The Sandman will see you now! THE SANDMAN SLEPT HERE returns as Ryan Daly, Paul Kien, and Max Romero discuss Sandman Mystery Theatre issues #21-24. If you thought healthcare in America was bad now, be thankful you don’t have an appointment with the murderous malpracticer of medicine in this tale! Who is poisoning washed-up celebrities, and why does he give his victims sinister prescriptions before they die? How far will Dian go to learn the truth of Wesley Dodds’ secret life as a mystery man, and what will she do when she finds out? And how much sex is too much in a four-issue story? (Trick question: too much and not enough.) Find out the answers in “Dr. Death”. Plus, as always, Ryan, Paul, and Max respond to listener feedback and play another round of the Dream Sequence. Check it out… assuming you have insurance.
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Music: “The Way You Look Tonight” by Fred Astaire with Johnny Green and His Orchestra
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Great discussion and excellent job noticing small stuff like the ambidextrous nature of the villain, why Dian finds the cave entrance etc. And how can I not love a character named Dr. Death who isn’t a real doctor! As you say, the art here is just bit more polished in places. Dian does indeed look the most gorgeous she ever looks in this series.
For motivations, I think he feels completely trapped by his ailing mother. He feels he has to help keep her alive. But she is ‘past her prime’ and interfering with the life he wants to lead. He can’t kill her; she’s his mother. So he takes that frustration out on other older people. At least, that was my read.
A few other comments –
Left-handed handshakes in comics – I do think it is about how to make the page look good while maintaining the 180degree rule. In old movies, drivers often exit the car out the passenger door which makes no sense. I think it is for the same reason.
Worst doctor experience – about 10 yrs ago, I went to an orthopedic surgeon because my right shoulder felt unstable. I had never dislocated my shoulder but I felt like I came close. I was at my heaviest ever. The doc looked at me, literally up and down, and said ‘no one would do anything for you about this. No surgery and no MRI. I mean, you look like you don’t get out much …’ OUCH.
Favorite evil doctor – lazy but I also love the Crime Doctor. But I also love Alec Baldwin in the movie Malice. If you haven’t seen it, just search for ‘god speech in Malice’. Worth watching.
Favorite evil doctor I’ll go for combo as I’ll go not just dr Frankenstein but the many daughters of doctor Frankenstein
Including the ones that met el santo and the one that met Jessie James .
And on random note in history of pro wrestling there was man called Steve Williams called doctor death in mid south wrestling who was
Actually a hero but in Japan he was part of tag team called the miracle and violence connection. I think that what is was called and I’m pretty sure they where villains .
This one would work better for me if I wasn’t a old gamer nerd. You say Doctor Death, I’m going to immediately be thinking TSR’s old Revolt On Antares microgame and wondering when the reanimated zombie armies are going to show up. It’s very distracting.
That’s made a few old pulp stories pretty hard to read with too. Doctor Death is a fairly common moniker.
Favorite evil doctors? Hmmmmmm…..Dr. Moreau from The Island of Dr. Moreau, Doctor Destiny from DC Comics, Doctor Minerva from Marvel Comics, and the obvious answer Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. Honorable mentions go to Dr. Jennifer Schwartz-Levine and Dr. Anj, who are both some of my favorite doctors but not quite evil enough to make the final cut.
Nothing like listening to you three talk about sex for an hour and a half.
I’d say my favorite evil doctor is anyone who makes me wait more than five minutes after I’m already in the room.
That’s every doctor.
(I feel the same way when in the patient role.)
Just after I listened to this excellent podcast, I found the story in the library and read it. ANd I got even more annoyed than I did when I was only listening!
Minor annoyances; there was no “stand up comedy” like we know it in the 1930s. A comic would have done his schtick as part of a vaudeville show or burlesque show. The theater manager wouldn’t have booked him individually, he would have come from an agency or as part of a package. And if he were as bad as he was supposed to be, he wouldn’t have got any work in Manhattan, he’d’ve been out in the sticks. Also, there was a big crackdown on burlesque shows in 1937. The strippers that Wesley saw might have been in a private club or in New Jersey or Long Island, but not in a fancy theater like was shown. The killer apparently decided to start his spree when some new mule brings his illegal drugs to him? Just like that? He’s already got his poison paper and he’s just looking for someone to give it to? The Sandman didn’t investigate the crooks the ex-boxer was working for. He just “happens” to have a friend who just “happens” to be able to get a list of left-handed physicians. Not impressive detective work.
Major annoyance; Dian Belmont. She sneaks into Wesley’s home and snoops around. She uses him sexually in order to get back into his house and snoop around. She finds out his secret and she’s mad at him? Why should he have any trust in her at all? If this had been a male character doing this to a female character, you guys would be all over it! I was trying to think of an analogy. It’s not perfect, but go with me. I think Ryan isn’t flossing his teeth. That’s not good. It could lead to gingivitis, maybe something worse! His health could be in peril. I tried to get him to admit it, but Ryan’s private about his oral hygiene and doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s his prerogative. It’s his mouth. It’s his business. I wait until he’s out with his wife and son, and I sneak into his house. There’s one box of floss. Maybe it’s his wife’s! I need to know for sure. I make a plan with a bottle of wine and fishnets, and … okay that’s where the analogy falls apart, but I trust you get my meaning. Wesley is being too nice to her afterward. I think that was a rotten thing for her to do.
Overall, the mystery was underdeveloped. Probably to give more time to the “Dian discovers Wes’s secret” story.
However, I do like how the character of the police scientist is being developed!
Oh! More annoyances! When Humphries is reading The Times and idly singing “Mr. Sandman,” it can’t be the hit song as that wasn’t published until 1954. The lyrics to “Japanese Sandman” don’t contain the words Mr. Sandman.
The New York TImes famously doesn’t have, and never had, a comics page. Popeye was in the Journal American, I believe.
The mystery in this storyline was much more Dian trying to prove Wes was the Sandman than Dr Death’s story. But there needed to be some threat for Sandman, alas. Dian continues to be a highlight of this series, and I’m looking forward to how things go from here. It really turns the superhero’s girlfriend trope on its head.
First, have to give the evil doctor nod to Doctor Octopus. But for a medical doctor, I go to DC’s Doctor Moon, who would come in to science up whatever villainy was needed as a consultant. He doesn’t show up anymore, but he was a regular back in the day.
Sidebar, I started reading the issues of Starman in the same months as these issues because of the future guest appearance by Wes and Dian in that series. I’ve wanted to do a read-thru of that series for a while, and this was as good an excuse as any.
Great episode as always gents. Somehow, I forgot to listen to the Annual episode. So now I have another one in the pipeline!
I have a Secret Question for you about this episode. It touches on something Terry mentioned, but I’m going to be less grumpy about it ;).
If you gender swapped a female super hero/crimefighter in this situation, would you have a problem with Dian’s actions? Sticking with the Golden Age and the JSA, say, it’s a Black Canary story. Larry Lance is pretty certain Dinah Drake is Black Canary. The two have been dating and romantic, but never slept together. To find proof Dinah is Black Canary, Larry seduces her, has sex with her, and snoops around the florist shop while she’s alseep. He finds her wig and fishnets. Does Larry get the pass Dinah did, or is it somehow worse because she’s a woman?
Worst doctor experience? I’ve been pretty lucky that I haven’t had any real bad experiences myself, although loved ones have. My weirdest experience was when I was about 10 or so, my dog was licking me on the face, and I turned away quickly. Her tooth got snagged in my ear, and I litterally ripped my ear in half. For some reason my mom took me to the docotr’s office, NOT the ER. And our doctor was out of town, so another doctor was seeing his patients. This guy was younger with a kid my age, so the whole time he was sewing my ear back on, we talked about He-Man, which his son was also a big fan of. All in all, not a bad day…other than the ripped off ear thing.
Favorite evil Doctor is Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein across the Hammer series of films. Comic-wise, I’d go with my Knightcast brother Ryan and say Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow.
Another tremendously enjoyable episode! I haven’t read these comics since they were first published, but I’m truly enjoying reliving them through your descriptions and discussions.
You mentioned the “big bad” went down pretty easily when Wes finally confronted him. I suppose that makes this storyline more of a mystery to solve (plus Dian’s story), than really a traditionally bad guy brawl. And that feels about right. The reader satisfaction in this particular series often comes from solving the mystery, more than the actual confrontation.
For the Dream question about favorite evil medical doctor… this is hard! Once you get past Hugo Strange and Doctor Sivana, the field gets pretty thin. However, I suppose I would go with Mister Sinister. According to the wise gods of the internet, in addition to being a genetic manipulator, he was also a physician during the Victorian era.
Keep up the great work, and sweet dreams!