Golden Age Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

NOTE: Previous thread title = Happy 75th Anniversary Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Even if DC is ignoring it.


(Adventure Comics #40, July 1939)


(Secret Origins #7, October 1986)







(Sandman Mystery Theatre #1, April 1993)

MajorHoy wrote:(Sandman Mystery Theatre #1, April 1993)

I loved this series when it came out. Another one I'd love to have in a complete run. But, then, I've always liked the GA characters.

A great character who really should still be around, although I quite liked his dramatic death plunge a few years ago. And Sandman Mystery Theatre was one of the best books of the 90s! I must dig it out for a re-read some time...

From JSA Secret Files #1 (1999)








I wonder how many people reading that these days would be asking "What's a fax?"

Frightening to think that technology moves that fast...

tony ingram wrote:Frightening to think that technology moves that fast...

Well, that story did come out nearly 20 years ago at this point . . .

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:Frightening to think that technology moves that fast...

Well, that story did come out nearly 20 years ago at this point . . .

No! No, it did not! It was...uh...sort of a couple of years back. Yeah, that's right. A couple of years back. When I was...30...

tony ingram wrote:

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:Frightening to think that technology moves that fast...

Well, that story did come out nearly 20 years ago at this point . . .

No! No, it did not! It was...uh...sort of a couple of years back. Yeah, that's right. A couple of years back. When I was...30...

Sorry, dude, but that was back in 1999.
(And Geoff Johns' final issue of Justice Society of America came out in 2009.)

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:Frightening to think that technology moves that fast...

Well, that story did come out nearly 20 years ago at this point . . .

No! No, it did not! It was...uh...sort of a couple of years back. Yeah, that's right. A couple of years back. When I was...30...

Sorry, dude, but that was back in 1999.
(And Geoff Johns' final issue of Justice Society of America came out in 2009.)

But...that can't be right. That would mean I'm getting old...

Oh, crap. I'm not 30 anymore, am I?

By the way, next year will be the 80th Anniversary for Wes.
(Wonder if he'll have returned to DC continuity by then?)

MajorHoy wrote:By the way, next year will be the 80th Anniversary for Wes.
(Wonder if he'll have returned to DC continuity by then?)

I think he may already have done so. The WWII versions of Wes and Sandy both cropped up in the recent limited series Bug: the Adventures of Forager (which also seemed to indicate, BTW, that Forager's death in Cosmic Odyssey was still in continuity).

tony ingram wrote:

MajorHoy wrote:By the way, next year will be the 80th Anniversary for Wes.
(Wonder if he'll have returned to DC continuity by then?)

I think he may already have done so. The WWII versions of Wes and Sandy both cropped up in the recent limited series Bug: the Adventures of Forager (which also seemed to indicate, BTW, that Forager's death in Cosmic Odyssey was still in continuity).

The thing about Bug: the Adventures of Forager, as well as books like Gerard Ways' Doom Patrol, is that they're part of the Young Animal line, an imprint of DC Comics, so they may not be. . . exactly in continuity the way that Superman, Batman, Justice League, etc. are. Whether other non-Young Animal comic books include things like what happens in, say, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, may be questionable.
(Unless, of course, you're talking about somebody like Grant Morrison, . . .)  

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

MajorHoy wrote:By the way, next year will be the 80th Anniversary for Wes.
(Wonder if he'll have returned to DC continuity by then?)

I think he may already have done so. The WWII versions of Wes and Sandy both cropped up in the recent limited series Bug: the Adventures of Forager (which also seemed to indicate, BTW, that Forager's death in Cosmic Odyssey was still in continuity).

The thing about Bug: the Adventures of Forager, as well as books like Gerard Ways' Doom Patrol, is that they're part of the Young Animal line, an imprint of DC Comics, so they may not be. . . exactly in continuity the way that Superman, Batman, Justice League, etc. are. Whether other non-Young Animal comic books include things like what happens in, say, Cave Carson Hasa Cybernetic Eye, may be questionable.
(Unless, of course, you're talking about somebody like Grant Morrison, . . .)  

Well, both the God of Superheroes and his nemesis Danny the Brick recently appeared in Doom Patrol and Justice League of America at around the same time, in what seemed to be a kind of sneaky under the radar tie-in...

from Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol. XX (October 1986):

Sandman - in "Golden Age Gallery" from All-Star Squadron #43 (March 1985):

Oh, that is nice! It makes him look quite sinister and otherworldly!

Happy 80th Anniversary Wesley Dodds!

You made a brief appearance in May in Doomsday Clock #10:




And it looks like you might possibly show up in an upcoming Justice League story (at least based on a cover image):

I'vw always had a soft spot for Wesley. Wish they'd bring back Sandman Mystery Theatre.

MajorHoy wrote: . . . And it looks like you might possibly show up in an upcoming Justice League story (at least based on a cover image):

I haven't read the issues where the JSA appeared yet, but from what I've seen online, it appears that Sandman was in his original green-business-suit-and-gas-mask outfit . . .

for a story taking place on December 7th, 1941?

My problem with that is the fact that Sandman had switched over to an early version of the gold-and-purple outfit for his feature in Adventure Comics #69, cover-dated December 1941 (which according to the GCD was on-sale October 29th, 1941).


And in Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron run, it was shown that Wes was wearing the purple-and-gold uniform in December 1941.


But it's not as if the mistake of having Wes in the green business suit during the days after the USA formally entered WWII.  After all, it also happened back in Wonder Woman #231 in 1977.

I had more of an issue with the fact that Hawkgirl was referred to as Shiera Hall in the JLA story, at a time when historically she'd still have been Shiera Sanders.

tony ingram wrote:I had more of an issue with the fact that Hawkgirl was referred to as Shiera Hall in the JLA story, at a time when historically she'd still have been Shiera Sanders.

If by "the JLA story" you're referring to the recent post-Rebirth reintroduction of the Justice Society last year, have they altered that aspect of her history with all the various reincarnations of the Hawks?
(Or is this more likely that somebody doesn't know their Golden Age history very well, like when they confused the names "Rex Tyler" <Hourman> and "Rex Mason" <Metamorpho> back in the New52's Earth 2 series?)

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:I had more of an issue with the fact that Hawkgirl was referred to as Shiera Hall in the JLA story, at a time when historically she'd still have been Shiera Sanders.

If by "the JLA story" you're referring to the recent post-Rebirth reintroduction of the Justice Society last year, have they altered that aspect of her history with all the various reincarnations of the Hawks?
(Or is this more likely that somebody doesn't know their Golden Age history very well, like when they confused the names "Rex Tyler" <Hourman> and "Rex Mason" <Metamorpho> back in the New52's Earth 2 series?)

The latter, I suspect.

The story of why Sandman changed from his green business suit and gas mask to the gold-and-purple outfit was told by Roy Thomas in All-Star Squadron #18 (February 1983) during "The Secret Origin of Tarantula":









And Sandman's line about "Maybe some day, when I'm over you, just a little ... I'll wear that outfit you were killed wearing.
But just right now, it'd hurt too much" reminded me a bit about what Wes said back in the early 1970s about why he had gone back to wearing the green business suit and gas mask for his JLA/JSA crossover appearances.

Of course, Dian's death was undone post-Crisis, so God knows how much of this stayed in continuity...

MajorHoy wrote:
(Adventure Comics #40, July 1939)

Might as well post a few pages of that first Sandman story.
Originally in Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939), but these are from when it was reprinted in Justice League of America #94 (November 1971).




And, yes, the Tarantula was also in the first story arc for Sandman Mystery Theatre.

MajorHoy wrote: . . . Might as well post a few pages of that first Sandman story.
Originally in Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939), but these are from when it was reprinted in Justice League of America #94 (November 1971).

And here are pages 4 through 6 of that story: