Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is widely regarded as a preeminent work of fiction. It’s about time that the series got action figures to match.
To date, by far the best Sandman figure ever made was a 1:6 scale Morpheus from DC Direct. The best 1:12 scale figures were also made by DC Direct in 1999. They are predictably terrible. The series had critical and commercial acclaim, and both TV shows and movies have been rumored before eventually getting stuck in development hell. Despite the undisputable success of Gaiman’s masterpiece and DC’s willingness to license and merchandise their properties, fans can’t seem to get a decent articulated Dream figure from anyone.
I suspect this is due to the fact that Sandman is a more “adult” property than you generally see at retail, particularly in the toy department. To support this, searching “Sandman” at Big Bad Toy Store will garner the following results:
A necklace, a chess set, two statues, and a set of bookends. All adult collectibles, no toys. Fortunately, I think Mezco’s One:12 Collective may be the solution for Sandman fans. Mezco has made comic-based figures their bread and butter, and although those are generally the pulpy superheroes we all know and love, they’ve also shown off Space Ghost, Popeye, and Dawn of the Dead figures. All three are notably adult (or at least older collector)-oriented properties.
So, what would we want? I’d be happy with just Dream, but for me, the real dream (no pun intended) is Dream and Death. (I’m always dreaming of death, but that’s another story entirely.) I think those two would be enough to sate most voracious Sandman fans. If Dream and Death sell well enough, Mezco could always expand on the Endless and incorporate characters like Lucifer later down the line.
While characters like Spider-Man and Batman will always be the money makers, there is a market for niche adult collectibles. I realize that Mezco Sandman figures may be a pipe dream, especially at this upcoming SDCC still in the One:12 Collective’s infancy, but they’ll never know that we want Dream and Death unless we tell them.
Who’s with me?
*roarous applause*
So how about it, Mezco?