This first issue doesn't give away its secrets too easily, but it does just about everything right. Venditti continues to be one of DC's best old-school writers, and Riley Rossmo's eerie art is as always perfect for a story that feels firmly set in a bygone era not just of DC but of comics itself. Read Full Review

Justice Society fans rejoice! Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 is another great book spotlighting a Golden Age hero and is a great companion piece to the current Justice Society of America series. It feels like a pulp novel with some thrilling two-fisted action scenes and serves as a great introduction to Wesley Dodds and his supporting cast. Recommended. Read Full Review

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 gives the vigilante a whole time period to himself. An immersive, individual world is created for Wesley Dodds to express himself. Read Full Review

There are some interesting hooks to be found in these pages (and a cameo by another future JSA member), but it's the art and coloring that really sing. Read Full Review

With his mix of competency and insecurities and hate for Nazis and the 1%, Dodds is a protagonist that's easy to latch onto, and Sandman #1 is a solid introduction to the classic Golden Age crime fighter. Read Full Review

It wasn't surprising that this latest version of Wesley Dodds' adventures was enjoyable. Venditti has a love for the Golden Age heroes and his co-creators ensure this is a title worth keeping one eye open on each month. Read Full Review

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 is a debut with the makings of a great superhero comics run. Read Full Review

It feels like Wesley in this series is the same Wesley Dodds that readers are familiar with. That's not something that can be said for all the books in the Dawn of DC initiative. Venditti understands that it's important to put character first instead of altering a characters just to tell the story the writer wants to tell. On top of that, the issue hits all the points needed in a first issue. Read Full Review

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 does what it sets out to do. If you're a Sandman fan, there's a lot to like in this comic. The action, pacing, drama, and story are all firmly entrenched in the Golden Age of crime noir serial films, and Rossmo's art is surprisingly good compared to his previous work. Read Full Review

Old and new DC meet for a really great start. Read Full Review

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 works as a reintroduction to the character with a nice nod or two for longtime fans (such as Dodds meeting Rex Tyler at a party and his dream of the colorful clad group who will eventual become his teammates). Being rebuffed by the war department and having everything he owns literally go up in flames is an interesting start for the character. I am curious to see where he goes from here. Read Full Review

This is a fantastic book. Even if you've never read a single story of the Golden Age Sandman, you would want to read more about this character after reading this one. Robert Venditti knows these Golden Age heroes as well as anyone in the business as his previous Hawkman series will attest. I've been turned off by Riley Rossmo's art in the past. Its weirdness was just not my cup of tea. Here though, it's clean and under control. Along with the great script, the two creators really capture the noir of the pre-war period. This is another most-welcomed return to DC's roots. Now we need DC to follow up with collected editions of Golden Age stories.

It's nice to revisit Wes and Dian and not be pissed that DC f'd it up. Last I really read anything Sandman was back in the vertigo days and this feels similar enough that I can get nostalgia vibes while also enjoying a new feel for the character. Noir is always a plus for me and this really gives you the vibes you want in that genre/style. The story is solid and makes me want to purchase the next issue, which is all I really want from a comic. I have to say, Riley Rossmo kills it here. Where was this crisp style during Tim Drake Robin??? All in all I have to say I really enjoyed this journey with a dc character we rarely get to see. Knight terrors gave us a taste but this book feels like the main course.

Very good first issue. Honestly my rating might be considered a bit harsh as I liked it overall, but Rossmo's art is just hit and miss. Riley does a great job drawing Dodds as Sandman, but the way he draws most people is just weird... now mind you this is probably some of his better art as his people actually look like people vs when he drew Tim Drake and his people looked like aberrations. I do believe Rossmo is giving it his all, so I tried not to dock too much for the art.

Venditti does a great job. I feel the frustration Dodds has at man inherent nature for violence, the ease at which killing trumps over a possible technological advancement in how war is conducted. The contrast of the party, everything is rather well done. He lays great groundwork with the final pages for the conflict Dodds will have to resolve. Functionally everything a first issue needs to have he has and did it well. I just would like to see the second issue and see what direction he is taking this in before I give it anything higher than an 8.5.

Next issue hopefully will be telling, and I look forward to it.

Also one last note. I am not really a Sandman person myself. Like I do like golden age stuff and Dodds is good, but I like his look most of all. His costume is great, but I normally dont go out of my way to read his stories. It is hard to skip Venditti writing stories though. Recently he has been on rush a tear. more

https://youtu.be/btBQZk9eUrY?si=5JUplwhzBKFPQfLb

Review at (4:33) in video

Robert Venditti’s pulpy interpretation of Sandman’s Golden Age origins would make the likes of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler proud. While the tone was spot on, we’ll see if the actual plot holds up under further scrutiny in future issues, but Venditti has shown a knack for taking previously niche characters and creating backstories that make them feel more timely and of great importance. Riley Rossmo’s art can be polarizing, but his brand of eerie, unnatural designs fit perfectly with Venditti’s script. Overall, a decent first issue that offered a unique take without much setup for what we should expect in terms of the series' plot, other than that it's an origin story.

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ItsJess - Oct 13, 2023 (edited)

"would make the likes of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler proud." Yeah I don't know about that.

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Art is fabulous. Writing, eh. Robert Venditti is massaging the Sandman character to fit his plot, not his plot to fit the Sandman character. To those who love the Sandman Wesley Dodds, the overall story concept is interesting, but massaging the Sandman character to make the plot fit is jarring. The idea about using sleep gas to put masses of foreign military troops is ludicrous. It just is, and not just because the Colonel character says so. Sandman Wesley Dodds was not a pacifist by any means, but actually joined the U.S. Navy and was an expert machine gunner killing Axis forces. One of the co-creators of the Sandman Allen Bert Christman was gunned down by Axis forces, joining the U.S. Navy in 1939 (before this Venditti story takes place), and part of the Navy’s “Neutrality Patrol” in 1939, then joining the American Volunteer Group's "Flying Tigers." Both in All-Star Comics and in Adventure Comics, Sandman Wesley Dodds had no qualms about killing foreign enemy soldiers, as was well-documented, and anyone can see for themselves. But Vendetti wants to create a sloppy Wesley Dodds, willing to leave his home and secrets involving life and death, readily unguarded. Wesley Dodds may not have been Bruce Wayne, but he was a LOT more prepared and lot more thoughtful than that. I guess we will see the next issue. Venditti is riding off of fan love of Sandman Wesley Dodds for 80 years. He needs to start doing his homework. more

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Ulf - Oct 18, 2023

I hear you about old-school Wesley as seen in Adventure Comics, but when he was reinvigorated in Matt Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theatre, pacifist was a pretty good way to describe Wesley Dodds. Venditti is clearly leaning hard into the SMT run here, and it makes for very good storytelling.

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