The Sandman

Origin: The Sandman's origin was never related in the Golden Age. Indeed, The Sandman's motivation for fighting crime was never revealed. In the Nineties, in the pages of Sandman Mystery Theatre,  it would be established that Wesley Dodds was haunted by dreams of crimes that would not allow him to rest until their perpetrators were brought to justice, but in the Golden Age one could only assume that Dodds was simply one of those many millionaires who took it upon themselves to fight crime. As it would be nearly fifty years before Neil Gaiman would create his Sandman, Morpheus, the idea that Wesley somehow contained part of the essence of the Lord of Dreams himself was not part of the Golden Age Sandman.

Regardless, it was established with the first Sandman story that Wesley Dodds was independently wealthy. He was also something of a chemist, having developed a gas gun with which to put criminals to sleep (his gas mask then served a dual purpose--it concealed his identity while sparing him the effects of his own gas). He had a hidden laboratory accessible through a wall panel in his bedroom. Even in the Golden Age after besting a criminal The Sandman would leave a bit of poetry behind to show that he had been there. In his quest against crime Dodds was assisted by his equally capable girl friend, Dian Belmont, who knew he was The Sandman.

Powers: The Sandman's primary weapon was his gas gun, with which he can put criminals to sleep. The Sandman was also skilled in hand to hand combat.

History: The Sandman was not only one of National Periodical Publications' first superheroes (only Superman, The Crimson Avenger, and Batman are older), but one of the first superheroes in comic books, period. Perhaps for that reason writer Gardner Fox & artist Bert Christman (working under the pen name Larry Dean) drew heavily upon the pulp magazines of the day for inspiration. The Sandman possessed only his keen detective skills, his gas gun (a rather realistic gadget even by today's standards), and his frightening demeanour (the gas mask, chilling vocalisms, and poetry) with which to battle crime. In this regard he resembles such pulp characters as The Shadow and The Spider. Indeed, the first script for a Sandman story called for the character to be dressed all in black, as befits a pulp hero. Despite this, in his first appearance and thereafter The Sandman appeared in his familiar green suit and purple cloak.

Of course, the roots of The Sandman, The Shadow, and The Spider ultimately go back to Frank L. Packard's Adventures of Jimmie Dale (1914-1915), in which a respectable hero masquerades as the gentleman thief "The Gray Seal" in order to foil the plans of criminals. Dale even maintained a hideout which he called  "Sanctuary," the forerunner of Doc Savage's Fortress of Solitude and The Sandman's hidden laboratory. Throughout the series Dale would adopt other underworld identities in the course of fighting crime and he would even battle villains who had secret identities of their own. Along with The Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro, The Gray Seal is the ancestor of all pulp heroes and superheroes to come.

Initially The Sandman appears to have done rather well. He appeared on the cover of Adventure Comics several times following his debut in that magazine in issue 40, July 1940. He would appear in both All-Star Comics and World's Finest Comics in 1940 and 1941. He was even one of the charter members of  the Justice Society of America. Unfortunately, amid a sea of brightly costumed superheroes, The Sandman was not the most popular of characters. It was then decided  to revamp the character. The Sandman was provided with more conventional superhero gear. He was given a purple and yellow costume, and his gas gun was replaced by a "wirepoon"--a gun which shot out a spike and a length of rope by which he could climb buildings or swing. He was also given an adolescent sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy (in reality Sandy Hawkins). The focus in Sandman's adventures was now plain, old fashioned action. The new, though hardly improved Sandman debuted in Adventure Comics #69, December 1941.

With Adventure Comics #72, March 1942, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took over the series. In the Simon and Kirby run of the Sandman series the focus continued to be on action, although Simon and Kirby employed a dream motif which set it apart from most superhero comic strips of the day. Simon and Kirby's work on the comic strip continued until Adventure Comics #91, April 1944.

Despite the work Simon and Kirby invested on the comic strip, it did very little for The Sandman's over all popularity. With a  war time paper shortage lasting from 1943 well into 1944, the Justice Society of America was forced to cut two members from its line up--one was Dr. Fate, the other was Sandman. His last Golden Age appearance in All-Star Comics was with issue 21, summer 1944. The Sandman would continue to appear in Adventure Comics  until issue 102, February-March 1946. The Sandman comic strip, alongside several others, was then dropped from the magazine to make way for refugees from More Fun Comics (among them Superboy, Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Johnny Quick).

Even though Wesley Dodds spent more time in the yellow and purple costume during the Golden Age than his green suit, since the Silver Age it has been the pulp-style Sandman that has captured the imagination of the comic book industry and perhaps fans as well. When The Sandman was revived in the JLA/JSA crossover in Justice League of America #46, August 1966, he once more wore his gas mask, green suit, and purple cloak of old. Since then every modern appearance of  The Sandman (except for period pieces, such as All-Star Squadron) has portrayed him in his original garb. If anything, the fascination that the original Sandman holds for individuals has apparently increased over the years. He was even given his own Vertigo series, Sandman Mystery Theatre, which debuted with issue 1, April 1993. In 1995 this lead to a crossover, Sandman Midnight Theatre,  written by Neil Gaiman where Wesley Dodds met Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams. Wesley Dodds also appeared in the current Starman series and his mythos continues to play a significant role in the new JSA series.

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 Unless otherwise stated, all text on this site is © 1999 T. L. Canote