Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.dc.universe
From: [l s mith] at [hecto] (Lance "Squiddie" Smith)
Subject: VERT: SANDMAN: FAQ PART 2: CREATORS
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 1995 23:17:40 GMT
The Nearly Compleat List of Sandman Frequently Asked Questions 2.07
(Now in four action packed parts, plus a rather dull table of contents)
Compiled and pushed around by Lance Smith ([l s mith] at [cs.umn.edu])
with a lot of help from the kind folx in rec.art.comics.misc
(Or is it rec.arts.comics.dc.universe now?)
[Originally posted to rec.arts.comics.misc on April 13, 1993.
Last revised June 1, 1995. Feel free to make copies and distribute this,
but try to leave it intact, OK? Please contact me if you plan to use any
or all of this information in a printed work.]
Disclaimer: The Sandman and its characters are owned by DC Comics. We are not
about to do anything to upset them. (They'd squash us like a peanut!)
Send questions, comments and condolences to: [l s mith] at [mail.cs.umn.edu]
Special hello to all the people who are reading this in Gopher holes, with
the help of faithful Fido, and on the Widespread WorldWideWeb. Wubba Wubba
Wubba.
Still NOT mentioned by the folx at Wired. Dang.
Probably some SPOILERS in here. So let's all be careful out there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.1] Question: What issues are included in the collections?
_Preludes and Nocturnes_ includes issues 1-8
_The Doll's House_ includes issues 8-16
_Dream Country_ includes issues 17-20
_Season of Mists_ includes issues 21-28
_A Game of You_ includes issues 32-37
_Fables and Reflections_ includes 29-31, 38-40, 50, Sandman Special,
and a new "Fear of Falling," expanded from the Vertigo Preview
_Brief Lives_ includes issues 41-49
_Worlds' End_ includes issues 51-56
_The Kindly Ones_ will include issues 57-69 and is scheduled for release
in the third quarter of 1995.
_Death: The High Cost of Living_ includes the Death mini-series and
"Death Talks About Life"
Notes
1. "The Sound of Her Wings" (Sandman #8) appears in both _Preludes and
Nocturnes_ and _The Doll's House_
2. _Preludes and Nocturnes_ was published in the US with two different covers.
The more common edition was the DC TPB, but it was also released as a
Warner book. The contents inside are the same, only the covers (the Warner
version used the cover art from Sandman #1) and price (the Warner cost
four cents more) are different.
3. _Dream Country_ also contains the script for Sandman #17
4. A second edition of _The Doll's House_ with the errors of the original
collection corrected has been mentioned. (See below.)
5. DC has announced that they will publish hardcover versions of the first
three Sandman collections. The hardcover version of _Preludes and
Nocturnes_ is scheduled to ship August 29th and will cost $29.95.
The hardcover edition will feature new dust cover art by Dave McKean and
a new introduction by Karen Berger. Hardcoverver versions of _The Doll's
House_ and _Dream Country_ will follow "in upcoming months." As with pre-
vious hardcovers, these will have one print run and will be offered only
once. Also the new edition of _The Doll's House_ will have "major
production corrections." No mention if further versions of the TPB will
contain these corrections.
6. A British collection of Sandman #8-16 was published by Titan in 1990 under
the title of _The Sandman_.
7. Various foreign language editions of the collections exist.
[2.2] Question: Are any changes made when the single issues are put in the
collections?
In the collections, a few changes have been made from the original single
issues. Many of the changes have to do with cleaning up the coloring or
touching up the artwork/lettering. A side effect of the collections is
that some two-page spreads are lost due to the changes in the number of
pages. (The removal of the ad pages may change whether art is on an odd or
even page.)
A partial list of changes would include:
- adding the word balloon for the conversation between John Constantine and
London in Sandman #3. They were lost in the original printing
- New art for pages 9-10 of Sandman #4, due to the change in page
layout from two-page spread to back-to-back pages.
- Removing a green tint from page 11 of Sandman #14
- Moving the word boxes on page 27 of Sandman #14 so the flow of the
speech is more obvious.
- Removing a red tint from page 27 of Sandman #14
- Adjusting the panels of pages 9-10 from Sandman #15. Again because of
a change from a two-page spread. One panel is lost in the change
- Correcting the lettering in Delirium's word balloon on page 16 of
Sandman #21. (Initially, they were in Dream's lettering style.)
- Making the wounds on Lucifer's back more prominent at the end of
Sandman #28.
- The "1" on page 4 of Sandman #32 is now colored red instead of instead of
its original gray.
- The word "Bizarro" that had accidentally appeared in Sandman #32,
has been changed back to "Weirdzo". (DC had nixed the use of the word
"Bizarro" and "Weirdzo" was used instead. When #32 was printed, one of
the "Weirdzo"s had fallen off revealing the "Bizarro" underneath.)
- For some reason, changing "Sindie" to "Sindy". (Sandman #32, page 17.)
- Including additional dialogue between Sexton and the the cab driver in
the last panel of page 7, Death #2.
(There are more corrections. This only includes the obvious changes
through _A Game of You_. Still more are in _Fables and Reflections_,
_Brief Lives_ and _Worlds' End_.)
[2.3] Question: What was the coloring problem with the _Brief Lives_ issues?
There were several errors with the coloring in various issues of the
_Brief Lives_ story. The most significant were with the coloring of Delirium's
eyes. Often her eyes were colored the same color when they were supposed to
be different and in once instance they were different colors when they
were supposed to be the same color.
Delirium's left eye should be blue and her right eye should be green (Using
her left and her right.) They should remain this way except for Sandman #47
pages 11-12 and Sandman #48 page 5. When her eyes are the same color, they
should both be green as they are in Sandman #48 page 5. All other instances
where her eyes appear to be the same color are incorrectly colored, a mistake
made in the color separation process. (Dan Vozzo wasn't at fault.)
The obvious eye coloring errors are Sandman #41 (page 7, panel 3), Sandman
#45 (page 4 panel 1), Sandman #46 (pages 23 and 24 throughout), Sandman #47
(pages 11 and 12 throughout), and Sandman #49 (page 8, panel 1).
An additional color mistake has Dream's clasp colored red instead of silver
in Sandman #47 on pages 15-18.
In a few issues, most notably in Sandman #44, Delirium's word balloons lose
their regular multi-hued coloring.
In some interviews, Gaiman has indicated that there had been discussion of
recoloring the entire run for the "Brief Lives" collections. In both hc and
tpb collections, some of the coloring mistakes (like Del's word balloons)
are fixed, but others (like her changing eye color) remain the uncorrected.
Why certain corrections were made and other (often more significant) errors
were left uncorrected seems to be a strange decision made somewhere deep
within the DC management power structure.
[2.4] Question: Are there "alternative" issues of Sandman?
Seven issues have different printings. Five alternatives were originally
caused by printing errors.
Sandman #8 was supposed to be a promotional issue to attract attention
to the book. The issue included a description of what had happened in
the first seven issues and favorable comments from noteworthy people.
It was also supposed to have a note from editor Karen Berger on the inside
of the front cover and a Mike Dringenberg portrait of Dream and Death on
the inside of the back cover. A printing error caused the normal DC promos
to appear on the inside covers.
A limited number (about 1000) of The Sandman #8 were printed with the special
material instead of the DC promotional stuff. (The more common version
has no copyright indicia and the printers had to print the planned version
with the indicia so the copyright copies could be filed.)
(The Dringenberg illustration was eventually published in Sandman #11 and
used as the design for the second Sandman T-shirt and the Death watch. The
letter from Karen Berger wasn't reprinted.)
Certain copies of Sandman #18 have a printing error. These copies can be
identified by checking the first three panels of page 1. In the variant
these panels will appear predominantly blue. In the regular edition the
main color of these panels is yellow. The yellow and blue coloring is
reversed throughout the issue.
In Sandman #19, pages 18 and 19 are printed out of order in some books.
A special Platinum edition of Death: The High Cost of Living #1 was released
as a retailer incentive. Copies were allocated based on orders of Vertigo
titles for the first month of the imprint. The cover and inside cover art
are different than art of the original printing of Death #1.
Due to a printing error for Death: The High Cost of Living #3, a second
printing that corrects an error (page 19-20 should be a two-page spread
instead of printed back-to-back) has been released. This second edition
can be recognized by the lack of a price on the cover. The second printing
also includes the indicia (page 1) that was missing on the original printing.
A special edition of Sandman #50 was produced by DC. A "platinum" edition
with an alternative cover (black with stars and a varnished 50) was sent
to retailers by DC and was previously available to those who attended a
Diamond sales meeting and the Chicago comic convention.
A few misprinted copies of _Fables and Reflections_ have managed to
escape pulping. The easiest way to identify these variant editions is
to check the third line of page 1. If the last word is "am", instead of
"an", it is one of the variants.
[2.5] Question: Does the The Sandman series end? What is left?
The Sandman has always been a limited story with a definite end. At one point
the end of the series was set at issue #40. At the moment the series isn't
expected to go past #75. Unlike previous end dates, this one looks definite.
The remaining issues will be coming out every six weeks until the end of the
series.
_The Kindly Ones_ a long story arc, ran for thirteen issues (#57-69)
and has just finished up.
_The Wake_, a novella or shorter story arc. 3 issues (#70-72) Michael Zulli
is the artist on the series. Recent literature from DC indicate that
Zulli's pencil art will be uninked for this story.
A few more short stories, concluding with "The Tempest" as the finial.
Charles Vess will be returning to Sandman to illustrate the second
Shakespearean story. Unless something strange happens everything winds up
with Sandman #75. This would mean two more issues #73 and #74. Jon J. Muth
is rumored to be doing at least one of these.
[2.6] Question: What happens with the characters after the series is over?
Endless miniseries! Or at least several of them. The three that have been
specifically mentioned as possible are a Delirium series (with Jill Thompson
returning to do the art), the story of what Dream was up to just before
Sandman #1 and another Death mini featuring Hazel and Foxglove. According
to Gaiman, there are several untold Sandman stories that can be best
done outside of the framework of the present monthly series. The first Death
miniseries (The High Cost of Living) is an example of the type of limited
series and one shots that are possible. Chris Bachalo has expressed a desire
to do the second Death miniseries and such a project is planned for sometime
in the future, possibly being released as the regular series winds down. The
working title is "The Time of Your Life." (Despite a published rumor,
the series will not concern itself with Death's reaction to Dream's
demise and/or introduce a "new" Dream.)
Despite some rumors, no monthly Gaiman-written Sandman series is likely
after the current series ends. DC has agreed not to continue the series
with a different writer. In other words, there are no plans for Sandman
Volume 2.
Dave McKean has a long standing desire to do a series of stories on myths
and legends, with Dream serving as the focus. (It should be noted that
McKean is quite busy. This one is unlikely to happen any time soon.)
Vertigo is also planning on doing The Dreaming, a series that would use
characters who first appeared in other books before getting their current
jobs in The Sandman. Cain, Abel, Lucien, Matthew, Eve, the Three Witches
and others would serve as a basis for an anthology series with a rotating
creative staff. Alisa Kwitney is currently projected as the editor for
the series. Currently, this project is scheduled for the first quarter
of 1996.
Rowland and Paine, the two dead boys from Sandman #25, were at the edge
of a series of Vertigo cross-overs called The Children's Crusade. (Gaiman
wrote the first bookend of the series and co-wrote the second bookend.)
It is possible we might be seeing these two again in future Vertigo
projects.
In a related note, a Tim Hunter continuing series, Books of Magic, began
in March 1994. Much of the series has dealt with the realm of Faerie as it
was originally seen in the Books of Magic mini-series. Death made a brief
appearance at the end of Books of Magic #3 and a much longer appearance
in Books of Magic #4. Given Hunter's visit to the Dreaming in the mini-
series, it's possible that more Sandman characters will appear throughout
the run of the series.
DC is also planning a Sandman-Sandman Mystery Theatre Special where the
"Golden Age Sandman journeys to the very place where the Lord of Dreams is
held captive." Matt Wagner and Neil Gaiman co-write, with Teddy Kristiansen
providing the art. Presently titled "Sandman Midnight Theatre" it is listed
as 64-page one shot due out in July.
In August there will be a Vertigo Gallery that will contain some new art
of Sandman characters. Not sure who or what will be featured. Charles Vess
is also listed as contributing artwork from _Stardust_, the upcoming
project he is doing with Gaiman.
The March 1994 issue of Locus reported that Gaiman will edit an anthology of
original Sandman stories for HarperCollins.
[2.7] Question: Who has worked on The Sandman and what have they done?
List of Contributors
Arthur Adams Portrait: Death Gallery
Christian Alamy Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless)
Laura Allred Color Separations: Endless Gallery
Michael Allred Illustrator: 54
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless)
Gary Amaro Penciller: 56
Tori Amos Introduction: _Death: The High Cost of Living_
Android Images Color Separations: 58-67, 69, Dream Gallery
Thom Ang Portrait: Endless Gallery (Desire)
Sergio Aragones Portrait: Special (Cain and Abel)
Lisa Aufenanger Assistant Editor: 41-46, Death 1
Lettercol: 42-45
Chris Bachalo Penciller: 12, Death 1-3
Portrait: Death Gallery
Clive Barker Introduction _The Doll's House_
Portrait: Death Gallery
Karen Berger Editor: 1-69, Special, Vertigo Preview, Death 1-3,
Vertigo Jam
Lettercol: 47, [Special]
Rick Berry Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Desire)
Simon Bisley Portrait: Special (Delirium)
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Brian Bolland Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Mark Buckingham Inker: 51-56, Special, Death 1-3
Portrait: Death Gallery
Robbie Busch Colourist: 1-18
Eddie Campbell Portrait: Dream Gallery
Tom Canty Portrait: Special (Destiny)
Greg Capullo Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death)
KC Carlson Editor, Collected Editions (Doll's House)
Richard Case Inker: 65-68
Penciller: 68
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Delirium)
Paul Chadwick Portrait: Death Gallery
Howard Chaykin Portrait: Endless Gallery (Desire)
Mark Chiarello Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death and Dream)
John Constanza Letterer: 11-12
Geof Darrow Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Al Davison Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless)
Samuel R. Delany Introduction: _A Game of You_
D'Israeli Inker: 58-62
Glyn Dillon Illustrator: 62
Colleen Doran Penciller: 20, 34
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Mike Dringenberg Inker: 1-4
Penciller: 6-11,14-16, 21, 28
Portrait: 11 (Dream and Death)
Pat Duke Colorist: Dream Gallery
Duncan Eagleson Penciller: 38
Harlan Ellison Introduction _Season of Mists_
Steve Erickson Introduction _Dream Country_
Glenn Fabry Cover: Vertigo Jam
Duncan Fegredo Portrait: Special (Despair)
Shary Flenniken Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless)
Neil Gaiman Writer: 1-69, Special, Vertigo Preview, Death 1-3,
Vertigo Jam, Death Gallery, Dream Gallery,
Endless Gallery
Lettercol: 5, [10], 18, 28, [31], 41, 48
Unscripted Walk-On: Death 3
Portrait: Death Gallery
Dave Gibbons Portrait: Death Gallery
Michael T. Gilbert Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless)
Dick Giordano Inker: 27, 29, 34, 47, 53, 56
Rebecca Guay Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death and Dream)
Craig Hamilton Portrait: 50 (Dream and Bast)
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Tony Harris Portrait: 50 (Dream and Bast)
Inker: 56
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Marc Hempel Illustrator: 57, 63, 69
Penciller: 58-61, 65-8
Inker: 61, 65
Portrait: Death Gallery
Jamie Hewlett Portrait: Dream Gallery
Michael Charles Hill Editor, Collected Editions (Preludes, Dream Country)
Adam Hughes Portrait: Death Gallery
Kelley Jones Penciller: 17-18, 22-24, 26-27
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Malcom Jones III Inker: 5-12, 14-18, 20-23, 25
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Bob Kahan Editor, Collected Editions (Season, Game, Fables,
Lives, Worlds' End and Death)
Michael Kaluta Portrait: 50 (Dream)
Portrait: Death Gallery
Stephen King Introduction _Worlds' End_
Sam Kieth Penciller: 1-5
Lovern Kindzierski Colourist: 50 (Digital Chameleon), Death Gallery,
Endless Gallery
Color Separations: Dream Gallery, Endless Gallery
Todd Klein Letterer: 1-10, 13-69, Special, Vertigo Preview
Death 1-3
Bill Koeb Portrait: Dream Gallery
Teddy Kristiansen Artist: 64
Peter Kuper Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death)
Alisa Kwitney Assistant Editor: 26-40, Special Death 2
Lettercol: 29-40, 51-56, 58-64, 67-69, Special
Paul Lee Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death and Destiny)
Steve Leialoha Inker: 56
Vince Locke Inker: 38, 40-49, 55
Portrait: Death Gallery
Scott McCloud Portrait: 50 (Dream and Death)
Todd McFarlane Portrait: 50 (Dream)
Dave McKean Cover Artist: 1-69, Special, Death 1-3,
Death Gallery, Dream Gallery,
Endless Gallery
Lettercol: [21]
Portrait: Special (Death)
Portrait: 50 (Dream)
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Ted McKeever Portrait: Endless Gallery (Desire and Despair)
Shawn McManus Illustrator: 31-33, 35-37
Linda Medley Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Endless, Destiny)
Mike Mignola Portrait: Dream Gallery
Moebius Portrait: Dream Gallery
Terry Moore Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Delirium)
Jon J. Muth Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Kevin Nowlan Illustrator: Vertigo Jam
Letterer: Vertigo Jam
Portrait: Death Gallery
Shane Oakley Portrait: Dream Gallery
Steve Oliff Colourist: 19-22, Death 1-3
Dean Ormston Penciller: 62
Steve Parkhouse Inker: 13
Brian Pearce Publication Design: Endless Gallery
Shea Anton Pensa Penciller: 55
Brandon Peterson Portrait: Death Gallery
Tom Peyer Assistant Editor: 18-25
Lettercol: 19-24, 26
Historian: _Death: The High Cost of Living_
Joe Phillips Portrait: Death Gallery
George Pratt Inker: 26, 28, 34
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Destiny)
Joe Quesada Portrait: Death Gallery
Shelly Roeberg Assistant Editor: 48-69, Death 3, Vertigo Jam
Lettercol: 49
Alex Ross Portrait: Dream Gallery
P. Craig Russell Illustrator: 50
Inker: 24
Portrait: Special (Desire)
Portrait: Death Gallery
Jill Karla Schwarz Portrait: 50 (Dream)
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Despair)
Alison Seiffer Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Death, Delirium, Despair
and Dream)
William Shakespeare Additional Material: 19
Bill Sienkiewicz Portrait: Endless Gallery (Destiny and Desire)
Jeff Smith Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Greg Spalenka Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Desire)
Alec Stevens Illustrator: 51
Barron Storey Portrait: Dream Gallery
Peter Straub Afterwords _Brief Lives_
Tom Taggart Portrait: Dream Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Delirium and Dream)
Bryan Talbot Penciller: 30, 36, 51-56, Special
Inker: 56
Portrait: Death Gallery
Bonnie To Portrait: Endless Gallery (Despair)
John Totleben Portrait: Death 3 (Death)
Portrait: 50 (Dream)
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Destiny)
Jill Thompson Penciller: 40-49
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (The Lil' Endless)
Sherilyn van Valkenburgh Colourist: Vertigo Preview
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Delirium)
Charles Vess Illustrator: 19, 62
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Daniel Vozzo Colourist: 23-49, 51-69, Special, Vertigo Jam
Death Gallery, Dream Gallery,
Endless Gallery
Color Separations: Endless Gallery
Matt Wagner Penciller: 25
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Reed Waller Portrait: Death Gallery
John Watkiss Illustrator: 39, 52
Kent Williams Portrait: Special (Matthew and Eve)
Illustrator: Vertigo Preview
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Endless Gallery (Despair)
F. Paul Wilson Introduction _Preludes and Nocturnes_
Gahan Wilson Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Gavin Wilson Portrait: Endless Gallery (Delirium and Despair)
Barry Windsor-Smith Portrait: Special (Dream)
Stan Woch Penciller: 29
Inker: 30,36
Gene Wolfe Introduction _Fables and Reflections_
Teri S. Wood Portrait: Dream Gallery
Art Young Associate Editor: 1-17
Lettercol: 6-7, 9-17
Michael Zulli Penciller: 13, 53
Portrait: 50 (Dream, Death and Hob Gadling)
Portrait: Death Gallery
Portrait: Dream Gallery
Note: Brackets around a Lettercol entry mean the person given credit has
written a note in the letter column, but didn't answer letters from readers.
Also, Dave McKean is responsible for the covers and book designs of the
collections, with the exception of _The Doll's House_ TPB where Veronica
Carlin receives credit for publication design.
[2.8] Question: What are the Annotated Sandman and where can I get them?
Elmo responds:
"The Annotated Sandman is an attempt to, basically, annotate Sandman.
That's probably not very enlightening. What we're trying to do is
explicate all the references and allusions in Sandman, and it's something
of a daunting task since Neil Gaiman has a voracious appetite for the most
absurdly esoteric reading material. It's not at all unusual for Gaiman to
counterpoint James Branch Cabell with Jewish folklore while an Iggy Pop song
plays in the background. The Annotated Sandman exists because, hey, it's
just nice to know what the hell the comic book is talking about.
"Greg Morrow ([m--rr--w] at [physics.rice.edu]), aka "Elmo", is the chief
writer, editor, ringmaster, and head bottle imp of the AS. Generally
speaking, he writes a first draft of an annotation, presents it to the
net, and lets responses flood in. He cleverly edits all the responses
into his text and rereleases the Annotation, as well as storing it in the
archive (generously provided by David Wald). At this time, Annotations
for Sandman #1-50, Special and the Vertigo Preview are in the archive.
"Comments and additions to the AS are welcome, and can be sent to
Greg at the address above. (It's *very* helpful if you clearly note
the number of the issue you are talking about.)
"It's worth noting that the AS has evolved in the 15 months it has
existed; recent annotations delve more deeply into thematic analysis and
other literary concerns, while the earliest annotations are almost comically
concerned solely with noting where characters first appeared. The
annotations have grown in sophistication, and a major upgrade of the AS from
the earliest issues on has been promised, but has yet to be delivered.
"The AS currently exists only in electronic form; Greg intends to
try to arrange for professional publication this year."
The Annotated Sandman is available via anonymous ftp at
theory.lcs.mit.edu in the directly pub/wald/sandman. The naming convention is
sandman.##, where ## is the issue number in two digit format (01, 02,
...22, ....) Currently, annotations covering issues 1-50, Vertigo Preview
and the Special are stored in the archive. The Special has the name
sandman-special.01 and the annotations for "Fear of Flying" are in
sandman-preview. The file Index in the same directory contains a list of all
available files.
David Goldfarb's annotations for The Books of Magic are archived in the
directory pub/wald/books-of-magic, with an accompanying Index file.
For those not proficient with ftp, the files may be retrieved via
e-mail. Send the line:
send wald sandman/sandman.##
where ## is the same naming convention as above, to:
[archive server] at [theory.lcs.mit.edu]
The file will be mailed to you in ASCII format.
David Goldfarb has taken over the annotations. Initial drafts are usually
posted to rec.arts.comics.info. Currently, the ftp site has annotations or
rough drafts for annotations through Sandman #66.
[2.9] Question: Is there a Sandman/Neil Gaiman fan club?
While not quite a fan club, the Magian Line is being set up to keep track
of what's happening with Sandman and Neil Gaiman. It has the benefit of
having Neil's stamp of approval. Seven issues have been published so far.
Each has contained an interview with Gaiman and original artwork by such
artists as Jill Thompson, Mike Dringenberg, Matt Wagner, Mark Buckingham,
Bryan Talbot and other noted Sandartists.
For info contact Sadie McFarlane at:
Magian Line
PO Box 170712
San Francisco, CA 94117.
Sadie also has a WWWeb page where you can read previous issues of the Line.
Check it out at:
http://sadieo.ucsf.edu/Magian/magian.html
[2.10] Question: Other than the comics and the collections, what Sandproducts
have been released so far? How can I get them?
T-Shirt* (Black with Kelley Jones portrait of Dream.)
T-Shirt (White with M. Dringenberg picture of Dream and Death from issue #11)
T-Shirt (Black with Chris Bachalo art of Death)
T-Shirt* (Black with Jill Thompson art of Dream, Death and Delirium)
T-Shirt (Black with new Chris Bachalo portrait of Death)
T-Shirt* (Blue with P. Craig Russell art of Dream.)
T-Shirt* (Black with Hempel art of Dream.)
T-Shirt (Black with P. Craig Russell art of Dream's face)
T-Shirt* (Black with Chris Bachalo art of Death's head and shoulders)
T-Shirt (Dave McKean art of Dream with logo on back. Scheduled for May 1995)
T-Shirt (Teddy Kristiansen art of Dream and Wesley Dodds. July 1995)
Poster (Dream and Death by Kelley Jones/Steve Oliff)
Poster (Endless: Family Snap Shot or Still Life with Cats by Mike Dringenberg)
Poster (Death by Chris Bachalo)
Poster (Brief Lives poster by Jill Thompson and Vincent Locke)
Poster (Death II by Chris Bachalo. Art from page 2-3 of A Death Gallery.)
Poster (Dream by Vince Locke. Not published by DC.)
Poster (The Wake by Michael Zulli. July 1995)
Dream Statue (Cold-cast porcelain figure by Bowen Designs)
Dream Statue II (Cold-cast porcelain figure. Based on a Russell design.)
Death Statue (Cold-cast porcelain figure by Bowen Designs)
The Sandman Watch (Death from #11)
Death Watch II (Art from the second Bachalo T-shirt, limited to 5000)
Death Temporary Tattoos ($1.95 Art by Chris Bachalo)
The World of Sandman Slipcover (sold with the _Preludes and Noctures_ and
_Dream Country_ TPBs or separately.)
Sandman Postcard (Art by Russell, promotional with Advance Comics #60. Reverse
includes a partial list of Sandman collections.)
Sandman Trading Cards (90-card set, with 7 Endless chase cards, and one 3-D
hologram card. From Skybox. The cards are oversized,
2.5" X 4.5", with 50 cover art cards and 39 cards
featuring new artwork. One preview card was available
at San Diego and also was included with Advance Comics
#60. A set of 9 was included in packs of 3 with Cards
Illustrated #1. A checklist of cards was also included
in the issue. Promotional versions of the Endless
chase cards exist with silver foil instead of the
normal gold/bronze foil. A promo sheet featuring
several of the cards was also released.Uncut sheets
of the chase cards were also given out as gifts.)
Sandman Trading Card Album (Sold separately from the trading cards, the
album is a three ring binder with pages to hold
a complete trading card set. The cover is a variation
on the art from Sandman #1. The binder included a
larger version of the preview card with a new back.)
Vertigo Trading Cards A set of Vertigo trading cards is scheduled for
December. The set inlcuded cards of all the Endless
and cover art from the series. One chase card was Dream
(art by Teddy Kristiansen) with "Fifty Words That
Describe Dream" by Gaiman on the back of the card.
The special chase item is a hologram disk of Death.
Vertigo Tarot Deck Several of the Sandman characters appear on these
Tarot cards. The accompanying book by Rachel Pollack,
includes an introduction by Gaiman.
Sandman Baseball Cap This is probably an "unauthorized" product, but they
do exist. Black hat with an embroidered Sandman logo.
Made in Hong Kong.
San Diego Comic Con '95 T-shirt will feature a Chris Bachalo picture of
Dream and Death
With the exception of the new stuff and shirts from Graphitti,(*) these items
are no longer being produced. The only way to get them is to find a shop
that still has them in stock or a collector who is willing to sell them. In
most cases this may be all but impossible. Some items, such as the original
Dream statue, sell for much more than their original price. Recent releases,
such as the second Dream statue and recent T-shirts put out by DC may
still be available depending on the local demand for the product.
At the current time, DC has a policy of only doing one run/printing of
comic-related merchandise. (The same goes for the hardcover Sandman
collections which are only printed once.) If you would like to see these
items kept available for a longer period, you may wish to write to DC
and politely request that they change their policy. The person/address
to write to is:
Bruce Bristow
DC Comics
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
DC has also put out some Sandman promotional posters and displays. These
include a poster for Sandman Month, a poster of Death and Dream for the
start of the Kindly Ones and Death Month, a cardboard stand-up of Death
for Death month, posters of the Death and Dream II statues, and an early row
marker with comments about the series. A poster including some of the Sandman
cards was also released by SkyBox.
[2.11] Question: What about a Sandman movie?
A Sandman movie and its cast have often been popular topics for discussion.
At one point, some comic news sources included The Sandman as one of the
comic book properties whose movie rights had been sold. However, the deal
fell through. The most recent report is that The Sandman movie is under
development at Warner Bros. The most recent reports have at least one
draft of the script completed and Jon Peters acting as the executive
producer. Ook.
Gaiman also claims he is unlikely to deal with Hollywood again unless he
goes mad. (This is the result of a rough experience with a _Good Omens_ film
project.) Any Sandman movie would be without his assistance unless a director
whose work he particularly admires is given the project. (Even then it would
be very unlikely. Currently he has no connections to the Peters' production.)
You may, however, have seen the Endless on TV. The Endless Family poster
(aka Still Life with Cats) by Mike Dringenberg has shown up in the
background on the series "Roseanne." The first Chris Bachalo poster of
Death also appeared and the Jon Muth portrait of Dream from the Dream
Gallery appears on the fridge in recent episodes.
Who should ideally play the Endless? In an article in the New York Times,
Gaiman suggested the following:
Destiny Sean Connery
Death Winona Ryder, "in about 1986"
Dream A young American actor who "sounds more like John Hurt."
Destruction Brian Blessed, "10 years ago"
Desire Annie Lennox at the "Sweet Dreams" phase of the Eurythmics
Despair "Someone in an awful lot of plastic."
Delirium Tori Amos, if she could do "the nasty side of the character."
[2.12] Question: What is the connection between "A Game of You" and Jonathan
Carroll's _Bones of the Moon_?
Several readers have pointed out certain similarities between AGOY and
Carroll's book and wondered if there is a connection. In a segment of
Prisoners of Gravity, Gaiman said that the basic idea of AGOY dates
back before the first depiction of Barbie's dreams in The Doll's House.
The Doll's House was originally going to be a story closely resembling
AGOY. However, when he read _Bones of the Moon_, Gaiman thought his
story shared too many elements with the one he was reading and scrapped
the story he was working on. The only fragment that remains in The Doll's
House is Martin Tenbones in Barbie's dream as a nod to Carroll.
In the afterword to the collected AGOY, Gaiman writes, "I couldn't
and wouldn't have done it without Jonathan Carroll, who talked me into
telling a story I had thought best left alone; and who taught me that
one of the purposes of a writer is to write it new". So while there
may be some intentional "tips of the hat", the relationship between
the stories is just that of two creators coming up with comparable ideas
in parallel.
[End of Part 2]
=============================
Lance "Cr2O3.2H2O" Smith | "They had lied to us and we had suffered because
([l s mith] at [cs.umn.edu]) | of their deceit. Vengeance was ours to pursue.
Well. Whatever. | Our wrath was great. We swore that the one with
Never mind. | the monocle would pay." _Shells and Sorcery_