Publisher DC Comics Species Gargoyle Supporting character of Cain, Abel Creator Neil Gaiman | Created by Neil Gaiman Team affiliations Cain and Abel First appearance The Sandman Affiliation Cain and Abel | |
Similar The Mad Mod Witch, Cain and Abel, Merv Pumpkinhead, Foxglove, Corinthian | ||
Goldie is a fictional character in The Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman.
Fictional character biography
Goldie is a pet baby gargoyle, given to Abel by his brother Cain in Preludes and Nocturnes. Abel originally intends to name him Irving, but Cain insists that gargoyle names must all begin with a "G". Cain then proceeded to murder Abel over this. Abel soon returns, as he is murdered by Cain all the time. He then agrees to name the gargoyle Goldie, after "an old friend", though he tells Goldie in private that he will continue to think of him as Irving.
Goldie appears for a short scene in The Doll's House in which he is sitting upon Abel's shoulder as Lucien asks Abel about the inhabitants of the house. He later appears throughout the "Parliament of Rooks" story in Fables and Reflections, and briefly at the beginning of Brief Lives. He also accompanies Abel in The Kindly Ones and is with him when he gets murdered by the Furies, crying when his master is killed. He is later seen playing with Daniel Hall.
Goldie later takes on a pivotal role as the guardian of the tree of life in the Sandman spin-off series The Dreaming. On his/her quest to the tree, a search party forms. He was retconned into a female gargoyle for the new series.
Goldie is named after the "'imaginary' friend" to whom Abel would tell his early stories in the pages of House of Secrets.
In issue 39 of the 2008 reboot of the House of Mystery comic series, it is revealed the Goldie is 'GiGi', a waitress at the House of Mystery and a bit player in the series. Goldie was transformed by Lotus Blossom, another character in the series, at Goldie's request in exchange for a book of magic spells. Goldie was not enthralled with the idea of growing up to be a Gargoyle, and instead wanted to be a human girl. The newly reborn Gigi joined Lotus Blossom on her exploits in the series, often serving as an enforcer for her. It's revealed that Abel knows Gigi's true history, but if his brother Cain knew, it was not shown.