Jed Walker
Encyclopedia
Jed Walker is a DC Comics
character
. He appeared in Jack Kirby
and Joe Simon
's short-lived series The Sandman
, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a tyrannical aunt and uncle. This change occurred in issue #5. Uncle Barnaby and Aunt Clarice come to Dolphin Island in that issue, intending to take Jed away from Paulsen, and realizing that Paulsen is dead (he was drowned by a sea monster early in the issue, and the Sandman was unable to save him), have no one to fight for him. He is bullied by his brutish cousins, Bruce and Susan, and forced to do most of the household chores and gardening work, while not being allowed to partake of the food that everyone else eats. Originally, the character had no stated surname, and he was sometimes referred to as "Jed Paulsen" in commentary on the stories, an incorrect assumption that Ezra is his paternal grandfather.
Neil Gaiman
's revisionist version of The Sandman showed the somewhat Cinderella
-like tyranny of Jed's guardians as genuine abusive behaviour. It was also revealed that they were being paid by social services (with Desire
lurking in the background), $800 a month to keep him alive. It also explained that his personal dreamscape was being used by the "Sandman"'s supposed assistants in an attempt to take over the Dreaming. The power of Jed's dreams is presumably connected to his being the brother of Rose Walker
and the grandson of Unity Kinkaid. Clarice and Barnaby, who appeared briefly in issue #12, were revealed to have died in issue #14.
Jed is then kidnapped by the "ultimate nightmare", the Corinthian
, who throws him in the trunk of a car and intends to eat him. The Corinthian is delayed by a visit to a serial killer
convention; Rose rescues Jed and gets him to a hospital.
In Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, Kirby revealed that he is the Earth-1 equivalent of Kamandi
, although in the current continuity, Kamandi has been identified with Tommy Tomorrow
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
. He appeared in Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
and Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
's short-lived series The Sandman
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a tyrannical aunt and uncle. This change occurred in issue #5. Uncle Barnaby and Aunt Clarice come to Dolphin Island in that issue, intending to take Jed away from Paulsen, and realizing that Paulsen is dead (he was drowned by a sea monster early in the issue, and the Sandman was unable to save him), have no one to fight for him. He is bullied by his brutish cousins, Bruce and Susan, and forced to do most of the household chores and gardening work, while not being allowed to partake of the food that everyone else eats. Originally, the character had no stated surname, and he was sometimes referred to as "Jed Paulsen" in commentary on the stories, an incorrect assumption that Ezra is his paternal grandfather.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's revisionist version of The Sandman showed the somewhat Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
-like tyranny of Jed's guardians as genuine abusive behaviour. It was also revealed that they were being paid by social services (with Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
lurking in the background), $800 a month to keep him alive. It also explained that his personal dreamscape was being used by the "Sandman"'s supposed assistants in an attempt to take over the Dreaming. The power of Jed's dreams is presumably connected to his being the brother of Rose Walker
Rose Walker
Rose Walker is a fictional character from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair...
and the grandson of Unity Kinkaid. Clarice and Barnaby, who appeared briefly in issue #12, were revealed to have died in issue #14.
Jed is then kidnapped by the "ultimate nightmare", the Corinthian
Corinthian (comics)
The Corinthian is a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. He can first be seen in The Sandman #10 , which is part of the second story arc, The Doll's House. The Corinthian is a nightmare created by Dream, who destroys him in the same collection for going rogue and...
, who throws him in the trunk of a car and intends to eat him. The Corinthian is delayed by a visit to a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
convention; Rose rescues Jed and gets him to a hospital.
In Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, Kirby revealed that he is the Earth-1 equivalent of Kamandi
Kamandi
Kamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972 to 1978....
, although in the current continuity, Kamandi has been identified with Tommy Tomorrow
Tommy Tomorrow
Tommy Tomorrow was a long-running science fiction hero published by DC Comics in several of their titles from 1947 to 1963. He first appeared in Real Fact Comics #6...
.
Appearances
- The Sandman (vol. 1) #1, 2, 4-6
- Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2
- The Best of DC #22
- Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #62
- The Sandman (vol. 2) #11, 12, 14-16, 71, 72