Small Mindless Insect-Like Creature # 3 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

In the first issue of Sandman Overture, we are introduced to three dominant life forms that inhabit a small planet within a star system of six other planets. There were a race of humanoid creatures with red fur, huge carnivorous plants with limited mobility and this creature.

These small mindless insect-like creatures are described as interested in only laying eggs and food. They swarm when the mood takes them and are able to take on “shapes capable of making art or exploring the solar system.”

This is one of those small minded insects.

It is visible in Sandman Overture # 1, on page 1, in panel 3.

I love Lars’ portrayal of this character. The colors are vibrant and I love the tentacles on it’s face. This is one of my favorite portraits Lars has done up to this point.

Man # 101 (illustrated by John Carmine)

In Death: The High Cost Of Living, Didi and Sexton spend the day together wandering around New York City.

After escaping The Eremite, they go eat breakfast and walk though the streets toward the park. On the way, Didi notices a street vendor selling trinkets and treasures. Did buys an ankh from him to replace the one The Eremite stole from her.

This man is one of the many people who is walking on the streets of New York. He walks past Didi and Sexton as she purchases the ankh.

He can be seen in Death: The High Cost Of Living # 3, page 13, in panel 8.

John did a fantastic job with this portrait. I love that he chose to draw this character in profile. It’s not a common aspect and so it’s fun to see. As with others, I really like this characters hair. It’s very flat, like in the comic, but the line work also brings a very specific flow that highlights the shape of the characters head.

Here’s Man # 101…

Woman # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Worlds’ End, Mister Gaheris recounts a story he is told about a man named Robert who loved cities.

This woman appears in that story and is sitting on a subway talking with another woman as Robert commutes from the city suburbs to work.

This woman appears in Sandman # 51, on page 10, in panel 3. She is on the far right.

I really like Max’s portrait for this character. There is a very subtle beauty about this character and portrait.

Dead Man # 40 (illustrated by John Carmine)

When Orpheus descends into Hades to rescue his dead wife, he encounters hundreds of dead men and woman, many of whom stand before Lord Hades and Queen Persephone in the great hall.

This dead man is one of those men. He is one of the dead who is enraptured by the song of Orpheus.

This dead man appears in The Sandman Special # 1, on page 33, in panel 1.

This is a great portrait from John. He took the approach of highlighting the darkness and shadows in the underworld and the reflection of those shadows on the character.

The Thing That Walked The Earth # 12 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In the time of the Monk and the fox, there were many Things That Walked The Earth that “we rarely see today. There were all manner of entities, beings, wraiths, and creatures, both kind and malevolent.”

This is one of the Things That Walked The Earth.

It appears in the P. Craig Russell version of Dream Hunters, in issue # 1 on page 22, in panel 1.

This is a fantastic portrait from Max. As with the original published character, this creature is definitely an ancestor of the seal, but Max gave it some flair making it distinctly different from the standard seal we see at the ocean these days. I love the detail and the depth of the colors on this portrait!!!

Suicide Bird (illustrated by Max Rugers)

This is a weird character…

In “Going Inside,” the Delirium story from Endless Nights, the Homeless Man sees a bird fly into a window. He believed that the bird had a message for him attached to its leg and that the bird killed itself to prevent the message from being discovered by someone else.

The bird is then eaten by a stray dog, which only proves to the Homeless Man that the whole thing was planned.

This is one of the many birds that appears in the Sandman Universe and Max did a great job with it. I am glad that Max decided to capture the likeness of the bird prior to its suicide…

Cat # 7 (illustrated by John Carmine)

In “A Dream Of A Thousand Cats” a group of cats gather in a cemetery to listen to a mysterious and wise cat who tells a tale of a dream that she had and how she hoped to change the world.

This cat is one of the cats who attended the gathering.

This cat appears in Sandman # 18 on page 4. It is the white cat sitting near the bushes waiting for the storyteller cat to arrive.

John did an awesome job with this portrait. This is a close up portrait that really focuses on the expressive nature of cats. I really like the cat’s eyes. I think that it really adds a detail to this cat that brings a reality to this portrait.

Despairing Woman # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Brief Lives we get a rare glimpse into Despair’s domain.

Despair lives in a world of mist and mirrors. Each mirror is a gateway into the soul of a despairing creature.

This woman is one of the people that are standing at the gateway to Despair’s realm. She is clearly visible in one of Despair’s mirrors. Why does she despair? In the published comic she appears to have a black eye. How this happened can only be speculated, but whatever has caused this injury has clearly enabled Despair to get her hook into her heart.

She appears in Sandman # 41, page 20 in panel 3.

Max did a wonderful job with this portrait. She is clearly distraught and appears emotionally damaged. Max also used tape on this portrait adding an imbalanced effect, which is pretty awesome. I also like that Max put in the fork, which is very subtle in the original published comic. You will also notice a mirror in the background. This is particularly important for this character since she is seen in one of Despair’s mirrors. This is a fantastic portrait from Max!!!

Bondage Boy # 7 (illustrated by Jöelle Jones)

In Brief Lives, Delirium wanders into a fetish club.

This man is one of the people in the club. He is pretty easy to spot since he is the only person with a large pink mowhawk.

He appears in Sandman # 41, page 11, panel 1.

Jöelle did a fantastic job with this portrait. The colors are so vibrant and I love the contrast between the green background and the guy’s pink hair. I also like the shape of his face. It’s very angular and he reminds me of someone I might see walking around downtown or at a record shop.

Reveler At Alain’s Masked Ball # 22 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

This woman is one of the many people who attended Alain’s masked ball on the night Death visited the palace.

She appears in “Death In Venice” from Endless Nights on page 13, panel 2.

I like Max’s approach to this character. She seems a bit stuffy, as you might expect someone of noble birth to be (assuming that Alain’s guest are nobles), but she also seems very festive with all the vibrant colors in hair piece and in the backgrounds.

Worlds’ End Patron # 19 (illustrated by Emonic)

This odd looking fellow is one of the many characters who are trapped in Worlds’ End while the storm rages outside.

While this character looks like a stereotypical idea of how the Grim Reaper appears, I am guessing he is not THE Grim Reaper and we all know he is not Death. If he were a citizen from a Necropolis he would probably dress in a similar fashion to Petrefax, Klaproth and the others.

I have not read any of the Worlds’ End scripts and so I do not know if this character was specifically mentioned by Gaiman or if Bryan Talbot drew him as one of the strange characters lingering in the background. I’m guessing he is just a character created by Talbot.

This patron of Worlds’ End appears in at least two panels throughout the storyline. His first appearance is in Sandman # 52, page 2, panel 1. He is located in the middle of the panel in the very very far background. His later appearance is in Sandman # 55, page 2, panel 6 and he is on the left side of the panel, more visible than his previous appearance.

Emonic did a great job with this portrait. I think he really made the character seem like an actual character instead of an obscure background character.

Unemployed Man # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

This Unemployed Man appears in Endless Nights, in the Despair story.

The 8th Despair story tells the tale of a man who lost his job and lied to his wife, pretending he still had a job. He applied for jobs along with others.

This man is one of the men waiting to speak to an unemployment officer.

He appears on the 10th page of the Despair story, in panel 4.

Max did a great job with this obscure character. I like the use of the newspaper in this portrait.

Sleeping Sickness Patient # 1 (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.

This is not an easy character to draw, but Max did a great job. The line work on his face is exceptional and I really like the motion this piece has.

Demon # 192 (illustrated by John Carmine)

Today I would like to welcome John Carmine to the Sandman Portraits Blog team!

I discovered John's work on ebay and then did a search and found more of his work on deviantart and really liked his worked and asked him if he'd be interested in joining the project. So far he's done a handful of them and I am confident there will be many more in the future!!!

We are going to start off his Portraits blog debut with a Demon from Preludes and Nocturnes!

This demon is one of the many demons that have gathered in Hell while Lucifer and Dream discuss his missing helmet.

This demon appears in Sandman # 4 on page 12 is the lower middle part of the page.

John did an amazing job with this portrait. I love the creepiness of this character . He did a great job capturing the mischievousness of this particular demon. I always felt, based on the published comic, that these demons were trouble makers and I think that John was able to bring that across with his portrait. I also have to say, the details on this portrait are fantastic and the black splatters along the edges are a great touch as well. I really like this portrait!!!

Serial Killer # 33 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

There are times when I see a portrait and it takes my breath away for one reason or another. This portrait is an example of that. When I first saw this portrait I was completely taken aback by how horrifying this character is. Max did an awesome job bringing life to this absolutely menacing character.

This man is one of the serial killers who attended the Cereal Convention.

He appears in Sandman # 14, on page 3 in panel 3.

While he appears in Sandman as one of the many nameless killers, Max’s portrayal of this serial killer certainly brings a life to a previously overlooked character.

Cat # 2 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

In “A Dream Of A Thousand Cats” several cats visit a cemetery to listen to a wise cat tell a story of what it was like before the humans ruled the lives of cats. This is one of the cats who attended the gathering.

This cat can be seen in Sandman # 18, page 4. She is directly to the right of the black cat in the center of the page. She is gray with some stripes.

Lars did an excellent job with this portrait. I really enjoy all these cats and I like that this cat isn’t sleek and thin, but a bit portly and very serious.

Demon # 172 (illustrated by Jeremy Haun)

This demon makes his appearance in the final chapter of Season Of Mists.

He can be seen on page 21 of Sandman # 28 about to devour one of the poor tortured men residing in Hell.

I really like this Demon and Jeremy did an awesome job with him. He definitely looks like a demon worthy of living in Hell and due to his large girth I imagine he’s eaten many tortured souls.

Awards Ceremony Audience Member # 3 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

After trading Erasmus Fry a Bezioar for Calliope, Richard Madoc became a successful writer and a notable celebrity.

Richard Madoc won awards and this man was in attendance at one of the award ceremonies where Richard spoke.

This man appears in Sandman # 17 on page 13 in panel 1.

This is another great portrait from Max. This portrait reminds me a lot of John Lennon, although it cannot be him simply because he would have been dead at this point in time. I really like the coloring on this portrait and for me the hair really stands out. I’m not sure why, but I really like the details on the hair.

Serial Killer # 59 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

In Sandman # 14, Gaiman tells the story of a group of serial killers gathering in a hotel for a Cereal convention and what happens when an innocent girl and her protector wander into a convention they are clearly not a part of.

There are a variety of serial killers that gather at this convention and this man is one of those serial killers.

He appears on page 32 in panel 5. He is in the audience listening to The Corinthian’s speech.

I love this portrait. I love how Lars approached this character. This man seems completely unassuming and nobody would ever suspect him of being a serial killer, but underneath his calm suburban demeanor he is a vicious killer.

Bird # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

When Nada fails to discover the identity of the mysterious stranger who was standing below her window, she enlists in the help of The King Of Birds to discover who this man is.

This is one of the birds searching for the stranger.

This bird appears in Sandman # 9 on page 8 in panel 4.

I am not familiar with bird species, particularly African birds and so I am unsure what type of bird appears in the published comic.

I really like this portrait from Max. He took the bird and really added details and texture to the character. The line work on the body and head is exceptional. I like that the bird looks like it actually has feathers. Also, Max’s approach resembles an African bird and I really appreciate his attention to details.

Paramedic # 4 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

This Paramedic was called to the scene when Lyta Hall broke Eric Needham’s arm as he tries to “comfort” her after her son has been kidnapped.

He can be seen in Sandman # 59, on page 19, panel 1.

I really like this portrait from Max. I like the muted colors he used, highlighted with the gold pen. It’s a really nice touch!!!

Doctor (illustrated by Lars Brown)

In Season Of Mists, Dream gives Nada a second chance at life and she is reborn as a baby in Hong Kong.

This doctor performed the delivery.

He can be seen in Sandman # 28 on page 16, panel 4.

Lars did a pretty straight forward interpretation of this character and I really like it. I like the colors and the texture that the watercolor adds to the portrait.

Nurse # 3 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

After Rose and Gilbert rescue Jed Walker, in The Doll’s House, they take him to the hospital so he can receive medical treatment and recover from the years of abuse and torture he suffered at his guardians Barnaby and Clarice and his imprisonment by The Corinthian.

Gilbert has personal matters to attend to and does not spend much time at the hospital, but returns to speak with Rose and to watch over Jed.

As Gilbert returns to the hospital, he walks through the lobby. This nurse is in the lobby reading a newspaper.

She appears in Sandman # 15 on page 10 in panel 5.

I love this portrait from Max. I think he did a fantastic job with this portrait. The coloring is subtle but definitely gives a strong emotional sense to this character.

Max did an alternate painting on the back of the portrait. I'm including it here because it's a nice painting and it's a different approach to the character...

Here's the Nurse from The Doll's House...

Bartender (illustrated by Lars Brown)

Once every hundred years Morpheus meets up with Hob Gadling in a bar,share a drink and Hob tells the King Of Dreams about his life during the previous century.

Around 1990-1991 they meet in a popular bar for their yearly meeting.

This is the bartender from that bar.

He is visible in Sandman # 13, on page 24, in panel 1.

This bartender is barely visible in the background, but one of my favorite portraits that Lars has drawn. I love everything about this portrait. I love the expression on his face and his positioning within the portrait. This is a fantastic portrait!!!

Dreamer # 62 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In A Dream Of A Thousand Cats, the Storyteller Cat tells a tale of the change between cats and man ruling the world.

A Golden Haired Man believed that if the humans dreamed that they were superior to cats then they could dream and believe that reality into existence...and from the cat’s perspective that is true. Enough humans dreamed this and their belief made it true.

This man is one of the man dreaming humanities dominance into existence.

He appears in Sandman # 18, on page 18 in panel 2.

Max did an awesome job with this portrait. This portrait feels very much like a dreamer and I like the details he drew into this character’s face.

Here is Dreamer # 62…