; after all, the Sandman is Dream's incarnation to any number of cultures and planets, although for narrative reasons we see him mainly in his interactions with humans. It seems unlikely that he would choose England of 1610, or America of 2000, out of all the possibilities just on Earth at that time, as the sole inspirer of his servants.
Merv drove a bus for a time, during an extended absence by Morpheus. Merv seems to be in charge of the construction and demolition of the Dreaming (though why this is nessary as Dream can change any of it at will is unknown.) He took up arms to fight the Furies in "The Kindly Ones" and was killed by them but was returned to life by the new Dream in "The Wake"
|