Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Sandman
Wesley Dodds as Sandman as appeared on the cover of Adventure Comics #51 (June 1940).
Art by Creig Flessel
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics/Vertigo
First appearanceNew York World's Fair Comics #1 (November 30, 1938)
Created byGardner Fox (writer)
Bert Christman (artist)
In-story information
Full nameWesley Bernard "Wes" Dodds
Team affiliationsAll-Star Squadron
Justice Society of America
Black Lantern Corps
Notable aliasesGrainy Gladiator
Wes Dodds
Abilities
  • Prophetic dreams
  • Expert chemist and inventor
  • Expert hand-to-hand combatant, athlete, and marksman
  • Skilled detective
  • Use of gas mask and gas gun

The Sandman (Wesley Dodds) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name Sandman, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. Attired in a green business suit, fedora, and World War I gas mask, the Sandman used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to sedate criminals. He was originally one of the "mystery men" to appear in comic books and other types of adventure fiction in the 1930s, but later was outfitted with a unitard/cowl costume and developed into a proper superhero, acquiring a sidekick, Sandy, and founding the Justice Society of America (JSA).

Like most DC Golden Age superheroes, the Sandman fell into obscurity in the 1940s and eventually other DC characters took his name. During the 1990s, when writer Neil Gaiman's Sandman (featuring Morpheus, the anthropomorphic embodiment of dreams) was popular, DC revived Dodds in Sandman Mystery Theatre, a pulp/noir series set in the 1930s. Wizard Magazine ranked Wesley Dodds among the Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time, and he is the oldest superhero in terms of continuity to appear on the list.[1]

  1. ^ Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time, Wizard Magazine