The Golden Age Sandman Archives 1 Hardcover – January 30, 2005

The other reviews explained who the Sandman was and his importance in the comic world. I will agree that he is definitely a cut above the standard Golden Age Fare. The stories don't include some of the weird villains you might find in Batman or even occassionally in the Shadow, which might explain in part why the Sandman didn't quite stick around as long as a few of the other heroes. But the stories are still pretty interesting as Wesley Dodds matches his wits, his dukes and his famous gas gun against all manner of blackguards, while enjoying a bit of a shady reputation with The Law himself. The art is good too, dynamic and atomospheric at the same time. And of course, the Sandman's relationship with Dian Belmont was way ahead of it's time.Here's a listing of the stories presented in this volume. Let's hope there's a #2.1939-Sandman at the World's Fair.-The Sandman thwarts thieves who steal a deadly new raygun from the World's Fair!July 1939-The Tarantula Strikes-The Sandman K.O.'s a wily kidnapper!August 1939-On the Waterfront-The Sandman saves a girl reporter from a nefarious narcotics ring!September 1939-The Three Sandmen-The Sandman and two Navy buddies take to the air to clip the wings of some Sky Pirates!October 1939-Island Uprising-For some reason the Sandman is in the South Pacific rescuing pearl hunters from the scurvy "Red" Hatch and his native levies!November 1939-The Sandman meets The Face-The Sandman, rather casually, does away with the murderous Master of Disguise known as The Face!December 1939-The Golden Gusher-The Golden Gusher is a saucy blonde nite club singer who entangles the Sandman in a kidnapping racket!January 1940-The Sandman meets with Murder-The Sandman bankrupts a devious cross dressing conterfeiter named The Coin, who uses advertising to confound the law!February 1940-Lady in Evening Clothes-The Sandman catches his future girlfriend Dian Belmont breaking into his(Wesley Dodds') house safe in oder to learn the true identity of her father. Pushover for a safecracker that he is, he decides to help her and brings a band of murderers to justice in the process!March 1940-Death to the D.A.-The Sandman and Dian Belmont make a formidable duo as they save Dian's father from ruthless racketeers and "The Digger in the Dark"!April 1940-Common Cold-Uncommon Crime-Scheming villains use lethal black widow spiders as unusual murder weapons in an attepmt to steal the cure for the common cold from Dr. Lovejoy!1940-Sandman goes to the World's Fair-The Sandman delivers Dian and her frail Aunt Agatha from the clutches of Slugger Slade at The World's Fair. Plus, Aunt Agatha vs. the Parachute Jump!May 1940-Tuffy and Limpy's Revenge plot-The Sandman is run off the road by a car with a dead man at the wheel!June 1940-The Van Leew Emeralds-Wesley and Dian's night on the town is ruined by a pack on inconsiderate jewel thieves!July 1940-Wanted:Dead or Alive-The theft of a simple pair of gloves from his house sends Wesley Doods, Dian Belmont and the Sandman Slam Bang up against the Amber Apple Gang!August 1940-The Loan Sharks-Gorilla Gus brings his cheap tough business methods to town, until the Sandman makes a monkey out of him!September 1940-The Case of the Kidnapped Heiress-Lil' Nana is kidnapped from her very own coming out party, along with Dian Belmont. Luckily the Sandman is on the guest list!October 1940-Star of Singapore-The Sandman cements his reputation as the best safecracker in town while checkmating a team of avaricious jewel thieves!November 1940-The Crook Who Knew the Sandman's Identity-How far will Wes Dodds go to protect his secret identity from the man called..."Squat"!?December 1940-To Hammer the Earth-In an unusaully sci-fi-ish yarn, the Sandman thwarts a mad scientist from knocking the Earth out of orbit with a "uranium beam". He also quotes Archimedes.January 1941-Orchids of Doom-A spy uses a mysterious orchid to snuff out those on to his infernal machinations in a most grisly manner! Can the Sandman prune his evil schemes?February 1941-The Story of the Flaming Ruby-A cursed Ruby with the power to control men's minds sends Sandman and Dian on a wild free-for-all!That's 22 gloriously reproduced stories from comics' Golden Age. Definitely worth every penny.

As a big comic book fan in the 1960s, I became familiar with the Sandman through the revival of DC's Golden Age superheroes as "Earth II" characters in the pages of the Flash, Justice League of America, et al. But then, he was just a member of the Justice Society of Amerca, and never really developed back into a stand alone character. Decades later, DC would revive him again, but in a different role with which I'm rather unfamiliar (Another reviewer has more on it).So, I was anxious to read this volume of the Sandman's tales just as they appeared in two issues of New York World's Fair Comics and 20 issues of Adventure Comics from July 1939 to February 1941. And they're terrific!The Sandman was created and scripted by legendary and prolific comics writer Garnder Fox, who created some of the most famous characters in comicdom to include Hawkman (Golden Age and Silver Age), the Flash, Dr. Fate, the Justice Society of America, Adam Strange, the Justice League of America, and the Silver Age Atom. The Sandman was reportedly inspired by mysterious contemporary pulp and radio crime fighters like the Shadow and the Spider. Fox's character is not a super-powered hero, but a mortal with a gimmick: his gas gun can instantly induce sleep in a close or confined space, and hence his iconic gas mask to protect him from is own weapon (and hide his identity). He also wears a hat with a snap-down brim, a green business suit with white shirt and tie, and a purple cape. Fox's stories are not so much mysteries as they are crime fighting adventures, as the Sandman defeats gangsters and racketeers while evading law enforcement authorities, who aren't certain he himself is not a criminal.Typically, the Sandman is really a millionaire named Wesley Dodds, whose girlfriend -- the lovely and '40s-shiek Dian Belmont -- knows his secret and ably assists him in his crime fighting duties. Dodds will naturally draw comparisons to Bruce "Batman" Wayne and Britt "Green Hornet" Reid -- all rich guys who can afford to spend money on gimmicks and the time to chase villains..Bert Christman's art is perfect for the Sandman. At eight panels per page, Christman manages to create a film noir look and feel to Fox's scripts, setting the atmosphere that makes the Sandman a somewhat dark man of mystery. Christman's style is realistic (quite different than the bigger than life styles of later decades), but compelling. I love the feel of his pencils and inks.Christman left the comic industry to pursue his love of aviation (Note how wonderfully he depicts aircraft and flight in the Sandman). He became a US Navy pilot, and was later one of the members of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers. He was killed in action by the Japanese over Burma in January 1942.Creig Flessel was a worthy successor to Christman. His style is similar, yet it's his own, and retains much of the Sandman's shadowy atmosphere.Following Flessel's departure from the Sandman, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon took over the character, converting him into a costumed crimefighter (no gas mask) complete with a young sidekick named Sandy. But the Kirby & Simon stories -- Golden Age classics in their own right -- are not in this volume.Together Fox, Christman, and Flessel crafted a Sandman character that never wears thin over the 22 wonderful comic stories in this volume. In a way, I felt like I was watching a popular 1930s/40's detective series in the mold of Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, and the Thin Man, though lighter on the mystery (Hey, there's only so much you can do in 6 pages). I sure wish there was a volume 2.This book is highly recommended to fans of comic books, film noir, and '40s pulp fiction.

The Golden Age Hawkman was an "Indiana Jones" with wings. "With weapons of the past he fights evil of the present." The stories by the legendary Gardner Fox are excellent, capturing the sense of wonder that makes the golden age what is was. Fun! Hawkman's adventures span the globe, fighting statues that come to life among ancient ruins in the jungle to taking on modern criminal masterminds. There is even an underwater adventure, depicting Hawkman wearing an oxygen helmet, wings and all! Which speaks to the wonderful artwork by Sheldon Moldoff! I own many DC Archive editions both Golden and Silver Age and I have to say that this is easily one of my favorite volumes largely due to "Shelly's" work. Somewhat unfairly compared to Alex Raymond of Flash Gordon fame, his art had a fluidity and command of the page that many modern artist would do well to study. These men could tell a story! Buy it. You'll be a fan too.

This was a great collection of stories. What I like is the fact that Dian Belmont, the Sandman's girl friend, isn't a wimp waiting to be rescued but an active member of the team.He certainly put himself in danger.Great fun to read.

excellent