Sandman is a character that is known for one of two versions. Definitely the most beloved is Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which has also become a hit on Netflix. For me I have always really enjoyed Wesley Dodds Sandman. There has always been someone charming about the classic character. For Stan Lee’s version of Sandman he definitely based it more on Gaiman’s version in many ways. With that lets jump in.
We meet our hero Larry Wilton as a child being read stories from his mother about a land of fantasy. When Larry would go to bed he would dream about this world and go on amazing adventures. As he grew older the dreams started to go away but his sense of adventure would grow. Larry becomes a MIT graduate turned jet pilot turned astronaut. When a mysterious disease causes people to go into a deep sleep, seemingly killing them, Larry and some other astronauts are tasked with seeing if the green mist floating above the planet has something to do with it. Before the flight one of Larry’s co-pilots takes him to see the church where Reverend Darkk presides, and Larry wants nothing to do with it. When the men reach the outer atmosphere of Earth the ship breaks down and Larry has to go outside the ship to repair it, this is when his co-pilot takes over the ship and leaves Larry to die. During his death Larry is transported to the dream world where he learns that he is the chosen one known as the Sandman. Characters from his dreams as a kid appear to help him fight the Dream Lord and later defeat him. When he returns to the real world Larry discovers that the Dream Lord was actually Reverend Darkk, and that he had killed him. Just as he decides to learn more about his powers to try and help others the world is attacked and the Crisis has come to Earth.
This issue had me hooked from the very begining. Even though, as I said up top, it takes a lot of inspiration from Gaiman’s Sandman, it still felt new and unique. Having Sandman control powers in both lands, and giving him an adventure in a fantastical dream land gave the comic a Warlord of Mars feel to it. And to tie it in directly to the finale, Crisis, brought the whole world of Just Imagine to a new level. I very much enjoyed this issue, and would say it is my favorite of the second crop of characters for Just Imagine. I look forward to a two part adventure in Just Imagine Stan Lee Created Crisis.
If you are enjoying this series or want more like comic reviews and crowdfunding spotlight please subscribe. For those that want to support this substack you can comment down below what you liked about his issue, leave a like, or think about being a premium subscriber(which I am trying to think of ways to reward those that do!).
Thank you all so much for reading this week, and next week we will dive into the first part of the finale Crisis!
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Retro Re-Read: Just Imagine Stan Lee Created the Sandman
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Writer-Stan Lee
Artist-Walter Simonson
Inker-Bob Whacek
Colorist-Lee Loughridge
Sandman is a character that is known for one of two versions. Definitely the most beloved is Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which has also become a hit on Netflix. For me I have always really enjoyed Wesley Dodds Sandman. There has always been someone charming about the classic character. For Stan Lee’s version of Sandman he definitely based it more on Gaiman’s version in many ways. With that lets jump in.
We meet our hero Larry Wilton as a child being read stories from his mother about a land of fantasy. When Larry would go to bed he would dream about this world and go on amazing adventures. As he grew older the dreams started to go away but his sense of adventure would grow. Larry becomes a MIT graduate turned jet pilot turned astronaut. When a mysterious disease causes people to go into a deep sleep, seemingly killing them, Larry and some other astronauts are tasked with seeing if the green mist floating above the planet has something to do with it. Before the flight one of Larry’s co-pilots takes him to see the church where Reverend Darkk presides, and Larry wants nothing to do with it. When the men reach the outer atmosphere of Earth the ship breaks down and Larry has to go outside the ship to repair it, this is when his co-pilot takes over the ship and leaves Larry to die. During his death Larry is transported to the dream world where he learns that he is the chosen one known as the Sandman. Characters from his dreams as a kid appear to help him fight the Dream Lord and later defeat him. When he returns to the real world Larry discovers that the Dream Lord was actually Reverend Darkk, and that he had killed him. Just as he decides to learn more about his powers to try and help others the world is attacked and the Crisis has come to Earth.
This issue had me hooked from the very begining. Even though, as I said up top, it takes a lot of inspiration from Gaiman’s Sandman, it still felt new and unique. Having Sandman control powers in both lands, and giving him an adventure in a fantastical dream land gave the comic a Warlord of Mars feel to it. And to tie it in directly to the finale, Crisis, brought the whole world of Just Imagine to a new level. I very much enjoyed this issue, and would say it is my favorite of the second crop of characters for Just Imagine. I look forward to a two part adventure in Just Imagine Stan Lee Created Crisis.
If you are enjoying this series or want more like comic reviews and crowdfunding spotlight please subscribe. For those that want to support this substack you can comment down below what you liked about his issue, leave a like, or think about being a premium subscriber(which I am trying to think of ways to reward those that do!).
Thank you all so much for reading this week, and next week we will dive into the first part of the finale Crisis!
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