The Sandman

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This article is about the Neil Gaiman graphic novels. You may be looking for the DCU character Sandman or the Marvel character Sandman.
Fandom
Name: The Sandman
Abbreviation(s):
Creator: Neil Gaiman (writer), various artists
Date(s): 1989-1996 (comics),
2022 (live-action series)
Medium: comic books / graphic novels
TV series
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: The Sandman (Vertigo) at Wikipedia
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Sandman is a series of graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics's Vertigo imprint, that ran from 1989 to 1996. Two follow-up series were later published (The Dream Hunters, 1999, and Overture, 2013-2015).

The series focuses on Dream (also often called Morpheus or other names), the titular Sandman and one of the seven "Endless", a group of beings which also includes Death, Destiny, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium/Delight.

The comic Lucifer is a spin-off from the Sandman universe. It was also adapted in a TV show of the same name from 2016-2021, although the appearances of most of the main characters in the TV show were changed from the comic book.

In 2022, Netflix released a miniseries based on The Sandman graphic novels that was developed and produced in collaboration with Gaiman. It included casting that varied race or gender from the comics, (even more) queer relationships, and actors famous from other fandoms, such as David Thewlis from the Harry Potter movies, Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who, Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones and Star Wars, and Charles Dance from Game of Thrones.

Characters

As a full list of Sandman characters would be its own lengthy article, this is necessarily very abbreviated, and focused on characters of import on the show (as most of the fandom activity as of 2023 is show-oriented) and/or the overall lore of the series. Please see the Wikipedia article for a much more complete list.

The Endless

Other Major Supernatural Entities

Prominent Residents of the Dreaming

  • Lucien (comics) / Lucienne (show)
  • Matthew the Raven
  • The Corinthian
  • Mervyn Pumpkinhead
  • Fiddler's Green
  • Cain & Abel
  • Brute and Glob (comics) / Gault (show)
  • Nuala (comics)
  • The Fashion Thing (comics)

Prominent Humans (some mortal, some not so much)

Fandom

Unlike with some other media franchises, the Sandman fandom does not have any notable distinction between fans of the comic and fans of the show, and fanworks often mix and match elements from both. However, the release of the first season of the show saw a major shift in the types of fanworks most often created.

Pre-Netflix

While the comic book series was much discussed and held in very high regard by fans, there were few actual fanfiction archives - fanfic tended to be dominated by Marvel and DC-mainstream comics (as opposed to the Vertigo line, which was often seen as almost a different company). However, there were those who collected and encouraged fic in the 1990s-2000s. And while some shipping happened, fanfiction tended to more often be Gen genre pieces. Sandman fic at the time was also notable for a large number of crossovers; Forever Knight, Hellblazer, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and Doctor Who were often crossed over with the Sandman, but almost anything was possible.

Dream and Death were fan-favorites from the beginning, and many stories involved one or both of them meeting an OC and providing advice, guidance, or making an offer of some kind. Almost every character made appearances somewhere, from the Endless themselves right down to the Fashion Thing.[1] Delirium and Desire were almost as popular, as was the Corinthian.

Dream and his sisters Death and Delirium especially became fan faves and have been popular subjects of art and cosplay since the '90s.

Post-Netflix

With the advent of the Netflix adaptation, fanworks shifted drastically in favor of shipfic over gen, and universe crossovers became much less common, though Swamp Thing canon was still popular to sample from due to Matthew's origins there. To a lesser extent, other canon from the wider DCU also made appearances in fic. Human AU fic, as well as Fix-it fic (and to a lesser extent, Whump) for the comic issue The Wake became very common, often involving the idea of "retired Morpheus."

The show fandom's Juggernaut Ship is Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling. Other popular ships include The Corinthian/Dream of the Endless, Johanna Constantine/Dream of the Endless, and The Corinthian/Carl, as well as OT3s Calliope/Dream of the endless/Hob Gadling and The Corinthian/Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling. Reader-Insert and Original Character fics are also popular.

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

  • Sandman - Dream and Death by OlayaValle (2007)

    Sandman - Dream and Death by OlayaValle (2007)

  • Crossover fan art by Antonio depicting Lisa Simpson as Death (2019)

    Crossover fan art by Antonio depicting Lisa Simpson as Death (2019)

  • Death by Juan (2004-ish)

    Death by Juan (2004-ish)

Cosplay

  • Cosplayers at Denver Comic Con 2013 by Joe Beine

    Cosplayers at Denver Comic Con 2013 by Joe Beine

Other

Archives and Communities

Links and Resources

References

  1. ^ The Ribbon Should Pin on the Left by Brian Bengston, Fonts of Wisdom (Via Wayback)
  2. ^ The Wake: Stories - notes for The Voice of Her Eyes and Merv Pumpkinhead's Big Night Out. (via Wayback, Sep 22/08)
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