Cards on the table. I’ve never read the acclaimed Sandman Mystery Theatre run. I do have them all, and have enjoyed the first storyline, but haven’t yet got to the rest. Maybe I should rush this review…
As it turns out, while there are references to the Matt Wagner/Steven T Seagle/Guy David series, you don’t have to have read that to enjoy this. I’m the proof, lapping it up from the action-packed opening in which gas-masked mystery man Wesley Dodds takes down a mobster…
… to the cliffhanger which I shan’t spoil.
In between we see that Wesley has been fighting crime for awhile, with some success, but he’s feeling rather flat.
He’s going to offer the military the formula for his successful sleeping gas, moving the Second World War into a less lethal phase.
Later, at a party, he’s introduced to a future friend.
Wesley isn’t in the party mood, so leaves and comes across a perfectly distracting crime in progress. And then comes the aforementioned cliffhanger.
This is a wonderful comic. Writer Robert Venditti follows up on his remarkable Hawkman run with another thoughtful approach to a DC Golden Ager. As with Sandman Mystery Theatre, Wesley’s relationship with Dian Belmont is key; their mature relationship is something rarely seen in superhero books, even today.
Having the starting point be the lethal formulas our hero stumbled across before perfecting his harmless sleep gas is a top idea. That he has such notebooks is brilliantly logical, and their existence adds an understandable layer of anxiety to Wesley’s patrician nature. Someone else wants them for no-doubt nefarious purposes and I look forward to seeing where that leads us.
Especially as drawn by Riley Rossmo, who shines when given the right assignment. And this is very much the right assignment, with his quirky stylings very well suited to a Forties-set tale. He doesn’t go retro in his storytelling, conjuring up typically visionary page compositions that bring an air of dynamism to proceedings. For example, the way the band bursts onto the page, a blast of vibrancy to change the mood, is fabulous. The vintage looks convince, while the Sandman himself looks wonderfully melodramatic, matching Venditti’s convincing dialogue.
Ivan Plascencia’s thoughtful colours add to the success of the visuals – he knows when to go bright, he knows when to mute a scene. And Tom Napolitano’s lettering choices make sense – lower case for narration, standard for dialogue and wobbly for spooky Sandman talk. And his credits are fabulous, very Art Deco.
As is the cover logo, which looks to be based on a Golden Age masthead seen in DC’s original Who’s Who series, and it’s a burst of joy among the flat mastheads prevalent on today’s comics. The Rossmo/Plascencia illustration is equally good, a brash declaration of the comic’s intent.
The first of three New Golden Age mini-series DC is releasing this autumn, Wesley Dodds: Sandman gets the project off to a splendid start.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Dude!!
Read Sandman Mystery Theatre now! Right now! You won’t be disappointed.
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Well, we are meant to be on strike for a week son, that’ll give me some spare time.
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Ooof. A strike is no fun. But using that time for reading great comics is always time well spent.
Best of luck
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Good luck with the strike!
As for the explicitness of Sandman Mystery Theatre, it never bothered me, although the subject matter of the stories can definitely be upsetting. But Davis (who handles the lion’s share of the run) is a talented artist, and he frames the scenes well, IMO. It’s not the genteel turn-the-camera-away of early Hitchcock, but at the same time, it’s not the in-your-face gore of say, Faust, or something Avatar might publish. I’m not all that squeamish, but when I’m reading a mature story, I don’t want *tacky* gore shots. Whatever explicit scenes are in SMT, they always fit the mood of the piece, rather than break the mood. And that’s what’s most important, whatever type of comic it is, whether it’s Hellblazer or Little Lulu: The writer and artist are both pulling in the same direction, and are aware & supportive of the story’s intended effect.
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All the same, as well drawn and written as anything might be, I prefer my comics and movies to be ones where the inside of the body days inside the body. Books are different because your imagination does the lifting (unless it’s Kathy Reichs and with her other profession you know if she’s describing anything gross she’s doing it from memory).
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Might have to pick this up. Was curious about it. I like the character and the artist.
Just a warning on “Sandman Mystery Theater” because I feel like we have similar tastes in comics…
That was a title I REALLY WANTED to like and thought I would. I actually several years ago accumulated all of the trades and was filling in the issues that weren’t collected.
Then I sat down and started reading it… And ultimately I never made it that far and got rid of the books.
I love old noir/detective films and modern takes on The Golden Age, so I was positive this book was for me. Plus Wesley Dodds was not your typical chiseled protagonist, so I thought that was cool/unique.
But I have to admit I found some of the violence/brutality as depicted in this series too much.
Similar to horror films where I just don’t get the appeal of watching people being tortured/graphic violence for entertainment/thrills, I’m also not keen on it in my comics. I honestly can’t give you many specific examples from “SMT,” but I just remember being turned off by the decisions to “show” and not simply “tell.” I seem to recall a scene of a young girl being molested, for example, and others of women being tortured. And it took me out of the story.
Rather than focusing on the plot, I found myself thinking, “Why did the writer/artist choose to SHOW those images and did the artist actually enjoy drawing those panels?”
Admittedly there are times when I wish I had given the series a chance when I had the chance, because I don’t feel like spending the time/money to accumulate it all over again.
I’ll be interested to know if you stick with it and what you think.
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Thanks, this is interesting. I didn’t think the first story was too bad in terms of violence but as on-panel awfulness does become a consistent thing, I probably will have a problem with it. We’ll see. I agree that it’s unnecessary. Hitchcock had the right idea, what you imagine is worse than what they can show, but I’d rather not be shown and I don’t have to imagine.
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I second Murray’s recommendation of Sandman Mystery Theatre. It’s one of my favorite comics of the 90s.
And this… this is wonderful! Rossmo is the perfect successor to Guy Davis for a revisit to Wes & Dian, and Venditti has a wonderful ear for the cadence and rhythm of their banter. I’m so happy I picked this up.
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Good to hear!
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