Having already run through the entire six-issue run of DC Comics' odd mid '70s series The Sandman, 100-Page FAKES! turns its dim widdle spotlight on the master of dreams one more time, with an expansion of the book's unpublished seventh issue.
If the series hadn't been cancelled with its sixth issue, The Sandman # 7 would have been cover-dated February-March 1976, and on spinner racks in time for Christmas '75. Instead, its completed story "The Seal Men's War On Santa" finally appeared in The Best Of DC # 22, a 1982 digest devoted to "Christmas With The Super-Heroes." Before being rescued for the 1982 digest, "The Seal Men's War On Santa Claus" was slated to appear in the unpublished Kamandi, The Last Boy On Earth # 61 (January-February 1979). Kamandi's final published issue was # 59, and material intended for its 60th and 61st issues was among the odds 'n' sods gathered for the super-rare Cancelled Comic Cavalcade # 2 in 1978. Kamandi # 61 would have surrounded the Sandman story with new framing pages by writer Jack C. Harris and artists Dick Ayers and Danny Bulanadi.
The concluding pages of "I'll See You In My Nightmares!" tied The Sandman's Christmas adventure into Kamandi's ongoing storyline. I don't imagine they're considered part of the canon now, but they would have been The Sandman's first connection to other DC characters...if it had been published. Roy Thomas would eventually bring back The Sandman during his stint writing Wonder Woman in the '80s, and carry the concept with him for subsequent tweaking in Infinity, Inc. Paul Levitz and Len Wein teamed to write my all-time favorite Sandman story in 1983's Justice League Of America Annual # 1.
To properly stuff this super Christmas stocking, we turn to the Golden Age for more holiday hijinks starring the original Captain Marvel, the Golden Age Flash, the Golden Age Green Lantern, Robin the Boy Wonder, and Wonder Woman.
The Sandman in "The Seal Men's War On Santa Claus," originally intended for The Sandman # 7 [unpublished], printed in The Best Of DC # 22 (March 1982)
"Captain Marvel And The Plot Against Christmas," Captain Marvel Adventures # 42 (January 1945)
The Golden Age Flash in "The Story Of The First Santa Claus!," Comic Cavalcade # 13 (Winter 1945)
The Golden Age Green Lantern in "A Tale Of A City!," Comic Cavalcade # 9 (Winter 1944)
Robin the Boy Wonder in "The Boy Who Wanted Robin For Christmas!," Star Spangled Comics # 77 (February 1948)
"Captain Marvel And Billy Batson's Xmas!," Captain Marvel Adventures # 69 (February 1947)
Wonder Woman in "Racketeers Kidnap Miss Santa Claus,"Sensation Comics # 38 (February 1945)
It's all copyright DC Comics Inc., and shown here only in sample pages; my paid subscribers see the whole thing. As we finally bid farewell to The Sandman, we pause to wish you the merriest. Visions of sugarplums dancing in your head? Well, that has to be The Sandman's work, doesn't it?
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Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying the digital download from from Futureman, and/or the CD from Kool Kat Musik.
(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)
Get MORE Carl! Check out the fourth and latest issue of the mighty Big Stir magazine at bigstirrecords.com/magazine
(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)
Get MORE Carl! Check out the fourth and latest issue of the mighty Big Stir magazine at bigstirrecords.com/magazine
Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
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