London Police Officer # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Preludes And Nocturnes, Roderick Burgess, the Head of the Order Of Ancient Mysteries, was at an inquest regarding the death of Jon Hathaway and the loss of many books and manuscripts from the Royal Museum.

His involvement in the crimes and the death of Professor Hathaway could not be proven and he was cleared of all charges.

This is one of the London Police Officers standing outside the court as Roderick and Alex Burgess, Ethel Cripps (later known as Ethel Dee) and Ruthven Sykes leaves.

He appears in Sandman # 1, on page 14, in panel 2.

Max did a fantastic job with this portrait. The portrait almost appears comical with the officer’s slightly elongated neck, but it really works well with this portrait and does not come across as a parody of a police officer. I really like the backgrounds and the colors used in this portrait. He’s an easily ignored character in the Sandman universe, but this portrait really stands out!!!

Lystra (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Lystra is one of the students in the Necropolis Litharge.

She attends classes with Petrefax and other students and was in the classroom when Master Klaproth gave him the assignment of attending an air burial.

She later asks Petrefax if he will be joining her in the vaults that evening, but he has to decline due to his assignment.

She appears in Sandman # 55 on pages 4 and 5.

Anna’s portrait for Lystra is bright and cheery, which is a contrast to the grays and browns of the Necropolis. In The published comic, Lystra’s hair really stands out, which makes me think that perhaps she is a bit of a rebel.

African Sailor # 2 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Worlds’ End, Jim recounts one of his many adventures on the seas while sailing aboard the Sea Witch.

He tells the group of listeners about the other sailors aboard the Sea Witch. There were people from many different countries.

This man is one of the African sailors aboard The Sea Witch.

He appears in Sandman # 53, on page 6, in panel 4.

Max did a great job with this portrait. The extreme close up allows us to really get a detailed perspective of this character’s face. I really like the line work Max put into this character. The excess of lines gives the impression that this man has seen a lot and has worked hard aboard the ship.

Here is African Sailor # 2…

Man # 72 (illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa)

This is one of my favorite portraits by Ibrahim. I think he did an amazing job with this portrait. He captured the personality of this character and with such detail that this portrait is just perfect.

In the first chapter of A Game Of You, Barbie and Wanda spend the day window shopping and while on their way home they ride the subway and encounter a homeless woman named Maisie Hill.

Maisie Hill was asking for spare change on the train until she noticed a man who was holding a small dog. She does not like dogs. She quickly exited the subway and as she was running up the stairs to the surface streets she passed this man who was also climbing the stairs.

He appears in Sandman # 32, on page 14, in panel 4.

Here is Man # 72…

Protester # 1 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Prez Rickard was a well loved and popular president and when his second term was nearing its end, many supporters began protesting the fact that Prez would soon be leaving office. These protesters did not want Prez to leave office. Some proposed that the law be changed to permit Prez to run a third term, while others wanted Prez to remain president indefinitely, if not forever.

This woman is one of the people protesting in front of the White House.

She appears in Sandman # 54, on page 16 in panel 1.

Anna did a great job with this portrait. She definitely feels like she would be someone who supports Prez. I love the color of her hair and her eyes. The protest signs in the background are also a very nice touch.

Dead Man # 8 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

When Orpheus journeys to the Underworld in hopes of rescuing his recently deceased wife, Eurydice, he finds himself surrounded by the dead as he enters the great hall of Lord Hades and Queen Persephone.

This Dead Man is one of the many dead men in the Underworld.

He appears in The Song Of Orpheus, on page 31, in panel 3.

This portrait is one of the most disturbing portraits that Lukas has done for the project so far. The character himself can make one feel a bit uneasy, but in contrast to the stark white background, the character’s features seem even more pronounced. His grimace and blank eyed stare definitely create a very creepy atmosphere for this portrait.

Arthur Marsten (illustrated by Max Rugers)

On June 10th, 1916, Dream is captured by Roderick Burgess. In Toronto, Canada, Ellie Marsten is sitting at a table reading “Through The Looking Glass” and falls asleep.

Her father, Arthur, carries her up to her bed and tucks her in.

She never wakes up, a victim of the Sleeping Sickness.

This is her father, Arthur Marsten.

She appears in Sandman # 1, on page 10, in panel 2.

Max took an interesting approach to this character. I did not picture him to look as Max interpreted him. I envisioned him to look a bit younger, but since this character is seen only as a silhouette, it's impossible to say what he looks like.

Max's line work is, as always, exceptional and I love the redness of the background. It adds a vibrancy to the portrait that I really like.

Ellie Marsten’s Mother (illustrated by John Carmine)

On June 10th, 1916, in Toronto Canada, Ellie Marsten’s mother was reading “Through The Looking Glass” to her daughter.

She appears in Sandman # 1, on page 3, in panel 1.

While she is only in one panel and is a pretty minor character in the series, John did an absolutely fantastic job with this portrait. I really like how he draws women and this is no exception. I like the expression and I like the way that her hair hangs down on her forehead. I also like that he captured the era perfectly with the type of clothing she is wearing. This is another great portrait from John.

Ellie Marsten (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

On June 10th, 1916, in Toronto Canada, Ellie Marsten’s mother was reading “Through The Looking Glass” to her daughter unaware that the book frightened her. That night she fell asleep and did not wake up the next morning.

In July 1939, Ellie is in a charity ward for others who have succumbed to the sleeping sickness. Since 1916 she has woken up only twice. Both times she cried for her mother, thinking that she was still an eight year old girl.

In 1955 she is still in a charity ward and has been diagnosed with Encephalitis Lethargica. She only wakes four or five times a year and each time she wants someone to read her a story.

Ellie is eventually moved to a hospital specializing with people who have Encephalitis Lethargica in 1955. In 1988, at the moment that the King of Dreams escapes his glass prison, Ellie Marsten awakes and find that she has grown old.

Ellie Marsten appears throughout Sandman # 1.

Anna did a great job with this portrait. Instead of doing a portrait of Ellie at every stage of her life I really wanted to focus on her as a child because that’s when she fell asleep. I really like Anna’s approach to this character given that she is asleep though out the entire first issue. It only seems appropriate that this portrait would have her in bed, sleeping.

Sleeping Sickness Patient # 2 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In 1916, after Dream is imprisoned, many people succumbed to the sleeping sickness.

Many were sent to Charity Wards to get care while they slept and sometimes they would be placed in large rooms filled with beds.

This man is one of the countless victims of the mysterious sickness.

He can be seen in Sandman # 1, page 14, panel 4.

I like this portrait from Max. This character appears in only one panel, but Max really took this character and added depth to him. I like Max’s use of shadows, and the dark gray and purple colors that combined give a very atmospheric feeling to this portrait.

The Tweeners (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

As Barbie and her friends, Primanodo, Luz and Wilkinson, travel through The Land they find themselves wandering into a forest. Luz feels that they are being watched.

When night falls, they stop to sleep and when Barbie awakes she finds Primando dead, hanging from a tree. Barbie then hears the forest whispering.

Wilkinson realizes that these whispers are from Tweeners and they ran as fast and as far as they could, escaping The Tweeners.

The Tweeners appeared in Sandman # 35, on page 16 and 17.

Lukas took an interesting approach to The Tweeners. In the published comic we don’t really see what the Tweeners are. I assumed they were the trees. Lukas took the approach that they were creatures living within the trees. I like the detail Lukas put into these characters. He definitely made these weird creatures seem worthy of being frightened of. I completely understand why Barbie, Luz and Wilkinson ran from them.

Kubilai Khan’s Priest # 3 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Marco Polo accompanied his father Nicolo Polo and uncle to China and they were given audience before Kubilai Kahn.

They planned on converting Kubilai Kahn to Christianity, but The Kahn refused saying that his Priests have power to perform miracles for him. They can “ensure that it is always summer above his palace, through it rains and storms nearby. They cause his food and wine to fly into his hand, so never a drop is spilled, and never a man touches them.”

This Man is one of Kubilai Khan’s Priests.

He appears in Sandman # 39, on page 12, in panel 4.

This priest is a very obscure background character, but Anna did a fantastic job of bringing this character to life. I like the shape of his head and I love that the thickness of the lines change as the lines slope creating the fullness of his head. It’s subtle and easy to ignore but it’s something I really appreciate.

This is a great portrait of a character that is pretty easy to overlook.

Slave # 11 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

While at his first Renaissance Faire, Hob Gadling and his girlfriend Guenevere talk about Hob’s “ancestors.” She mentioned to him that a man named Hinnegan uncovered that throughout history there were several Robert Gadling including a printer and publisher and one owned a fleet of ships. These are, of course, Hob, having lived for several centuries and tried his hand at various occupations and trades.

Hob is distressed, remembering that while he owned the fleet of ships he was a slave trader and brought slaves to America. The English owned all the ships that brought the slaves to America. They would sell trade the slaves to the colonies for cotton and molasses, which they would bring to England. They would use the profits from the sales to purchase more slave.

When England made slave trading illegal and they were at risk of being boarded while in transit or if there was bad weather they would sometimes dump their cargo. The slaves were all chained together and so when one went overboard they would all quickly follow.

Hob is still haunted by nightmares of this.

Gwen doesn’t know that Hob is over 600 years old and was responsible for some of these actions. While she thinks that some things can just be forgotten, Hob is unable to do that.

This is one of the slaves from Hob’s memory.

He appears in Sandman # 73, on page 6, in panel 5.

Max did a wonderful job with this portrait. This particular slave was one of the ones under water drowning and Max captured that perfectly. The blues that he used typically have a cold and calming feeling, but the contrast between the blues and the characters expression causes a contrast that cannot be ignored.

Masquerading Woman # 5 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

On the night of Alain’s masked ball a flotilla of boats arrived in the bay and dispatched several masquerading women.

The identity of these women is unknown. Some of the citizens of Alain’s court suspected they might be noblewomen, while others whispered that they were courtesans. A third speculation is that they were nuns from the convent of San Michele Di Murano who arrived in defiance of their vows.

This woman is one of the masquerading women who arrived for Alain’s masked ball.

She appears in Endless Nights, in “Death In Venice” on page 12, in panel 7.

Lukas did a fantastic job with this portrait. I love how Lukas approached this character. This woman’s hair is exceptional. The details are fantastic and the shading is perfect. This is one of those characters who stands out as interesting and mysterious in the published comic and Lukas managed to keep that mystery and add life into this character. He made this character feel real.

Ghost Cat # 6 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In Season of Mists, Bast tells Morpheus that she will tell him the location of Destruction in exchange for The Key To Hell. Ultimately this does not sway Dream’s decision and Bast leaves The Dreaming empty handed.

In Brief Lives, Dream calls upon Bast hoping to discover Destruction’s whereabouts. Dream and Bast meet in a dream, in her lost city. There are several ghostly cats wandering through the desert. Bast describes this cat as one of her folk who was embalmed in order to live forever in the world beyond. Their physical forms were exhumed and were ground up and used to fertilize the land. “Now they are only memories, slowling fading from the land and the world. Dreams of Ghost Cats, and Cats of Ghost Dreams.”

This Ghost Cat appears in Sandman # 46, on page 11, in pagels 5 and 6.

I really like this portrait from Anna. I think she did a great job with the paleness and hints of blue to make this cat seem ghostly. Also, the background, although simple is pretty awesome. I really like the curve of the slopes. It feels very natural.

Here is Ghost Cat # 6…

Dreamer # 81 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Season Of Mists, Dream decides to return to Hell to rescue Nada, his former lover. He does not make this decision lightly because he is aware that this visit could lead to his death.

Prior to embarking on his journey, he travels through the dreams of people to eventually visit Hob Gadling.

This is one of the dreamers that Dream travels through in order to find a bottle of wine to bring to Hob.

This dreamer appears in Sandman # 22, on page 15 in panel 2.

In the published comic, there is very little detail given to these random dreamers. Max brings this character to life with his realistic details and line work. I really like the lines and the colors used to really accent this character’s face. Max’s choice of lines feel deliberate and are perfectly placed. I really like taking the time to really look at the subtle details of portraits like this.

Japanese Woman # 10 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

The Fox, disguised as a beautiful woman, told The Onmyoji that she would not be with him unless he left his wife and concubine and became free to love her, got rid of his house, and to forsake all of his magics. The Onmyoji, desperate to be loved by this woman, set fire to his house, killing his wife, concubine and all of his possessions. He then brought all of his magical items and scrolls to the woman. She then asked him to remove his clothes, moved close to kiss him, but instead transformed back into her true shape and bit out his eye.

After the Fox took her revenge on The Onmyoji, he wandered the streets in rags and insane.

This woman is one of the many people who passed him by as he sat on the streets in misery.

She appears in the P. Craig Russell adaptation of The Dream Hunters,in issue # 4, on page 27 in panel 3.

This Japanese woman is absolutely beautiful and Anna did a fantastic job with this portrait. I love the shape of this woman’s face and her hair is gorgeous. The blacks are very deep and the contrast of the blue is spectacular. This is one of my favorite portraits from Anna.

Corpse # 8 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

In The Kindly Ones, Thessaly found Lyta Hall as she wandered the streets aimlessly after the supposed death of her son. She took her back to her apartment and placed her in a protection circle because she knew, with the events that had been put into motion, Morpheus would be searching for Lyta, possibly to kill her.

Thessaly fell asleep and dreams of people hanging from silver chains, hooks puncturing their skin and she feels a flicker of sadness and regret.

When she awakes she sees Dream standing before her.

The dream is something very reminiscent of the Hellraiser films, but I suspect that Thessaly has never seen those movies. Perhaps this is a nightmare of remembrance of things past…or perhaps it is simply a nightmare.

This character is one of the corpses hanging in Thessaly’s nightmare.

He appears in Sandman # 65, on page 18, in panel 3.

This is another amazing portrait from Lukas. I love the darkness of the lines on his body and face. The varying weight of the lines really adds a reality to the portrait. I also like the shocked expression on his face. The chains and hook definitely adds a horror to the portrait. I really like this portrait and it makes me very happy that I do not have dreams like this…

Kitten # 2 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In Dream Of A Thousand Cats, the storyteller cat tells a tale of how she dreamed of change. The storyteller cat started out as any other cat, comfortable and taken care of by her humans…until the day she had kittens.

She was a pure-bred Siamese cat and the father of the kittens was a stray Tom Cat and so the kittens were not pure bred and were not “worth diddly-squat” to her humans. Her owner put the kittens in a bag with a rock tied to weigh it down and threw the bag into a pond.

It was at this point that the Storyteller cat decided to try to make a change for her and her kind.

This is one of the kittens. This kitten appears in Sandman # 18, on page 8, in panel 3.

Anna’s portrait of this kitten is absolutely adorable. I love the playful and cuteness of this kitten, especially given the kitten’s unfortunate and horrible fate. This is an absolute sweet and loveable portrait.

Man # 323 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Worlds’ End, Mr. Gaheris tells the story about a man named Robert who lived an ordinary life in an ordinary city. He liked to walk throughout his city and appreciate it’s magnificence.

This man is one of the people that Robert passed by one on of his walks throughout the city.

He appears in Sandman # 51, on page 11, in panel 6.

In the published comic, this character is little more than a silhouette. Max took this character and gave him a life of his own. He made this character seem like an old man with the intense line work on his face. The details and expression on his face make him seem very serious. I wonder if Max gave this character a back story while bringing him to life.

Hot Dog Seller (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In Death: The High Cost Of Living Death spends the day as a mortal teenage girl named Didi. She befriends a boy named Sexton and they spend the day and evening walking around New York City.

While walking they encounter a street vendor selling hot dogs. Didi orders a hot dog with the works. As he makes the hot dog he tells a joke about a zen monk who orders a hot dog and Sexton knows the punch line. The Hot Dog Seller gives the hot dog to Didi for free because seeing her makes him feel good to be alive and because she has a nice smile.

He appears in Death: The High Cost Of Living # 2, pages 3 and 4.

I really like this portrait from Anna. She captured the characters happiness perfectly. I like that his eyes are exuding joy.

The Mummy # 2 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

In Worlds’ End, Petrefax retells a story of his experience at an air burial.

According to the rituals of an air burial, each member of the funeral party tell a tale.

Master Hermas tells a true story from his youth when he and Klaproth were apprentices under Mistress Veltis.

When Veltis was an apprentice she accidentally broke a flask of preserving fluid. She was ashamed and ran and hid from her master. She chose the catacombs beneath the city as her hiding place. In the catacombs she travelled a path she had never taken before, passing a wall of mummies, and eventually finding herself in a huge room with six cerements hanging in that room.

This is one of the mummies that she passed on her decent into the catacombs.

This mummy appears in Sandman # 55, on page 20, in panel 3.

I really like this portrait from Lukas. Each of the bandages has it’s own unique details and shading which gives the portrait a more realistic look. I also love the tufts of hair coming out of the bandages. This is one of my favorite portraits from Lukas.

Granny Goodness Minion # 3 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In the fifth issue of Sandman, Dream visits the Justice League in order to find his missing ruby.

He enters the Justice League Tower through the dreams of Scott Free, who is in the middle of having a nightmare remembering when he was on Apokolips. In his nightmare, Scott has been a “Bad Little Boy” and is being put in to the Murder Machine with the help of the Minions.

The Minion appears in Sandman # 5, on page 5, in panel 4.

I really like Anna’s portrait for this character. These minions are certainly not friendly people and Anna was able to capture that through the menacing expression and the dark look in his eyes. This is a very expressive portrait!

Starling # 5 (illustrated by John Carmine)

George, a servant of The Cuckoo and a man obsessed with Barbie, receives this Starling as a visitor. He catches the Starling and takes him into his apartment and swallows him whole.

This Starling appears in Sandman # 32, on page 25, in panel 2.

This is a fantastic portrait from John. I love how the Starling is staring, seemingly startled, straight ahead as if he’s looking directly as you and me. The shading of the feathers is wonderful and I really like the realistic approach he took with this portrait.

Cult Member # 3 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In 1916, Roderick Burgess and his Order Of Ancient Mysteries attempts to capture Death, but instead captures her younger brother Dream.

This man is one of the members of The Order Of Ancient Mysteries.

He appears in Sandman # 1, on page 5, in panel 1.

Max did a great job with this portrait. I love the use of blackness and shadows in this portrait and the contrast for the folds of his robes. The darkness really works well with this portrait.

Dreamer At The Wake # 41 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

As people fall asleep, they gather at the wake for Morpheus. They stand watching The Endless, “bigger than storm clouds” build a house of remembrance in the heart of The Dreaming.

The crowd of people grows larger as they wait for the building to be completed.

This man is one of the people watching the Endless, waiting for the building to be finished, waiting to go inside.

He appears in Sandman # 71 on page 1, in panel 3.

This man is standing in a crowd of people. None of the people are easily recognizable and we can’t see the faces of a majority of the people, including this character, but I’ve always wondered if this was Tim Hunter from The Books Of Magic. From the back we can see his moppish hair and that he’s wearing glasses. That doesn’t necessarily confirm that it’s Tim Hunter, but it’s a possibility and I would love to know if it is.

I do not think that Anna shared by curiosity of this character, but she certainly did an amazing job with this portrait. I really like his expression and the sadness that is clearly visible in his eyes. This is an absolutely fantastic portrayal of this character.