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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
One of the most brilliant things that Neil Gaiman ever produced was the Endless, a ruling family of embodied forces -- Dream, Despair, Desire, Delirium, Destruction, Destiny and Death.
But have you ever imagined what they would look like as chibi figures?
Me neither. But apparently Jill Thomas has, which resulted in charmingly oddball picture books aimed at children, starring teeny pumpkin-headed versions of the Endless we know and love (or, in some cases, hate). Obviously "The Little Endless Storybook" is a light marshmallow puff compared to Gaiman's darker, more mature stories, but it's still very cute.
The story focuses on Barnabas, a little dog who takes care of the flighty, flaky Delirium in her psychedelic realm. But when he leaves her alone for a few minutes, Delirium vanishes -- and Barnabas is unable to find his charge. Even worse, a mysterious Thing is following him wherever he goes.
So he decides to ask Delirium's various siblings if they know where she is, and finds himself on a quest through the various realms of the Endless -- the weird world of Dream, the squishy red domain of Desire, the grey mirrored realm of Despair, the hilltop of Destruction, the mazed garden of Destiny, and Death's very pink living room. Will he find his acid-haired charge? And why do the Endless keep giving him charms?
One thing that does confuse me a little is who "The Little Endless Storybook" is aimed at. Jill Thompson's art and writing are clearly aimed at children... but those children will probably not have read the Sandman books or heard of the Endless before.
Quibbles aside, Thompson's story is really quite charming -- her artwork is bright and colorful, depicting the Endless as little punkin-headed chibis with big eyes and little stumpy limbs. Each one is easily identifiable (Desire looks like a polished K.D. Lang, Death wears a giant ankh and has spiky black hair, Dream has smudges for eyes and a giant black robe), and she manages to include them all in Barnabas' quest.
Barnabas is a rather cute dog character, with the usual preoccupations that a dog has (including keeping an eye on Delirium). And Thompson weaves together his quest with the Thing following him in a clever and logical manner, especially when his quest is finally over.
"The Little Endless Storybook" is a charming kids' story, full of bright glimpses of the Endless chibis and their wildly different realms. A fun item for little kids and Sandman collectors.
But have you ever imagined what they would look like as chibi figures?
Me neither. But apparently Jill Thomas has, which resulted in charmingly oddball picture books aimed at children, starring teeny pumpkin-headed versions of the Endless we know and love (or, in some cases, hate). Obviously "The Little Endless Storybook" is a light marshmallow puff compared to Gaiman's darker, more mature stories, but it's still very cute.
The story focuses on Barnabas, a little dog who takes care of the flighty, flaky Delirium in her psychedelic realm. But when he leaves her alone for a few minutes, Delirium vanishes -- and Barnabas is unable to find his charge. Even worse, a mysterious Thing is following him wherever he goes.
So he decides to ask Delirium's various siblings if they know where she is, and finds himself on a quest through the various realms of the Endless -- the weird world of Dream, the squishy red domain of Desire, the grey mirrored realm of Despair, the hilltop of Destruction, the mazed garden of Destiny, and Death's very pink living room. Will he find his acid-haired charge? And why do the Endless keep giving him charms?
One thing that does confuse me a little is who "The Little Endless Storybook" is aimed at. Jill Thompson's art and writing are clearly aimed at children... but those children will probably not have read the Sandman books or heard of the Endless before.
Quibbles aside, Thompson's story is really quite charming -- her artwork is bright and colorful, depicting the Endless as little punkin-headed chibis with big eyes and little stumpy limbs. Each one is easily identifiable (Desire looks like a polished K.D. Lang, Death wears a giant ankh and has spiky black hair, Dream has smudges for eyes and a giant black robe), and she manages to include them all in Barnabas' quest.
Barnabas is a rather cute dog character, with the usual preoccupations that a dog has (including keeping an eye on Delirium). And Thompson weaves together his quest with the Thing following him in a clever and logical manner, especially when his quest is finally over.
"The Little Endless Storybook" is a charming kids' story, full of bright glimpses of the Endless chibis and their wildly different realms. A fun item for little kids and Sandman collectors.
As with the Giant-Size Little Marvel heroes, I couldn't resist this cute version of the Sandman characters.
The story is simple: Barnabas, the dog, is living with Delirium and making sure she doesn't get lost.
But that is much easier said than done, considering the Endless' penchant for wandering off and forgetting everything (including herself). So of course one private moment end with Barnabas having to travel from one Endless sibling to the next in order to find his mistress again.
The art was colourful, as is only to be expected since this is about Delirium. Moreover, the characters were kept cute (sometimes in a silly way) but that is part of the charm.
The story could have been worked out a little more though (see the above mentioned Marvel Giant-Size Little Marvel comics for comparison).
Don't read this if you look for profound insight into the characters or some tidbits about the lore pertaining to the series. This is just some light fun. Still entertaining though.
The story is simple: Barnabas, the dog, is living with Delirium and making sure she doesn't get lost.
But that is much easier said than done, considering the Endless' penchant for wandering off and forgetting everything (including herself). So of course one private moment end with Barnabas having to travel from one Endless sibling to the next in order to find his mistress again.
The art was colourful, as is only to be expected since this is about Delirium. Moreover, the characters were kept cute (sometimes in a silly way) but that is part of the charm.
The story could have been worked out a little more though (see the above mentioned Marvel Giant-Size Little Marvel comics for comparison).
Don't read this if you look for profound insight into the characters or some tidbits about the lore pertaining to the series. This is just some light fun. Still entertaining though.
Aww, this was cute. I like this whole "picture books for adults" trend that I have found myself following lately.
I have to admit. I cannot resist the chibis. This was such an adorable issue! For me, the art was all worth it, even if this was a predictable children's story. Delirium gets separated from her dog Barnabas, and he sets out to get her back. If you want just a fun, whimsical and cute short story about Delirium and Barnabas from the Sandman series, with appearances from all our beloved Endless, then I would grab this. Beware it's nothing like the Sandman series in content and themes though!
Grabbed something to read after I went to get Vanessa up from her nap but she'd fallen back to sleep. To quote the little lady herself "sooooo cuuute"
Being that the characters are Gaiman's Endless I expected this to be a comic not a kids book. Not at all what I had anticipated.
This literally took me ten minutes to read, and it was so cute. I'll read it to my children someday...