I was always fascinated with the Justice society when I was a kid and could only read about them in reprints or JLA crossovers. The character that most intrigued me was the Earth-Two Sandman. He had the coolest look - business suit, cape and gas mask! Sheer awesomeness, I felt like if there were such a thing as real superheroes, they might dress like Wesley Dodds. I was not a fan of the the Kirby redesign, which made him look far more generic.
In my later years, I became a fan of the character all over again with the Vertigo Sandman Mystery Theater series. This is an excellent gritty series and features some of the best character work around with Dodds and his flame, Diane Belmont. I highly recommend it.
I'm with you with the love of the original look of the Golden Age Sandman. It's one of the best designs for a superhero to ever see print.
ReplyDeleteI, too, loved those JLA/JSA x-overs, hoping that he would be featured, as well as the reprinted stories that would appear in the "80 Page Giant" issues. I also followed the 1990s revival, and I was disappointed to see it go away.
That said, I've yet to read a story that completely lives up to my love of the character and his look. Maybe I should have gone into comic book writing for real instead of just dabbling. :)
This request is a little off topic, but I think if would be fun if you could do a cover of House of Mystery featuring Mister E and Ms. Tree.
ReplyDeleteHoy Murphy
If Batman were to have a "stable", or ensemble of regular team-up partenrs, I would put Wesley Dodds and Lee Travis (Crimson Avenger) there as regular team-ups. Maybe create a rotating roster between the three for the title. Batman the main feature character, with either a back-up or fill-in issue with the other two. That way you've got your JSA, JLA and Seven Soldiers covered...
ReplyDelete...but, that's just me...
I loved the GA Sandman the same way (first saw him in the JLA/JSA crossovers), and he quickly became my favourite Golden Age hero. The Mystery Theatre series was consistently excellent, and although I would have liked to have seen it run longer, 70 issues + Annual + spinoffs/guest appearances was a damned good run!
ReplyDelete"No one knows what it's like, to be the Batman. To be the Sandman. Behind blue eyes."
ReplyDeleteGA Sandman is the closest character to Batman. Maintaining his original getup, with a tweak here and a tweak there, he would be awesome.
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