But back in the 1980s, they didn't exist. If you wanted to break into comics, which I did, your options were more limited. Self-publishing existed, but it was a much more expensive proposition than it is today; print-on-demand was decades in the future. So what could I do to make my work visible in an industry I loved more than any other?
For one thing, I wrote lots of fan letters and sent them to the editors of my favorite books. The idea was to put my name in front of the editors so they might recognize it and give me a break when I submitted my work. I got to be pretty good at it, in fact; I was no T.M. Maple, but my letters appeared in 69 nationally-published comics between 1984 and 1992.
The next part of my plan was to write a demo script for my favorite major publisher at the time, DC Comics...something about a character no one else was using at the time. I thought that might improve my chances of getting the script published, or at least making a favorable impression with the editorial staff.
Which character did I choose? I considered quite a few obscure DC super-heroes before I finally settled on one in particular...an underused character with crazy powers and a bizarre supporting cast, set in a wildly imaginative world. I picked someone who'd been on the sidelines for a very long time, someone who had a history and deserved better.
In other words, I picked the Jack Kirby version of Sandman from the 1970s, the one with the red and yellow costume and the nightmare sidekicks. The one with the Dream Dome headquarters and the hypnosonic whistle. The one whose secret identity was Garrett Sanford.
Once I got rolling, my imagination took flight. My script took on a life of its own, expanding from a single-issue tale to a four-issue mini-series. I filled it with experimental techniques and quote from literary authors...plus a cool villain called the Bogeyman and lots of surprises.
When I'd finished, in early January 1988, I sent off the script for The Sandman Awakens to an editor at DC Comics who'd published quite a few of my letters. His name was Bob Greenberger.
As you might know, sending a full-length unsolicited manuscript to a publisher--any publisher--is often frowned upon. As a rule, editors don't like receiving big thick manuscripts that they haven't asked for from people they don't know; they're just too busy to deal with them. But Bob Greenberger was no ordinary editor. To his credit, he not only took the time to read some of the manuscript, but he actually sent me an encouraging letter! "No introductions were necessary since I am quite familiar with you and your letters," he wrote. "Your actual writing is pretty good but the script format requires some polish."
Bob went on to give me a number of pointers. He also said that he'd be happy to speak with me the next time I visited New York City.
Unfortunately, he also wrote that "DC's plans for Sandman totally invalidate any hope you have of selling us this mini-series." After all the work I'd put into that mini-series, DC wasn't going to publish it. "The greatest problem for people trying to break in," wrote Bob, "is that they attempt it with mini-series or series based on characters we already have in the works."
So much for The Sandman Awakens.
But at least I'd made contact with an actual DC Comics editor, and he'd offered to meet with me. He'd given me inside information on the return of the Kirby Sandman character, too...and sure enough, his information was right on the money. Shortly after I received Bob's letter, I picked up the new issue of DC's Infinity, Inc., and there he was--Kirby's 1970s Sandman. Writers Roy and Dann Thomas had brought him back in the form of Hector Hall, formerly the Silver Scarab. Hector, who'd died in an earlier issue of the series, returned as the latest incarnation of the 70s Sandman.
I mentioned this in the thank-you letter I sent Bob, dated January 31, 1988. "I've been following Roy Thomas' Infinity, Inc.," I wrote, "and I see what you mean about DC's plans for the Sandman. Too bad my mini-series is unfeasible...but I am getting a kick out of what Roy's doing with the character." I also wrote this: "So Hector Hall is the Sandman! Quite an intriguing turn of events, I must say."
Little did I know that Hector Hall and Infinity, Inc. weren't exactly the most intriguing developments in store for a Sandman character at DC Comics. Less than a year later, a new DC series debuted, starring a master of dreams with a bizarre cast of characters...but his real name wasn't Hector Hall or Garrett Sanford or even Wesley Dodds, as the original Golden Age Sandman had been named.
This new character was named Morpheus. His series was titled The Sandman. And it was written by Neil Gaiman.
So, yes, DC did indeed have a different Sandman plan in mind. But it all worked out in the end. Years later, I went on to write for DC. I became a novelist, too; my young adult fantasy, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, was named a Top Ten First Novel for Youth by Booklist. And I started my own publishing company, Pie Press, which made it possible to publish The Sandman Awakens after all these years...in a different form, of course, using new characters of my own invention.
So now you can finally read this mini-series script. And you can judge for yourself if it measures up to Neil's creation. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised; working on it again after so many years, I think it definitely holds up. As you'll see, I used some interesting literary techniques throughout. It certainly has that Vertigo feeling. And it's jam-packed with surprises, action, and edgy dialogue. Maybe, like Gaiman's The Sandman, The Dream Lord Awakens was ahead of its time in its own way.
If it had seen print way back in 1988, would it have made as big of a splash as Neil's project? In my wildest dreams, maybe. Or maybe it never stood a chance.
Or maybe, like so many dreams, its biggest splash was simply delayed, awaiting the right moment. And perhaps this moment is as good as any other for this dream of mine to become a reality.
*****
Also by DC Comics Author Robert T. Jeschonek
7 Comic Book Scripts
Comic book and super-hero fans, rejoice! This volume includes seven scripts—mostly super-hero tales, plus one war/horror story—from a writer whose work has been published by DC Comics, among others. Robert T. Jeschonek has written plenty of scripts in his career, and these seven will shine a light on his writing process, his wild imagination…and some thrilling and thought-provoking adventures. The first in a series collecting some of his best work, this action-packed book includes seven scripts:
"Super-Powered Poser Blues": A super-hero stand-in runs into unexpected problems while impersonating a mighty mortal.
"My Date With Godling": A hard-driving cosmic god-hero launches a mission under false pretenses…a mission that quickly goes from intense to insane.
"The Mime: On Bread Alone": An endangered priest is protected by a silent hero whose make-believe performances have real world consequences.
"Young Soldiers Never Die": A future warrior discovers that one man's idea of a perfect soldier is another man's idea of pure hell.
"The Child Is Father to the Man": The younger selves of three great old-time heroes leap forward to the future after suffering their greatest defeat.
"Johnstown Man: Losing Ground": A blue collar steel town hero battles crime in the age of layoffs.
"Don't Tug on Superstar's Cape": A super souvenir hunter goes after the ultimate prize from the ultimate hero and nearly loses everything in the bargain.
Don't miss this collection of seven comic book scripts for one low price. It’s the latest book from award-winning storyteller Robert T. Jeschonek (My Favorite Band Does Not Exist), a master of unique and unexpected fiction that packs a punch.
Now on Sale!
*****
Also by Robert T. Jeschonek
7 More Comic Book Scripts
Comic book and superhero fans, rejoice! This volume includes seven scripts—a mix of superheroes, mobsters, horror, and humor—from a writer whose work has been published by DC Comics, among others. Robert T. Jeschonek has written plenty of scripts in his career, and these seven will shine a light on his writing process, his wild imagination…and some thrilling and thought-provoking adven
tures. The latest in a series collecting some of his best work, this action-packed book includes seven scripts:
"You're Listening to Alter Ego Talk Radio 1050": A radio call-in psychiatrist gets his kicks doling out advice to nutty superheroes...until he says the wrong thing to a head case with the ultimate power.
"The Cold Shoulder": How do you handle the world's mightiest Mafia enforcer gone rogue? Drive him to suicide, and hope he doesn't kill you first.
"Redneck Neighbor": What's worse? Having an obnoxious upstairs neighbor who's a vampire, or one who's a country music singer? Put them both together, and your life becomes a living hell.
"The Super Hitman's Secret Power": An F.B.I. agent who's about to lose everything seeks out the one man with the power to save him: his old enemy, the super hitman whose life he ruined years ago.
"Deadly Standoff": What happens when a superhero finds himself caught in a no-win situation? With a child's life at stake, can he still find the strength to make a difference?
"Hot Potato": An STD with a mind of its own seizes control of its host. Can the "Barnacles" be stopped before they drive a good man to commit an unspeakably horrific crime?
"Neil Ballantyne, Hellraker: No Good Deed": A priest saves souls by summoning demons, proving the existence of Heaven and God by demonstrating the influence of Hell. But when his scheme goes horribly wrong, only Neil Ballantyne, the supernatural fixer, stands a chance of stopping a rash of atrocities.
Now on Sale!
*****
About the Author
Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. His young adult urban fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten First Novels for Youth. Simon & Schuster, DAW/Penguin Books, and DC Comics have published his work. He won the grand prize in Pocket Books' nationwide Strange New Worlds contest and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. Visit him online at www.thefictioneer.com.
*****
E-books by Robert T. Jeschonek
Fantasy
6 Fantasy Stories
6 More Fantasy Stories
Blazing Bodices
Earthshaker – an urban fantasy novel
Girl Meets Mind Reader
Groupie Everlasting
Rose Head
The Genie's Secret
The Return of Alice
The Sword That Spoke
Horror
Bloodliner – a novel
Diary of a Maggot
Dionysus Dying
Fear of Rain
Road Rage
Humor (Adults Only)
Dick by Law – a novel
Literary
6 Short Stories
Getting Higher – a novel
Mystery and Crime
6 Crime Stories
Crimes in the Key of Murder
Dancing With Murder (a cozy mystery novel)
The First Detect-Eve
The Foolproof Cure for Cancer
The Other Waiter
Who Unkilled Johnny Murder?
Poetry
Flight of Ideas
Science Fiction
6 Scifi Stories
6 More Scifi Stories
6 Scifi Stories Book 3
Beware the Black Battlenaut
Give The Hippo What He Wants
Lenin of the Stars
Messiah 2.0
My Cannibal Lover
Off The Face Of The Earth
One Awake In All The World
Playing Doctor
Serial Killer vs. E-Merica
Something Borrowed, Something Doomed
Star Sex
Teacher of the Century
The Greatest Serial Killer in the Universe
The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake
The Shrooms of Benares
Universal Language – a novel
Superheroes
6 Superhero Stories
7 Comic Book Scripts
A Matter of Size (mature readers)
Forced Retirement (Forced Heroics Book 1)
Forced Betrayal (Forced Heroics Book 2)
Forced Partnership (Forced Heroics Book 3)
Heroes of Global Warming
Mr. Sandman: The Dream Lord Awakens - graphic novel script
The Masked Family – a novel
The Wife Who Never Was
Thrillers
Backtracker – a novel
Day 9 – a novel
The Trek It! Series
Trek This!
Trek Off!
Trek Fail!
Trek Script!
Trek Script 2
Trek Novel!
Trek You!
Trek It!
Young Readers
Dolphin Knight – a novel
Lump
Tommy Puke and the Boy with the Golden Barf
Tommy Puke and the World's Grossest Grown-Up
*****
Now on Sale from Robert T. Jeschonek
A Young Adult Fantasy Novel That Really Rocks!
One of Booklist's Top Ten First Novels for Youth
Being trapped in a book can be a nightmare—just ask Idea Deity. He’s convinced that he exists only in the pages of a novel written by a malevolent author . . . and that he will die in Chapter 64. Meanwhile, Reacher Mirage, lead singer of the secret rock band Youforia, can’t figure out who’s posting information about him and his band online that only he should know. Someone seems to be pulling the strings of both teens’ lives . . . and they’re not too happy about it. With Youforia about to be exposed in a national magazine and Chapter 64 bearing down like a speeding freight train, time is running out. Will Idea and Reacher be able to join forces and take control of their own lives before it’s too late?
School of Rock meets Alice in Wonderland in this fast-paced, completely unpredictable novel of alternate realities, time travel, and rock ‘n’ roll. If your favorite band does not exist . . . do you?
"Overall, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist is a wacky and enjoyable trip...full of intriguing, imaginative concepts that keep a reader hooked." –Thom Dunn, The Daily Genoshan
"This first novel has all the look of a cult fave: baffling to many, an anthem for a few, and unlike anything else out there." –Ian Chipman, Booklist Starred Review
"Chaos theory meets rock 'n' roll in adult author Jeschonek's ambitious, reality-bending YA debut." "...this proudly surreal piece of metafiction could develop a cult following..."–Publishers Weekly
"Reading this reminded me of authors like Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman…" –BiblioJunkies
Now Available from Graphia Books!
Order now from your favorite bookseller.
*****
MR. SANDMAN: THE DREAM LORD AWAKENS
Copyright © 2012 by Robert T. Jeschonek
www.thefictioneer.com
Cover Art Copyright © 2012 by Ben Baldwin
www.benbaldwin.co.uk
Published in August 2012 by Pie Press by arrangement with the author. All rights reserved by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Design by Pie Press
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Mr. Sandman Page 17