The Sandman #1
Published and © by DC, March 1974
Title: “The Sandman”
Synopsis: The Bronze Age Sandman – along with helpers Glob and Brute – saves an asthmatic boy from perils real and dreamt.
Writer: Joe Simon
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Mike Royer
Review: Much of Jack Kirby’s work from the 1970s has the feel of an escaped fever dream, but The Sandman #1 cranks the quirkiness to 11. Golden Age partner Joe Simon rejoins Kirby here, and, while they might not completely rediscover the old magic, there’s no shortage of odd fun: demonic, computerized dolls and a Japanese general with a see-through, solid-state brain; Jed, the plucky, asthmatic protagonist; and, of course, a new Sandman, with his nightmarish sidekicks Glob and Brute. If you like the weirdness of Simon’s Prez and the art and oddness of Kirby’s Kamandi, you can’t go wrong here.
Grade: B+
Cool factor: The final collaboration between Golden Age greats Simon and Kirby, co-creators of many characters, including Captain America.
Notable: First appearance of the Bronze Age Sandman.
Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is a purple-cover variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “The emergency alarm! It’s a four-alarm nightmare!” – The Sandman (of the post-Wesley Dodds, pre-Morpheus variety)
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on March 27, 2009.
