Though Superman and Batman came first, Wesley Dodds has become the symbol of Golden Age DC Comics, and now he’s back in action. Your Major Spoilers review of Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 from DC Comics awaits!

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #1

Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Colorist: Ivan Placensia
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Editor: Katie Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 10, 2023

Previously in Wesley Dodds: The Sandman: No one escapes the Sandman’s dark dreams, not even Wesley Dodds himself. After years of testing and experimentation, Wesley perfected his sleep gas as the optimal weapon to fight crime without causing undue harm. But when his journal detailing all his failed and far more deadly formulas is stolen, the Sandman must hunt down the thief and the people in the shadows pulling the strings before the contents of the journal are released!

THE FACE OF FEAR

After being excised from continuity for over a decade, this issue brings back the Golden Age Sandman, kicking off in the middle of a confrontation with a low-level gangster armed with a Tommy gun. Using his trademark gas gun, Sandman takes down the shooter, even convincing him to go to the police and confess to the murder of an innocent man to prop up gang control of the city. Though it’s still three years or so from the formation of the Justice Society of America, The Sandman dreams of his future costumed colleagues, as well as prophetic dreams of crimes to come, but by day, Wesley Dodds is working on new non-lethal combat methods based on his extracurricular activities, but finds the War Department isn’t interested. “Maiming and killing is simpler,” he is told by a high-ranking general, “And cheaper.” Still, it doesn’t take prophetic nightmares to foresee the strife in Europe arriving on United States shores, and Wesley is distracted enough with his double life to be surprised to return from his nocturnal pursuits to find his own home on fire!

A NEW LOOK FROM ROSSMO

The first surprise of the issue is seeing Riley Rossmo working in a new, less abstract style in these pages, giving us a Sandman who harkens back to the days of Vertigo and Sandman Mystery Theatre. Combined with the truly inspired coloring of Ivan Placensia, it makes for some really good-looking pages. Several of the pages remind me of the work of Matt Wagner, with others evoking the Fleischer Brothers Superman cartoons of the 1940s. Combined with a story that ties together the spooky Vertigo and traditional superhero sides of The Sandman, while adding some wrinkles about his father and Wesley’s own doubts about finding his way in the world. The last page cliffhanger is well-timed and well-handled, and I’ll be looking out for the next issue.

BOTTOM LINE: MORE OF THIS, PLEASE

I’ve always found the premise that Wesley Dodds is nothing more than an extension of Morpheus to be fun, but problematic in the way it has played out in the comics. Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 manages to walk the tightrope well, maintaining the “exorcising bad dreams” part of modern Sandman, but making him once again his own hero and a unique presence, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. The images in this book are top-notch, and it’s a read well worth your time.

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