Sandman Mystery Theatre

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Sandman Mystery Theatre #29 (August, 1995) Sandman Mystery Theatre is a comic book series published by Vertigo, the maturereaders imprint of DC Comics. It ran for 70 issues between 1993 and 1999 and retells the adventures of the Sandman, a vigilante whose main weapon is a gun that fires sleeping gas, originally created by DC in the Golden Age of Comic Books. In a similar vein to Batman, the Sandman possesses no superhuman powers and relies on his detective skills and inventions. In this film noir-like series by writers Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, Wesley Dodds (the Sandman) and his girlfriend Dian Belmont (daughter of the District Attorney) encountered several, often grotesque, foes in multi-issue storylines. The team of Dodds and Belmont were a nod to Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man novel and movies.[citation needed]

Contents

1 Art 2 Themes and guest stars 3 Differences 4 Dream 5 Reception 6 New series

7 Collected editions 8 References

Art
The first artist was Guy Davis, who defined the visual look of the character. Davis changed Dodds from the traditional portrayal as a tall, square-jawed figure, making him shorter, round-faced and slightly overweight. He also gave Dodds a pair of round spectacles, visually echoing the round eyepieces of the gas mask he wore as the Sandman. Davis also redesigned the Sandman costume. In the original 1930s comics, the Sandman wore a green suit, purple cape, orange fedora and blue-and-yellow gas mask. For Sandman Mystery Theatre, the color palette was toned down to gray, olive green and brown. The super-heroic trappings were downplayed in favor of a "real-world" sensibility, such as a trench coat instead of the cape. For the second and third story arcs, The Face and The Brute, art was provided by John Watkiss and R.G. Taylor respectively. A minor controversy developed around the second storyline, "The Face." A coloring error resulted in Asian characters being portrayed with bright yellow skin. The editor apologized for the error in the letter column of a subsequent issue. Guy Davis returned for the fourth arc and the remainder of the series with occasional additional work from Vince Locke and Warren Pleece.

Themes and guest stars

Set during the late 1930s, before Dodds became a founding member of the Justice Society of America, this series dealt with mature themes such as abortion, racism, and antisemitism, as well as historical themes such as the rise of Nazism and international appeasement. As the series progressed Wesley encountered in his adventures other "mystery men" of the era, including the Crimson Avenger, Starman, Blackhawk and Hourman. In one issue the Sandman interrogates a boxer outside Grant's Gym, and the man mentions the name "Ted", a reference to Ted Grant, the original Wildcat. A reference is made to Detective Jim Corrigan, later to be known as The Spectre. Doctor Mid-Nite, alias Dr. Charles McNider is also mentioned as the physician that treated Wesley in one issue. Dodds and Belmont would themselves guest star in the popular comic Starman (set in the present day), appearing as older versions of themselves, and in flashbacks done in the same art-style as Sandman Mystery Theatre. They also guest-starred in the "Exodus Noir" storyline of Madame Xanadu, set during the 1940s.

Differences
The series introduced many changes to previous representations of Sandman's early years; however, as the title is under the Vertigo imprint it is not bound by standard DC

Universe continuity. While many of the changes could be considered retcons, the comic should be taken on its merits as an alternative telling of Sandman's origin. One such change in the series included Wesley Dodd's portrayal as a quiet man who is considered odd by others instead of a playboy socialite.[1] Some of the retcons introduced in Sandman Mystery Theatre have been reflected in modern DC continuity. One such retcon is the character of Sandy Hawkins being nothing more than a fictional comic book character with Dian Belmont instead acting as Sandman's sidekick "Sandy" on at least one occasion.[2] Also, Dian's death had previously been recounted in All-Star Squadron #18, but in this new continuity she lives well into old age and remains Dodds's companion for life.

Dream
The revival of the character was due in part to the success of a later, related character created by Neil Gaiman; Dream of the Endless, whose adventures were then being published under the title of The Sandman (hence the need for a more elaborate title for the older character's adventures). Dream made numerous cameo appearances in Wesley Dodds's dreams throughout the series. The two characters met briefly in a one-shot special, Sandman Midnight Theatre, cowritten by Gaiman and Wagner.

Reception
In their review of Sandman Mystery Theatre #41-48, Wizard gave the series a 5 on a scale of 1 to 6, particularly praising the historical authenticity of the lingo and cultural norms, as well as the intricately developed characters, "horrific" villains, and unique atmosphere. Their one major criticism was that it is too difficult for new readers to follow what is going on if they begin reading the series in the middle of a story arc.[3]

New series
DC published a new five-issue limited series, Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep of Reason,[4] set in 2007 and featuring a new character taking up the Sandman mantle.

Collected editions
The comics have been collected in a number of trade paperbacks:

Sandman Mystery Theatre: o The Tarantula (by Matt Wagner, with art by Guy Davis, collects #14, 112 pages, May 2005, ISBN 1-56389-195-6) [5] o The Face and The Brute (by Matt Wagner, with art by John Watkiss and R.G. Taylor, collects #512, 208 pages, November 2004, ISBN 1-40120345-0) [6] o The Vamp (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Guy Davis, collects #1316, 104 pages, July 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0718-9) [7]

o o

The Scorpion (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Guy Davis, collects #1720, 104 pages, May 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1040-6) [8] Dr. Death and the Night of the Butcher (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Guy Davis and Vince Locke, collects #2128, 208 pages, April 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1237-9) [9] The Hourman and the Python (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Guy Davis and Warren Pleece, collects #2936, 200 pages, March 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1677-3) [10] The Mist and the Phantom of the Fair (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Guy Davis, collects #3744, 200 pages, March 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2139-4) The Blackhawk and the Return of the Scarlet Ghost (by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle, with art by Matthew Smith and Guy Davis, collects #4552, 224 pages, April 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2583-4).

References
1. Jump up ^ Adventure Comics 52: 1/2 (July, 1940), DC Comics 2. Jump up ^ Geoff Johns (w)Justice Society of America v3, 3 (), DC Comics 3. Jump up ^ "Sandman Mystery Theatre: It's No Mystery Why this Book's a MustRead". Wizard (72). August 1997. p. 109. 4. Jump up ^ DC Comics 5. Jump up ^ Vertigo 6. Jump up ^ Vertigo 7. Jump up ^ Vertigo 8. Jump up ^ Vertigo 9. Jump up ^ Vertigo 10. Jump up ^ Amazon.com: Sandman Mystery Theater: the Hourman and the Python Volume 6 (Sandman Mystery Theater (Graphic Novels)): Books: Matt Wagner,Steven T. Seagle,Guy Davis,Warren Pleece

Sandman

Gardner Fox Bert Christman

Creators

Wesley Dodds Garrett Sanford Hector Hall Kieran Marshall

Sandmen

Brute and Glob Dian Belmont Fury

Supporting characters

Jed Walker Sandy Hawkins Tarantula

Phantom of the Fair Geomancer Johnny Sorrow The Mist Ramulus

Enemies

Sandman Mystery Theatre Sandman Midnight Theatre

Publications

Dream Dream Girl Justice Society of America Sand and Stars

Related Articles

Sandman myth

The Sandman (1816) "Ole Lukje" (1841)

Seminal works

The Sandman (1991) Sleepstalker (1995) The Sandman (2000) The Sandman (2011)

Film

"The Japanese Sandman" (1920) "Mr. Sandman" (1954) "Enter Sandman" (1991)

Songs

Sandman (Marvel Comics) Sandman (Wesley Dodds) Sandy Hawkins

Characters

Comics

The Sandman (Vertigo)

o

characters

Series

Sandman Mystery Theatre Sandman Midnight Theatre "The Sandman Saga"

Literature

The Sandman (2008)

Sandmnnchen (1959 German) Nilus the Sandman (1996 Canadian)

Television

Sandman (Dungeons & Dragons) The Sandman (audio drama) Copplia (ballet)

Other

Logan's Run (1967)

o o

Related

film adaptation TV adaptation

Vertigo Comics Ongoing Series

Swamp Thing Hellblazer The Sandman Shade, the Changing Man Doom Patrol Animal Man

Pre-Vertigo

Sandman Mystery Theatre Kid Eternity Black Orchid The Books of Magic The Invisibles Preacher Seekers into the Mystery The Dreaming House of Secrets Transmetropolitan Flinch 100 Bullets

19931999

Deadenders Swamp Thing Vol. 3 Lucifer Outlaw Nation American Century The Crusades Codename: Knockout Hunter: The Age of Magic Fables Y: The Last Man The Losers Human Target Trigger Swamp Thing Vol. 4 Books of Magick: Life During Wartime

20002004

20052009

Loveless DMZ

Testament The Exterminators American Virgin Jack of Fables Deadman Crossing Midnight Scalped Army@Love The Un-Men The Vinyl Underground Northlanders Young Liars House of Mystery Madame Xanadu Air Unknown Soldier The Unwritten Greek Street Sweet Tooth

American Vampire iZOMBIE Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child Fairest Saucer Country Astro City Vol. 3 Collider FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics Hinterkind Coffin Hill

2010present

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