This is a list of characters appearing in The Sandman comic book, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. This page discusses not only events which occur in The Sandman (1989–1994), but also some occurring in spinoffs of The Sandman, such as The Dreaming (1996–2001) and Lucifer (1999–2007), as well as characters from earlier stories which The Sandman was based on. These stories occur in the DC Universe, but are generally tangential to the mainstream DC stories.