Wierdzo Surgeon # 2 (illustrated by Kai Martin)

In A Game Of You, Wanda, a pre-operative transsexual, has a dream, influenced by a minion of The Cuckoo, in which she enacts her fear of having her sexual reassignment surgery. The surgeons in this dream are comic book characters from her childhood.

This Weirdzo Surgeon is one of the people that appear in her dream. He is holding a large hammer, which is very dreamlike, but not very practical when it comes to surgery.

He appears in Sandman # 33, page 13, panel 3.

Police Officer # 9 (illustrated by Te’Shawn Dwyer)

In Endless Nights, we get a glimpse at Despair in her 15 Portraits story.

There is a man who was hurt in an accident and was forced to move into a trailer at the edge of town.

A stray cat wanted to the trailer and the man put down a saucer of milk for the cat.

Over time sixty or seventy cats are living with him in the trailer. They are his family.

One day the man leaves to take a job as a farm hand and is unable to return to feed the cats.

This police officer comes to the farm and speaks to the man, telling him that maybe only five of the cats were somehow still alive, while sixty, maybe more were found partially eaten inside the trailer.

This is one of the saddest and most horrific stories in Endless Nights.

This police officer appears in Endless Nights on page 85, which is the 6th page of the Despair Story.

Baku # 14 (illustrated by Carl Sciacchitano)

After discovering the plans of the Onmyoji, the Fox took a jade dragon and threw it into the ocean as an offering to the King Of Dreams. That evening as the Fox slept she visited The Dreaming and found herself standing before The Dream King.

The Fox asked Dream what were the creatures she noticed in the distance. Dream told her that they were Baku, the dream eaters.

The Fox had heard of the Baku. If a Dreamer wakes of a nightmare or a dream of ill-omen, the Dreamer may call upon the Baku to eat the dream and all that it foretells away.

She asks what would happen if she caught one of the Backu after it had consumed a dream.

The King Of Dreams responded with silence.

This is one of the Baku that grazes in the distant regions of The Dreaming.

The Baku appear in the P. Craig Russel version of Dream Hunters…in issue # 1, on page 33, in panel 5.

Man # 130 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In November 1930, Ruthven Sykes, the second in command of the Order Of Ancient Mysteries and Ethel Cripps, the mistress of Roderick Burgess, run away together. They take a ship to America to start a life together outside of the watchful eye of the Magus.

This man is standing at the counter in the ship station, probably buying passage to America along with Sykes and his mistress.

He appears in Sandman # 1 on page 16 in panel 2.

This is a fantastic portrait from Max. This man has a very distinctive feel that he is from the 1930’s and hoping to find a better life in America. There is a sadness in his eyes that I am impressed with. Max definitely captured some real emotions in this portrait!

Here is Man # 130…

Dignitary # 2 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

Dream and his lover, Killalla Of The Glow, travel to the palace to attend the parliament concerning zones of responsibility and the merits of obligation for creation.

Dignitaries from various planets, realms and realities gather to be a part of this important meeting.

When Dream and Killalla arrive they are greeted by Mizar.

This Dignitary is standing in the background speaking with another dignitary.

She appears in Endless Nights, in the story, The Heart Of The Star, on page 4 in panel 1.

The Snake (illustrated by Te’Shawn Dwyer)

The wedding day of Orpheus and Eurydice was both a joyous and tragic day.

The Endless were in attendance at the wedding and shortly after the ceremony each one left excluding Teleute (Death) who stayed for the reception party. She sat near Orpheus as he played his lyre.

Eurydice’s dancing was interrupted when Aristaeus, one of Orpheus’ closest friends asked if he could speak with her in private by the grove behind the temple. Since Aristaeus was a friend of Orpheus Eurydice agreed to meet him.

When Eurydice arrived, Aristaeus grabbed a hold of her wrist and told her that he wants her and he’s going to take her. Eurydice kicks him between his legs and runs away from him. As she runs, Aristaeus calls after her saying he was drunk and wasn’t going to hurt her. She looks back, while running, and does not see the snake in the grass. The snake bites her ankle and she collapses, dying in Aristaeus’ arms.

This is the snake that bit Eurydice. This snake is the catalyst for the events that affects the lives of Orpheus as well as his father Morphues.

The snake appears in Sandman Special # 1, on pages 10-11.

Reveler At Alain’s Masked Ball # 31 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Endless Nights, Alain’s and his court live a life beyond death because they locked their gates, preventing Death from visiting his island and the citizens of his court.

As time passes, Alain entertains his court with a variety of activities such as masquerades.

This character is one of the people who attended Alain’s masquerade. He is in a group of people listening to Alain speak about their nightly pleasures and that tomorrow will never come because every day is their perfect day.

He appears in Endless Nights, in the Death story illustrated by P. Craig Russell entitled “Death In Venice,” on page 13, in panel 4.

This is a fabulous portrait from Max. There is so much detail packed into this portrait. I love the highly detailed wig he is wearing and the fur around the collar of his robes. I love his expression and the purple used on the mask. I also like the textured background made from torn up magazines. It really adds a festive feeling to this portrait.

Old Man # 3 (illustrated by Kai Martin)

When Ellie Marsten wakes in 1988, seventy two years after she fell asleep, she is in a charity home for those suffering from the sleeping sickness. There are many other people in the same ward as she is.

This man is one of the people in the hospital.

He appears in Sandman # 1, on page 33, panel 3.

This is a great portrait from Kai. This character seems genuinely happy and I imagine a free spirited old man. I like the line work on his face, particularly around his eyes. He looks like he could very easily be someone Kai saw in a café and sketched one morning.

Misshapen Creature # 2 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

The Onmyoji was afraid and throughout his life gathered power in an attempt to push away the fear, but it seemed that with the power came more fear.

To gather more power he visited Misshapen Creatures at night and he danced their dances and ate their feasts in hopes of gathering their knowledge…the knowledge of the defilers of graves.

This creature is one of the Misshapen Creatures that the Onmyoji visits.

He appears in the P. Craig Russell version of Dream Hunters, in issue # 2, on page 7, in panel 1.

Faery # 72 (illustrated by Te’Shawn Dwyer)

On June 23rd, 1593, a group of Faeries crossed over to Wilmington, England with Titania and Auberon to see the first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream written by William Shakespeare at the request of Morpheus.

This is one of the Faeries who watched the first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

He appears in Sandman # 19, on page 8, in panel 2.

Amida Buddha (illustrated by Max Rugers)

Outside of the Sandman universe there is a very rich history of Buddha that is worth checking out here.

Amida Buddha is the primary figure in Buddhism and according to their beliefs, Amitabha was a king who renounced this throne after discovering Buddhist teachings.

Within the Sandman universe, Amida Buddha is mentioned briefly in Dream Hunters as the monk prays for the life of the Fox.

This occurs in Dream Hunters, on page 62, 64 and 65. This also happens in the P Craig Russell version of Dream Hunters in issue # 2, on page25.

Max did an awesome job with this portrait. His approach is pretty straightforward, but his choice of colors and his addition of details make this portrait really stand out. I love the line work that he used around the face of Buddha. Each line feels perfectly placed.

Worlds’ End Patron # 34 (illustrated by Carl Sciacchitano)

In Worlds’ End, Brant Tucker wanders lost, between stories being told to pass the time.

As the storm grows more fierce, lightning strikes outside the inn. This small creature is frightened by the thunder and lightning.

He appears in Sandman # 55, on page 1 in panel 7.

Carl took a very subdued approach to this character. His eyes are very large and expressive. He’s clearly frightened. I really like how Carl drew this character’s mouth. It gives the character a lot of personality.

Man At Wanda’s Funeral # 2 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

Barbie attended Wanda’s funeral in Kansas. There was a small gathering of people there to support Wanda’s parents, who did not approve of Wanda’s lifestyle.

This man is one of the men at the funeral.

He appears in Sandman # 37, on page 16, panel 4.

Sky-Boy # 2 (illustrated by Kai Martin)

In ”Going Inside,” the Deliriuim story from Endless Nights, there is a writer who is affected by Delirium’s imbalance. He writes stories about the Sky-Boys and their battle with Lord Kiss-&-Shah Of Hell and his army of Party Girls.

This is one of the Sky-Boys.

He appears on page 8 of “Going Inside.” This Sky-Boy is the dead boy on the left side of the page.

I didn’t know how Kai would approach this character. I told him that he did not need to draw him as he was in the published comic, dead, because I can understand a dead child being disturbing, but Kai went at it and did a fantastic portrait. I love the cracked helmet and the darkness of the blood on his face. It’s a pretty disturbing portrait.

Mechanical Bird (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Baghdad, in the time of Haroun al Raschid, there were many wonders and splendors.

One of those marvels is mechanical creations that can sing and move when spoken to.

This Mechanical Bird is one of the amazing creations that exist in Baghdad.

It can be seen in Sandman # 50, on page 4, in panel 6.

This is an absolutely amazing portrait from Max. The details and line work on this character are amazing and the coloring of the bird gives it the appearance that it’s made from metal. I love the small details like the bolts. It adds a realismto the portrait. Once again, Max’s use of paper for the backgrounds gives a unique texture to the portrait that compliments the character nicely.

Max also drew a sketch of the Mechanical Bird on the back of the portrait. I'm including it here because...well, I like it and it's I feel that it's worth seeing an alternate version of this bird.

Presidential Messenger # 1 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

In Worlds’ End Brant Tucker wanders the halls and encounters a Seeker while trying to find his way back to Charlene.

The Seeker is searching for an alternate version of America where Prez Rickard was the President of The United States before Ronald Reagan.

He recounted the life and legacy of Prez Rickard to Brant from his extraordinary childhood to his adulthood, where he became the youngest President of The United States, to the tragic death of Kathy, the love of his life.

After the Death of Kathy, Prez felt lost and, while he finished out his presidential term his heart was not in it like it had been previously.

Once his term ended he retired to Steadfast where he lived as a child. He spent his time in seclusion repairing clocks. The people of America felt the effects of Prez no longer being President. Things were not necessarily bad, but they were just not as good any more. The Golden Age of America was over.

Three Presidential Messengers came to visit Prez and asked him to come out of retirement and be an advisor. Prez graciously told them no and sent them away.

This man is one of the Presidential Messengers who spoke with Prez Rickard.

He appears in Sandman # 54, on page 17, in panel 3.