Last Friday , Rolling Stonereleased a feature on Neil Gaiman , an impressively blanket interview that covered the source ’s storied career , starting in the ‘ 80 , when a then-26 - year - old Gaiman began writingThe Sandmanfor Vertigo cartoon strip . During the interview , he related how he succeeded in an attack to tank a Jon Peters adaption of the comedian . What was n’t mentioned in the article was that The Sandman was also optioned byEric Kripkeas a web television system adaption .
I had to find out from Twitter that this was in the plant . First ; Gaiman respond to a fan like this –
It was a marvellous meshing TV adaptation of Sandman . But when you make a connection TV version of Sandman you lose an awful heap of what makes it Sandman.@therealKripkedid a with child job considering the limitations.https://t.co/RAPBwcgNp5
A v good John Constantine cosplayScreenshot: The CW
— Neil Gaiman ( @neilhimself)August 27 , 2022
And then Kripke thank Gaiman , and mention a little bite of something that I sort of knew all along , which was that The Sandman inspired a lot of Supernatural :
Kind of you , sir . WB gave me a crack at#TheSandmanbut say it had to be connection . It was my fave comic , inspired much of#SPN , so I try out . Neil was genial and patient but ultimately , it would ’ve been a bad show . I ’m beaming he held out . Sandman on Netflix is exuberant , stunning . GO WATCH!https://t.co / N0nbyC845Q
— Eric Kripke ( @therealKripke)August 27 , 2022
Readers , when I tell you I dropped into the io9 falling off like a banshee yell that my time has come , I meant it literally . I ’ve been on a Supernatural battle of Marathon ever since I was onThe Boys coverage(God , do I like anything ? Am I capable of enjoying medium any longer ? Something to unpack later . ) and I am here to say you that the brainchild here is incredibly impregnable . Let ’s dive in .
First , one of the grounds that I love Supernatural , and the rationality I think that the show did so well ( and lasted so long ) was because it focused on a relationship between siblings , something that ’s not often the focus of adjective shows , but really made Supernatural study on an emotional level . Sandman is also a story about siblings , about how they fight , rat , and support each other in different measures across time . The first few time of year are very much horror - focalize , kind of leaning into the adjective monster - of - the - week vibration , and a lot of how the shade , ghouls , and other supernatural creatures are render are in line with some of Sandman ’s visuals . During my rewatch I was really surprised at how gross Supernatural was allow to get in those first seasons . Genuinely chilling pragmatic effects and creepy-crawly storytelling conjuring trick are used to develop pretty wonderful results .
Impossible to dominate is that John Constantine ’s kit is basically revivify in Castiel ’s wardrobe . Much like a amusing grapheme who only has one getup , Castiel always get into the trenchcoat , wanton association , clean clitoris - down , and disgraceful slackness . It ’s Constantine ! And honestly , Castiel ’s entrance when he differentiate Dean that he lifted him out of blaze ? I mean … that connection draw itself . Hellblazer in oecumenical seems to be a monumental part of Supernatural ’s whole vibration , but that ’s a different clause .
A lot of details from Sandman seem to imbue Supernatural . The way that summoning R-2 that can trap or keep out various entities are drawn and used very likewise to the look of the spell that ’s used to immobilize Dream . Cain establish up in Supernatural and Sandman as well , both iterations show him as a wight doomed to continually pour down because of destiny . God is depicted as a author in Supernatural , and while the link to Gaiman ’s Richard Madoc is tenuous , there ’s enough there to draw parallels especially when Madoc ’s volume are reference as in - put-on throughout the series . In Supernatural , God / Chuck Shurly ’s Good Book , famously , are Supernatural serial publication – retelling the main fictional character ’ stories as a very meta wink at the audience .
The agency that demon break out of hell , theLuciferstorylines in both , the way of life that Death is portrayed in Supernatural as a creature far older than heaven , hell , or anything in between ? When Death is in a dining car waiting for Dean to come retrieve him ? It feels like the diner conniption in a much more ego - aware way of life . Dean sleep together he ’s facing down a fauna far beyond him , and it ’s genuinely terrifying .
I know there are other references I ’ve escape , but this is a quick overview , and covers Sandman ’s first time of year , so I feel pretty sound about it . Last gunpoint , in Supernatural Season 11 , episode 10 , a harvester is literally interpret a Sandman comedian . Granted , this is after Kripke go out the show , but the inspiration was clearly going strong .
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DreamFantasyFictionJohn ConstantineNeil GaimanThe Sandman
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