Fantasy comics have been around as long as comics. The classification "fantasy comics" broadly encompasses illustrated books set in an other-worldly universe or involving elements or actors outside our reality. Fantasy has been a mainstay of fiction for centuries, but burgeoned in the late 1930s and early 1940s, spurred by authors such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. They inspired comic book producers. Fantasy-themed books—driven by superhero comics gaining popularity through the 1960s—grew to dominate the field. In the 1990s, authors such as Neil Gaiman helped expand the genre with his critically acclaimed Sandman series.
Fantasy-themed super heroes continued to populate comics through the 1950s and regained popularity in the 1960s with such characters as Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange published by Marvel Comics and Jack Kirby's Thor.
On 5 August 2022, The Sandman was released on Netflix. It stars Tom Sturridge as Dream/Morpheus, the titular Sandman. Ten episodes were initially released.[5] An eleventh bonus episode was subsequently released on Netflix on 19 August 2022.[6]
