Tortured Man # 16 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In Season Of Mists, once Remiel and Duma became the caretakers of Hell, the dead and demons returned to their regular routines and torture.

This man assumed this role as a tortured resident of Hell…waiting to be consumed for all eternity by this monstrous demon’s insatiable appetite. >P> This tortured man appears in Sandman # 28, on page 21 in panel 2.

This is a fantastic portrait from Max. I like the contrast between the darkness of the character and the red in the backgrounds. The line work around his face really highlights the pain he’s enduring.

Strip Club Patron # 11 (illustrated by Anna Hybsier)

In Brief Lives, Dream and Delirium travel the waking world in hopes of finding their missing brother, Destruction. Their travels lead them to a strip club called Suffragette City, where the goddess Ishtar dances.

This man is one of the people who is at Suffragette City watching Ishtar, Tiffany and the other dancers perform.

He appears in Sandman # 45 page 21 in panel 1.

I love this portrait from Anna. She managed to successfully capture one of several typical strip club patrons (at least in my mind). I love his facial expression. I can imaging him sitting at the bar watching the women dance. I like his somewhat shaggy hair and facial hair. This is a fantastic portrait of a character that is nothing more than a silhouette in the published comic.

John Wayne (illustrated by Mike DeCarlo)

I would like to welcome Mike DeCarlo to the Sandman Portraits team.

I have commissioned Mike a few times over the years and thought that he would be a good fit to the portraits project.

Mike has done a handful of portraits. First up is John Wayne…

John Wayne was a popular American actor known best for his western and war films, such as True Grit, The Alamo and The Green Berets.

His role in Sandman is not as notable as his film career or appearance in other comic series, but it is still memorable.

Mort Notkin is dreaming he is at a party with several celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and John Wayne. In Mort’s dream he is wearing a clown suit.

John Wayne appears in the first issue of Sandman on page 31, in panel 4.

Mike did an awesome job with this portrait. I think he did a great job capturing the likeness of the character and his persona from films. The colors on this drawing are also vibrant and really pop in person.

Here is John Wayne…

Babylonian Woman # 3 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

As Tiffany and Ishtar arrive to work, at a strip club called Suffragette City, Nancy tells them about the Babylonian women she learned about in a class.

Every Babylonian woman went into the Temple Of Ishtar and waited for a man to come to them. They would give them a coin and the women would go into one of the temple rooms and make love to them. Once they had made love, they were free to leave the temple and begin their lives.

Ishtar commented that that after awhile this ritual began to decay and fall to the wayside. She considered this ritual to be one of the most important and terrifying rituals of the civilization for both men and women because they were to give themselves up to lust and previously unknown pleasures.

This woman is one of the Babylonian women waiting in the temple courtyard.

This Babylonian Woman appears in Sandman # 44, page 12, panel 6.

I like this portrait from Max. The colors used in this portrait are interesting and I really like the emotions that resonate from this portrait. It’s obvious from the position of her head that there is a bit of sadness in this woman. Perhaps she is afraid of the ritual for one reason or another or is sad because she is still waiting outside the temple to be picked.

This is a gorgeous portrait of one of the Babylonian Women.

Ghost Boy # 12 (illustrated by Lukas Ketner)

When Lucifer decides that he is no longer interested in being the ruler of Hell. He empties Hell of all the tortured souls and locked the doors behind him. Some of them returned to where they died, which is the case for this young boy.

This Ghost Boy returned to St. Hilarion’s School For Boys.

He can be seen walking toward the school through the courtyard.

The Ghost Boy appears in Sandman # 25, page 6, panel 4.

I love this portrait. This ghost boy is incredibly creepy. I really like the line work around his face and hair. The shadows around his face creates mystery and darkness. His mouth is fabulous. It’s neither smiling or frowning and the stillness of his expression adds an unnatural look to the character. This is one of my favorite portraits from Lukas so far.

I hope you enjoy it.

Man # 293 (illustrated by Max Rugers)

In London in June 1920, the news of John Hathaway’s suicide spreads through the city. Young boys are selling newspapers with headlines questioning his mental health and asking questions of the mysteries surrounding his death. The streets are bustling.

This man is on the streets this day. He is standing behind a woman and is crouching down. Perhaps he is speaking to a child or maybe he found a coin on the sidewalk. I’m not really sure. All we see of this character is his butt.

He appears in Sandman # 1, on page 14, in panel 1.

This is a fantastic portrait from Max. We are given very little visual information about this man, but Max accepted this challenge and created a person that easily fits in with the rest of the Sandman Universe. I really like this portrait. The ripped up paper used for the man’s shirt adds an interesting texture to the portrait.

French Citizen # 25 (illustrated by Lars Brown)

After Maxmilien Robespierre and Louis-Antoine St. Just heard the song of Orpheus, both were faced with events that caused their status within the French Government to be compromised and ultimately lead to their death.

This French citizen was one of the men who was present when St. Just, typically a great orator, stuttered and fell silent during a speech before the national convention.

He appears in Sandman # 29, on page 23, in panel 1.

This is another great portrait from Lars. I love the sheer outrage on the face of this character. It’s easy to picture him amongst the crowds at the national convention during this speech and realizing that their leaders were perhaps not ideal for the country.

Here is French Citizen # 25…