The Sandman Mystery Theatre Compendium One

In this noir collection, millionaire Wesley Dodds becomes the Sandman to fight injustice in 1930s New York City, going after kidnappers, blackmailers and predators who prey on rich socialites.

The year is 1938, and the world is holding its breath—mesmerized by the onrushing storm that will soon engulf it in fire and steel. In New York City, one man’s sleep is filled with tormenting visions of the evils that mankind visits upon itself, compelling him to act. And so, by night, Wesley Dodds lays aside the trappings of his inherited wealth to roam the shadows as the Sandman, armed with a tranquilizing gas gun and driven by an unrelenting sense of justice. 

Haunted and obsessed, the Sandman moves through a decadent, post-Depression landscape, stalking the predators who hide themselves beneath society’s callous indifference to the weak and vulnerable. No one sees him at his work until he chooses to reveal himself—no one, that is, except the woman who is destined to be the light to his darkness.

This compendium collects Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-26 (1993-1996) and Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual (1994).Matt Wagner has enjoyed a career in comics for nearly twenty years. His first published work—a short story that introduced one of comicdom's most respected creator-owned characters-the mastermind assassin, Grendel—was for the fledgling '80s company, Comico. Best known for this epic creation and his other, more personal allegory, Mage, Matt has also worked on a variety of established characters. These include his ground-breaking work on Batman villain, Two-Face, in the graphic novel, BATMAN: FACES, as well as a five-year stint developing and generating the stories for the fan-favorite Vertigo title, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER.