It's the last page of Imperfect Hosts in the first volume. Who's Abel's friend? I can't find anything in the bible, and that's the only place I can think to check.
Posted Aug 1, 2017, 5:47 AM UTC
5 months late, but I know the answer to your question.
The versions of Cain and Abel you are asking about did not first appear as Sandman characters. Their first appearances were in the "House of Mystery" series and its companion series, "House of Secrets"- both horror anthology comics DC published from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The series would feature Cain and/or Abel as the storytellers for each "episode", acting as narrators and framing devices. Neil Gaiman thought it would be neat to retroactively place these stories in the Dreaming once Sandman's plot was underway.
In early issues of the series, Abel would claim he was telling his stories to "Goldie" but always appeared to be the only person in the room. He said she was a ghost, but it is more likely she was an imaginary friend, as Cain both pointed this out once and "she" never spoke or interacted with either of them. This is presumedly Abel's friend who "went away" (whatever that means). He has not spoken of this Goldie in ages, and he no longer tells stories to her. Why? Idk. Maybe he realized she was imaginary, maybe he imagined her leaving, or maybe Cain started beating the snot out of him every time he brought her up, but whatever the case, Goldie does seem to have departed long before the first issue of Sandman.
The most upvoted response on this thread, referencing House of Mystery (2008) #39, is regrettably incorrect. That issue takes place after Sandman and features Abel's gargoyle being turned into a human by a sorcerer. The gargoyle Goldie then chooses to go by "Gigi" when in human form. Completely different set up.
Check House of Mystery #39 (2008). Goldie is named after Gigi the Waitress.