Sailor On The Sea Witch # 1 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

Jim, one of the patrons of Worlds’ End recounts the story of his life and of one particular voyage on The Sea Witch.

Jim tells the story of meeting a gentleman named Robert Gadling who was a passenger on the Sea Witch and was going back to England. On their journey they encountered a ferocious storm and after it passed the sea was eerily 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.

This man is one of the sailors who is on deck and sees the school of fish and helps catch them.

He appears in Sandman # 53, page 16, panel 5.

I really like this portrait from Max. His red hair definitely stands out and is very vibrant in contrast to the rest of this portrait. I think that the one thing that I really like about this portrait is that the character appears to be staring out at the sea. His expression seems to be about contemplation and admiration of the sea.

Dreamer # 45 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

The Storyteller cat tells a tale of how cats once ruled the earth, but it was through dreams and dreaming that man eventually became dominant.

This is one of the Dreamers who heard the calling of the Golden Haired Man and helped dream of the change.

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

I think that the Dreamers are some of the most difficult characters to draw in The Sandman series. A lot of them are nothing more than floating heads in blackness and they lack personality. It’s always interesting and exciting to see how each artist approaches one of the Dreamers and Anna did a great job with this character. I really like his vibrant red hair…

Citizen Of Barbie’s World # 6 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

When Barbie is marched through town after being captured by the Black Guard, this character is one of the many characters watching in defeat as she is led to the house of The Cuckoo.

This character appears in Sandman # 35 on page 24 in panel 2.

In the published comic, this character is a very vague shape with big eyes and possibly a beak. Lukas saw the same thing I did in this character and made him look like a giant owl. This portrait is in contrast to Lukas’ other portraits with hyper detail. I like the simplicity of it. It’s a very adorable owl creature. I also like that Lukas used only the characters eyes to show us that this creature is concerned for Barbie. He really captured that emotion perfectly.

Island Spirit # 1 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

As William Shakespeare writes The Tempest, his final play for Dream and the final play of his career, he writes about imprisonment.

He writes a speech in which Prospero recounts the imprisonment of Ariel.

“Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,
by help of her more potent ministers
and in her most unmitigable rage,
into a cloven pine,
within which rift
imprisoned though didst painfully remain
a dozen years."

This imprisonment mirrors that of Morpheus at the hands of Roderick Burgess, more than 400 years later.

This Island Spirit is one of the “more potent Ministers” mentioned in the play and appears in Sandman # 75, on page 17, in panel 1.

This is a wonderful portrait from Anna. I love the colors she used in this drawing. It feels very natural and gives this Island Spirit a strange sense of the super natural. I really like this creature’s hair. Anna’s line work flows smoothly, which really makes things feel natural and the effect is really beautiful.

Here is Island Spirit # 1…

John Belushi (illustrated by Russel Roehling)

John Belushi is an American actor known for his roles on Saturday Night Live, Animal House and The Blues Brothers.

He died on March 5th, 1982 of an overdose.

John Belushi appears in Sandman # 54.

In this issue, Prez, after he is President Of The United States, hosts an episode of Saturday Night Live and is in several skits, including some with John Belushi.

He even credits Prez for being one of the most inspirational people in his life. He says “I suppose Prez showed me you don’t need to be fucked up to work at your peek. I mean, here’s this guy working eighteen hours a day, fate of the free world depends on him and he’s clean, y’know?”

It’s nice to think that in this alternate America John Belushi is still alive entertaining people.

He appears in Sandman # 54, on page 10.

Once again Russel did a fantastic job with this portrait. I love the detail he put into this portrait. He did a great job capturing the likeness of John Belushi and the background is over the top detailed. I really like this portrait from Russel!!!

Reveler At The Burgess Party # 15 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

Wesley Dodds visits England trying to solve the mysterious death of one of his old friends. While there he attended a party thrown by Roderick Burgess hoping to uncover the truth.

This man is one of the people attending the party.

He appeared in Sandman Mystery Theatre # 1 on page 36, panel 5.

I really like this portrait from Max. He really gave this character an incredibly smug and pompous expression and it fits really well with this character in the published comic.

Richard Burbage (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Richard Burbage was a famous English actor who lived between 1567-1619. He played the title role in many of Shakespeare’s plays, including King Lear, Hamlet and Othello. He also was one of the actors who was part of the first performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream on June 23rd, 1593 in Wilmington, England. He played the part of Auberon.

During the intermission Burbage spoke to the actual Auberon and requested gold for their performance. Auberon gave him a sack of gold coins.

The following morning, when Lord Strange’s Men awoke, as if from an unusal dream, Richard Burbage opened up the bag of gold and found only flower petals inside.

Richard Burbage appears throughout Sandman # 19.

I enjoyed Anna’s use of the masks to show his role in theatre. His laugh lines give Burbage character and add a sense of charm. I really like this portrait!!!