Mummy # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

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

At 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 mummy 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.

This is a pretty intense portrait from Max. Max will often add tape to a portrait and paint over it, giving the portrait an extra texture. He did that here, which almost seems necessary. He used strips of tape as the wrappings of the mummy. Max also took it a step further and used cloth giving it an extra level of texture and creating a pretty awesome effect. This is a pretty awesome portrait!!!

Reveler At Alain’s Masked Ball # 13 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

When Death and Sergei manage to break down the gate to the ruins on one of the islands in the Venice Lagoon, they find themselves in the court of Alain and they are having one of their masked balls.

Dressed in masquerade attire, they walk through the halls of the palace and encounter many revelers along the way.

This man is one of the many people they pass.

Death tells Sergei that this man drowned in a storm.

He appears in the Endless Nights, in Death In Venice, on page 18, in panel 5.

The curly-cue beard and moustache and the pointed chin on this character set it aside as one of my favorites that Anna has done. He has such a fascinating profile and Anna’s interpretation is gorgeous. I love the simplicity of the lines and the color contrast as well.

Thug # 2 (illustrated by John Carmine)

One evening Rose went to see Hal’s show and was walking home when she was assaulted by three thugs.

Their intentions for Rose were not pure or honorable and so thankfully Gilbert was not far behind her and was able to help keep her virtue intact.

Gilbert used his cane to beat these three thugs into submission and they ran down the street and away from Rose and Gilbert.

This Thug appears in Sandman # 11, on pages 11, 12 and 13.

John approached this portrait in a realistic manner. I think he did a great job giving this character a personality that reeks with vileness, just as in the published comic.

Cat # 28 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

One night, a group of cats meet in a cemetery to listen to a wise storyteller cat who recounts here visit with the King Of Dreams and her hope that all who hear her story will dream a dream of cat dominance.

This is one of the cats who listens to the storyteller cat’s tale.

He appears in Sandman # 18, on page 4.

I really like this portrait from Lukas. This cat seems a bit ragged like a stray, which is pretty realistic for this story. Lukas also gave this cat a collar, with the number 28 on it. That is a really nice touch. I really like this raggedy little cat.

Girl # 4 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Dream and Delirium seek out Destiny in hopes of finding the location of their missing brother Destruction.

In order to find Destiny’s garden from Delirium’s realm they must find a labyrinth and Delirium chooses a maze at an amusement park.

This girl is standing outside the maze eating a hot dog.

She appears in Sandman # 47, on page 5, in panel 5.

This is one of my favorite portraits Anna has done so far. She looks absolutely sweet and happy and is completely adorable. I also really like her hair!!!

Secret Service Agent # 9 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Worlds’ End, Brant Tucker encounters a man known only as The Seeker. He is searching for a reality where Prez Rickard becomes president.

The Seeker tells Brant about Prez and his legacy and ultimately his tragedy.

While Prez was president he was engaged to be married to his high school sweetheart Kathy. They had a storybook romance, but it ended in heartbreak when a woman obsessed with Ted Grant shot Kathy.

This Secret Service Agent was one of the men protecting the president on this day and was there to help capture the obsessed woman.

He can be seen in Sandman # 54, on page 13, in panel 2.

I really like this portrait from Max. I like the line work for this character with the very minimal color from torn magazines. It works really well for this character. I also really like the expression on his face. He definitely seems very serious, as I would expect from a secret service agent.

Sailor On The Sea Witch # 6 (illustrated by John Carmine)

In Worlds’ End, Brant listens to a tale of the high seas told by Jim.

Jim’s story recounts meeting a gentleman named Robert Gadling who was a passenger on the Sea Witch and was going back to England.

On their journey they faced a fierce storm and the following day the sea was calm with no wind to propel them. The crew spent the day repairing things that the wind had damaged the previous day and each of the sailors performed their own superstitious rituals hoping to call the wind to guide them once again.

One of the sailors noticed a large school of fish racing toward them on the horizon. The men cast their nets and caught hundreds of fish as they passed the Sea Witch.

This man is one of the many sailors who caught fish as they leapt out of the ocean and into the nets.

He appears in Sandman # 53, page 17, panel 3.

This portrait has a sense of freedom about it that I was not expecting. It feels fresh and free and is absolutely perfect. Even though this is a very minor character this is definitely one of my favorite portraits from John.