Prez Rickard

Prez is one of a handful of DC Universe characters that Gaiman integrated into the Sandman Universe. Prez was originally a four issue series released in 1973 and was by writer Joe Simon and illustrated by Jerry Grandenetti. The series was cancelled and a fifth issue was released inded in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2. Prez also made an appearance in Supergirl # 10 (released in 1974).

Gaiman took the character, pretty much as he was in the original series, and set him in an "alternate" America and a mysterious storyteller known as "A Seeker" is searching for that reality, but is trapped inside Worlds' End.

Prez is an idealistic young man who has a knack for fixing watches and becomes the youngest US President in history. He is popular with the people and does many great things for America and the world while he is president, but unfortunately tragedy strikes when his fiance is murdered. After the murder Prez loses his optimism and ends his term quietly and uneventfully. According to the story, once Prez left office "things were no longer golden in America. It wasn't that things got bad. It was that they weren't spectacularly good anymore." Eventually Prez disappeared and his disappearance caused many rumors and speculations about where he may have gone and what he may be doing.

One interesting piece of trivia, at the end of the story, Prez gives a watch to Dream. That watch is visible in a closet of items (including a city in a bottle, Azazel in a globe and the Corinthian's skull) in the Season Of Mists storyline.

Here is Prez Rickard...