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
Publisher	DC Comics/Vertigo
First appearance	New York World's Fair Comics #1 (November 30, 1938)
Created by	Gardner Fox (writer) Bert Christman (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Wesley Bernard "Wes" Dodds
Team affiliations	All-Star Squadron Justice Society of America Black Lantern Corps
Notable aliases	Grainy 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]