The spectacular success of The Sandman on Netflix has been a boon to comics fans in a year full of them. It was notable in its formal distancing from the DC Universe -- to which it technically belongs -- in order to give its own mythology room to breathe. That helped it stand out to a public well-versed in superhero storytelling but less familiar with The Sandman's dark fairy tale proclivities.

The formula proved successful before, but it was long enough ago that its roots may still be hidden. 2005's Constantine posited a similar world of angels and devils amid a pop-culture landscape similarly full of traditional superheroes. It became a hit at the box office, despite some pointed departures from the comic book version of the character. The recent announcement of a sequel in the works was surely prompted by The Sandman's success, but the first Constantine showed what was possible long before The Dreaming reached Netflix.

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Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer from The Sandman

The Sandman -- both the comics and the Netflix adaptation -- draws heavily from classic works of literature, particularly epic fantasy such as Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. That most notably involves a visit to Hell in Season 1, Episode 4, "A Hope in Hell," where Morpheus games with Lucifer himself for the return of one of his artifacts. That comes atop pagan pre-Christian figures such as The Fates -- drawn from Greek mythology and a number of other cultures -- as well as original creations like The Endless, patterned on traditional mythic tropes. The show even includes a variation of Constantine.

It's proven as haunting and hypnotic as the comics on which it's based. It's also notable in its refusal to step near more traditional superhero stories. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe roaring right along, and DC's various projects earning the wrong kinds of headlines lately, The Sandman's unique universe feels all the more like a breath of fresh air.

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Constantine Gabriel Tilda Swinton

Constantine did much the same thing in 2005, with the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises in full swing and Batman Begins getting ready to reboot the Caped Crusader later that year. And yet, like The Sandman, it sticks firmly to a variation of Christian mythology, as the Spear of Destiny reappears and Constantine finds himself in the midst of a cosmic plot to launch Armageddon with it. However, while it largely adheres to Old Testament tropes, it also provides room from a wider universe of mythic creatures, such as a wand that shoots dragon's breath and Casablanca-style bar run by Papa Midnight, who adheres to a different form of faith.

And it worked in a period where tights and capes were norms in cinemas. Like The Sandman, its vision proved a compelling departure from business as usual. That's in keeping not only with the figure from the comics -- created as part of DC's Swamp Thing and eventually becoming a staple of its "adult" Vertigo line -- but also with The Sandman's subsequent storyline drawn from the same era.

It has held up against the odds, with a devoted cult following despite its cosmetic differences from the comics and a sequel now in development that promises to connect it more formally to the DC Extended Universe. That longevity has similarly informed The Sandman, a series that waited over 30 years for an adaptation and enjoyed the fruits of its patience accordingly. In its own quiet way, Constantine provided proof of concept, and the sequel is finally enjoying a reward of its own.