Would other DC supernatural characters have become classics (a-la Sandman)?

[RonG]

I'm in the process of another Sandman reread (this time the DC Black Label 30th anniversary editions), and I was wondering on The Sand,an's 'compatriots' in the DC supernatural pantheon:

1. If Gaiman (or other creators) had chosen to work on another supernatural character, such as The Spectre, Deadman, Phantom Strangerm etc., would it have the same chance to reach the level Gaiman's Sandman (justifiably) did?

2. What would *you* do with one of these characters in order to make such a run a classic? what creators would you choose?

3. Perhaps I'm just not awarem so what are the best stories / runs for these characters?

thanks!

[Sutekh]

I feel like he hit a sweet spot with the Endless, in that he could just make up his own rich mythology, and not be beholden to anybody's else preconceptions, which could be an issue if he attempted to work with the Spectre or Phantom Stranger (or Etrigan) who have more of a flirty relationship with Judeo-Christian elements, which he hardly shyed away from (Lucifer, yo!), but at the same time has potential to annoy or offend large numbers of people for 'getting it wrong.'

Deadman has potential. Dr. Fate. Dr. Mist, certainly, with that long magical history built in. 'Lesser' sorcerers like Sargon or Zatara or Zatanna, don't carry the same weight of a long, long past, ties to mythological figures, an entire alternate universe, etc. and so it would be more of an uphill struggle to create a 'Dreaming' level of far-out spectacle with, IMO. Which isn't to say a 'lesser' magical character like Constantine can't support a long, long run all on his own, it just won't be quite the same sort of fish.

[Lee Stone]

Books of Magic, by Gaiman, did a lot for establishing the mystical landscape of DC in the early '90s.
As did Moore's Swamp Thing. The American Gothic storyline introduced John Constantine, was a major life-changing event for Zatanna, and gave us the prototype of the Justice League Dark/Shadowpact teams.

I think that the regular Books of Magic Vertigo series that followed with Tim Hunter would've been a good place to have a Shadowpact group. They would've been able to do much more with the characters in Vertigo than they could've in the main DCU at the time.
Even if it was just the Trenchcoat Brigade acting like the core of the team, with big hitters like Dr. Fate, Demon, Deadman, Spectre, Zatanna and Madame Xanadu popping in and out as needed. Although, I'd probably keep Xanadu as a regular alongside Doctor Occult, John Constantine, Mister E and Phantom Stranger. Maybe Baron Winters, too, to give them a regular base of operations.

For writer, I'd have gone with Peter Milligan. His Shade the Changing Man around the time of Vertigo's launch had a good mix of weirdness and horror that would've suited a team like that.
But to be really good, it would also need an artist that knew how to use shadows, but not be too abstract. Chris Bachalo (also on Shade), would be my first choice, but I could also see Ryan Sook, Mike McKone or Shawn McManus do a good quality job.

The six main members of the team would all be capable of being changed for story purposes, too, so Milligan wouldn't have his hands tied when writing his stories.

[All Star Superman]

I think there's a ton of potential in the Giffen version of Ragman. The right creative team could make Ragman a classic...

[j9ac9k]

I think there's still a lot that can be done with The Demon, especially if you were to focus more on Jason Blood and build out his mythos a bit more.

[Restingvoice]

Swamp Thing already is

Constantine maybe eventually but right now his vibe is too modern

[Jim Kelly]

Maybe it's the turtle neck sweater, the groovy medallion, the dark cloak and the fedora, but I've always liked the Phantom Stranger and wished he could get more respect.

If there are any Abrahamic faith elements in him, those were put there later by writers trying to give him a back story. The essential thing about the Stranger is that he is a mystery. Leave the origin stories at the door.

He belongs to no religion, no creed, no canon. He's a drifter who wanders the Earth in search of the arcane.

I think writers ought have the capacity to invent their own fantasy worlds, they don't need to borrow off of established religions and ancient mythologies. I'm skeptical if most truly believe in that flannel. While I enjoy the Conjuring movies, it unnerves me when they push the Roman Catholic elements so hard.

Neil Gaiman didn't make up the Endless out of nothing. He used a lot of characters and concepts already established--especially in Joe Orlando's titles. Concepts like the House of Mystery, the House of Secrets and the Witching Hour predate the Dreaming by two decades.

For me what makes horror stories work are the characters based in real life--not freaky supernatural beings. If we identify with these ordinary folks then we are frightened for them.

In the 1950s stories the Phantom Stranger was a skeptic, like Dr. Thirteen or Scooby-Doo, exposing fake spiritualists and bogus ghosts. I liked, in the 1970s book, when the Stranger functioned as the Rod Serling host, introducing the weird stories of mundane people.