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.