Saturday, June 30, 2012

Hassan The Sweet Maker

When The King Of Dreams and Haroun al Raschid walk through the market place of Baghdad Hassan the Sweet Maker approaches them and offers them sweets that taste better than any sweets in the city, candy made from spices and honeys and fine wines.

Hassan appears in “Ramadan,” which is Sandman # 50, on page 25 in panels 1 and 2.

Friday, June 29, 2012

The Duke's Servant

When Vassily finds the locket with a picture of a beautiful girl in it he vows to meet her. He travels for many days and has many adventures until he eventually arrives at the Duke’s Winter Palace (with the help of Baba Yaga).

The Duke’s Servant greets Vassily and leads him through the palace and into the dungeon.

The Duke’s Servant appears in Sandman # 38, “The Hunt,” on page 17 and 18.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Gaius Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus was a soldier for Rome and held several appointed offices, but he is probably best known as one of the conspirators in the assassination plot to kill Julius Caesar.

Aside from appearing in Sandman # 30 , entitled “August,” on page 13 panel 5, Gaius Cassius Longinus also appears in at least two other prominent literary works, William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” and Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno”.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Sigyn

In Norse mythology Sigyn is a goddess and the wife of Loki.

We first see Sigyn in Season Of Mists chapter three (or chapter four if you include the prologue) and she lives in the Cavern Beneath The World and she spends her life holding a bowl to catch the venom from The Snake, preventing it from falling into the face of an imprisoned Loki. Once the bowl is filled, Sigyn must empty it into the pit and during those moments when the venom drips into Loki’s face, he writhes in pain and “when he writhes, the earth quakes.” (Sandman # 24, page 3, panel 2)

When Loki is taken away from the cavern, she no longer has a job and so she simply waits for her husband to return….and he always does.

In The Kindly Ones, Loki is recaptured and returned to the Cavern Beneath The World after kidnapping Daniel, the son of Lyta Hall, Odin tells Sigyn that she no longer needs to stay with Loki, that she is free to go and that Loki deserves the pain of the venom dripping into his face and burning his eyes, but she chooses to remain with her husband despite the curses. “He dissects her with his words, whips her with obscenities and bruises her with curses. She begins to cry, softly, deep in her throat; then tears well up, which she had imagined far beyond tears. The salt-warm drops fall on her husband’s face, and he winces at each drop… Each word is like a slap, a blow, a kick, a burn. And she takes it. ‘I am pleased you came back, my love,’ whispers his wife. …and he begins to laugh inanely, high and wordless.” (Sandman # 66, page 7, panel 6-10 ).

I like Scott’s portrait of Sigyn, but I think it’s more of a classical mythology look and less of a Sandman mythology version. In Sandman Sigyn is emaciated and nearly skeletal. She looks unhealthy and abused, which is how I see her in the context of the Sandman universe.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Demon # 133

There are many demons in Hell that have a similar head structure, so this one will not necessarily be easy to spot.

This particular demon is in the audience of the Hellfire Club watching as Choronzon succumbs to defeat at the hands of Dream.

He can be seen in Sandman # 4 on page 20 in panel 4 on the far left side.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Boy # 9, Boy # 10 and Boy # 11

These three boys appear in Sandman # 50, “Ramadan.”

The boys appear in the market place and are looking at a box of fruit. They are largely ignored while two men are arguing, presumably over the price of the fruit.

You can find these boys in Sandman # 50, on page 24, in panel 1.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Bartender

This bartender served drinks and lunch to Samuel Clemens and Emperor Norton in a San Francisco saloon in 1864.

He appears in “Three Septembers And A January” (Sandman # 31) on page 13 in panel 1.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Henri

Henri works for Mazimilien Robespierre, a Politian and influential person in the French Revolution.

Throughout “Thermidor” (Sandman # 29), Henri is seen standing behind Robespierre, never speaking. He accompanies Louis Antoine de St. Just and Robespierre into the depths of the Paris underground in search of the stolen head of Orpheus.

He is one of the few people to ever hear Orpheus sing

Friday, June 22, 2012

Doctor

This doctor is one of the many people trying to contain a bit of sanity as John Dee tears reality apart using the Dream Ruby.

On the final page of Sandman # 7, this doctor finally breathes a sigh of relief as things return to normal, once Dream regains control of the ruby and returns John Dee to Arkham Asylum.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Ascetic Bedouin Sorcerers

In the kingdom of Haroun Al Raschid there were many wonderful things and people.

Ascetic Bedouin Sorcerers served Haroun Al Raschid and "knew the secrets of the angels and the djinn and of men."

They (sort of) appear in the Ramadan story, published in Sandman # 50 (page 4, panel 3), which has been collected in Fables And Reflections.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Demon # 84

This demon appears in Preludes And Nocturnes (Sandman # 5, page 15, panel 6) as Dream is searching for his helmet.

He is described, on my list of characters, as a "weird horse looking demon with one eye." Scott's version of this character is more lizard-like and doesn't seem to the demon in the published comic and so he might be more difficult to spot.

I love the little details in Scott's drawing. The little bits of hair really give this portrait a little something extra I think. It's small details like that I really appreciate.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Little Cain & Little Abel

In The Parliament Of Rooks (Sandman # 40, collected in Fables And Reflections), Daniel falls asleep and enters The Dreaming and pays a visit to The House Of Secrets, where Eve, Daniel, Cain and Able are telling stories.

Abel tells the story of how he and his brother came to The Dreaming and in his story both he and Cain were children, which, illustrated by Jill Thompson, were just cute versions of themselves.

This story paved the way for Jill Thompson to eventually write and illustrate The Little Endless Storybook and the Delirium's Party storybook, both of which are pretty awesome.

Here are Little Cain and Little Abel.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Demon # 99

As with a majority of the demons within the Sandman Universe, this demon appears in Preludes And Nocturnes (Sandman # 4).

She appears as a waitress walking around during the battle between Choronzon and Morpheus at the Hellfire Club (page 18, panel 5). She is serving refreshments to a giant blobby demon.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Boy # 3

When Dream and John Dee battle for the sanity of humanity, various horrible events happen. One event is that a young boy sprays oven cleaner into the face of Joey Campbell which burns out his eyes.

This is that boy.

He looks a little psychotic doesn't he? Scott did a fantastic job with this one.

He appears in Sandman # 7 in the second panel on page 8.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Aristaeus

Aristaeus was a friend of Orpheus, but after the wedding of Orpheus and Eurydice, during the reception, drunk on wine, he attempted to rape Eurydice. When Eurydice ran away from the drunk Satyr she stepped on a poisonous snake, which bit her and caused her death.

This story is retold in Song Of Orpheus, which was originally published as a standalone one shot issue and was later collected in the Fables And Reflections book.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Grizzel

In Three Septembers And A January (Sandman # 31) from Fables And Reflections, Emperor Norton encounters a parrot named Grizzel who belongs to Abraham the owner of The Cobweb Palace.

When Emperor Norton enters The Cobweb Palace, Grizzel announces that he hears men coming but when The King Of Pain arrives he says "I hear a ghost riding towards us. He is coming here," so clearly Grizzel has some sort of ability to distinguish between men and supernatural beings. Perhaps Grizzel is a sort of alarm to warn Abraham of those who are about to enter The Cobweb Palace.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Casca

In August (Sandman # 30), from Fables And Reflections, Augustus Caesar and Lycius disguise themselves as beggars and go into the Roman marketplace. Caesar recounts a few key moments of his life, including the assassination of his uncle Julius Caesar.

Casca is one of the Roman Senators who was part of the assassination plot. He was the first to stab Julius Caesar.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Boy # 13 and 14

These two boys are standing over the sleeping Daniel Bustamonte as he wakes up in 1988.

They appear in Sandman # 1 on page 33, panel 4.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Doctor

This doctor worked in Kingston, Jamaica in 1939.

He worked in the same hospital where Daniel Bustamonte slept away his life during Dream's imprisonment.

He can be seen in the background of Preludes And Nocturnes chapter one (Sandman # 1), page 19, panel 2.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Demon # 46

Now this is a weird demon!!!

This demon appears on the double page spread from Sandman # 5 (in Preludes And Nocturnes). He is on the right side in the middle of a group of demons. He looks like a weird pod filled with some sort of slimy liquid. He's easy to overlook.

I love Scott's version of this character. It's pretty much right on and just as weird as the published character.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Demon # 78

Wow...this is an obscure demon. I'm surprised I even noticed him...

This Demon appears in Preludes and Nocturnes chapter 5 (Sandman # 5) page 13, panel 6. He is in a crowd of demons. I described him as a "tall headed demon with no body." Really his body is just hidden by the other demons. Now that I look at him a second time he sort of reminds me of that weird Jedi from Episode 1 with the super long neck and small head.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Demon # 136

I like this Demon.

After Dream had reclaimed his helmet, he is standing, with Lucifer surrounded by demons and giving his speech about hope in Hell. This demon is sitting underneath a tent, naked and on a pillow. She reminds me of Princess Leia in Return Of The Jedi.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Demon # 65

Here is another Demon from Preludes and Nocturnes.

This Demon is in the scene where Dream is using his sand to locate his stolen helmet. He is sitting at the front of a crowd on a weird demon horse.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Dead Head

This strange character appears in Preludes and Nocturnes as Dream enters Hell.

He calls Squatterbloat telling him that someone is waiting at the Gates Of Hell.