Sleeping Sickness Patient # 2 (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.

I like this portrait from Max. This character appears in only one panel, but Max really took this character and added depth to him. I like Max’s use of shadows, and the dark gray and purple colors that combined give a very atmospheric feeling to this portrait.

The Tweeners (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

As Barbie and her friends, Primanodo, Luz and Wilkinson, travel through The Land they find themselves wandering into a forest. Luz feels that they are being watched.

When night falls, they stop to sleep and when Barbie awakes she finds Primando dead, hanging from a tree. Barbie then hears the forest whispering.

Wilkinson realizes that these whispers are from Tweeners and they ran as fast and as far as they could, escaping The Tweeners.

The Tweeners appeared in Sandman # 35, on page 16 and 17.

Lukas took an interesting approach to The Tweeners. In the published comic we don’t really see what the Tweeners are. I assumed they were the trees. Lukas took the approach that they were creatures living within the trees. I like the detail Lukas put into these characters. He definitely made these weird creatures seem worthy of being frightened of. I completely understand why Barbie, Luz and Wilkinson ran from them.

Kubilai Khan’s Priest # 3 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

Marco Polo accompanied his father Nicolo Polo and uncle to China and they were given audience before Kubilai Kahn.

They planned on converting Kubilai Kahn to Christianity, but The Kahn refused saying that his Priests have power to perform miracles for him. They can “ensure that it is always summer above his palace, through it rains and storms nearby. They cause his food and wine to fly into his hand, so never a drop is spilled, and never a man touches them.”

This Man is one of Kubilai Khan’s Priests.

He appears in Sandman # 39, on page 12, in panel 4.

This priest is a very obscure background character, but Anna did a fantastic job of bringing this character to life. I like the shape of his head and I love that the thickness of the lines change as the lines slope creating the fullness of his head. It’s subtle and easy to ignore but it’s something I really appreciate.

This is a great portrait of a character that is pretty easy to overlook.

Slave # 11 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

While at his first Renaissance Faire, Hob Gadling and his girlfriend Guenevere talk about Hob’s “ancestors.” She mentioned to him that a man named Hinnegan uncovered that throughout history there were several Robert Gadling including a printer and publisher and one owned a fleet of ships. These are, of course, Hob, having lived for several centuries and tried his hand at various occupations and trades.

Hob is distressed, remembering that while he owned the fleet of ships he was a slave trader and brought slaves to America. The English owned all the ships that brought the slaves to America. They would sell trade the slaves to the colonies for cotton and molasses, which they would bring to England. They would use the profits from the sales to purchase more slave.

When England made slave trading illegal and they were at risk of being boarded while in transit or if there was bad weather they would sometimes dump their cargo. The slaves were all chained together and so when one went overboard they would all quickly follow.

Hob is still haunted by nightmares of this.

Gwen doesn’t know that Hob is over 600 years old and was responsible for some of these actions. While she thinks that some things can just be forgotten, Hob is unable to do that.

This is one of the slaves from Hob’s memory.

He appears in Sandman # 73, on page 6, in panel 5.

Max did a wonderful job with this portrait. This particular slave was one of the ones under water drowning and Max captured that perfectly. The blues that he used typically have a cold and calming feeling, but the contrast between the blues and the characters expression causes a contrast that cannot be ignored.

Masquerading Woman # 5 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

On the night of Alain’s masked ball a flotilla of boats arrived in the bay and dispatched several masquerading women.

The identity of these women is unknown. Some of the citizens of Alain’s court suspected they might be noblewomen, while others whispered that they were courtesans. A third speculation is that they were nuns from the convent of San Michele Di Murano who arrived in defiance of their vows.

This woman is one of the masquerading women who arrived for Alain’s masked ball.

She appears in Endless Nights, in “Death In Venice” on page 12, in panel 7.

Lukas did a fantastic job with this portrait. I love how Lukas approached this character. This woman’s hair is exceptional. The details are fantastic and the shading is perfect. This is one of those characters who stands out as interesting and mysterious in the published comic and Lukas managed to keep that mystery and add life into this character. He made this character feel real.

Ghost Cat # 6 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In Season of Mists, Bast tells Morpheus that she will tell him the location of Destruction in exchange for The Key To Hell. Ultimately this does not sway Dream’s decision and Bast leaves The Dreaming empty handed.

In Brief Lives, Dream calls upon Bast hoping to discover Destruction’s whereabouts. Dream and Bast meet in a dream, in her lost city. There are several ghostly cats wandering through the desert. Bast describes this cat as one of her folk who was embalmed in order to live forever in the world beyond. Their physical forms were exhumed and were ground up and used to fertilize the land. “Now they are only memories, slowling fading from the land and the world. Dreams of Ghost Cats, and Cats of Ghost Dreams.”

This Ghost Cat appears in Sandman # 46, on page 11, in pagels 5 and 6.

I really like this portrait from Anna. I think she did a great job with the paleness and hints of blue to make this cat seem ghostly. Also, the background, although simple is pretty awesome. I really like the curve of the slopes. It feels very natural.

Here is Ghost Cat # 6…

Dreamer # 81 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Season Of Mists, Dream decides to return to Hell to rescue Nada, his former lover. He does not make this decision lightly because he is aware that this visit could lead to his death.

Prior to embarking on his journey, he travels through the dreams of people to eventually visit Hob Gadling.

This is one of the dreamers that Dream travels through in order to find a bottle of wine to bring to Hob.

This dreamer appears in Sandman # 22, on page 15 in panel 2.

In the published comic, there is very little detail given to these random dreamers. Max brings this character to life with his realistic details and line work. I really like the lines and the colors used to really accent this character’s face. Max’s choice of lines feel deliberate and are perfectly placed. I really like taking the time to really look at the subtle details of portraits like this.