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A review by jppeartree
Death by Neil Gaiman
3.0
I've always loved Neil Gaiman's Death. I like not only the friendly, comforting, relatable character, but also how she embodies life as well as its end. One of my favorite parts of the original series.
This collection is gathered into a really nice volume, and has art, some spinoff miniseries, a couple short comics, and two issues from the main Sandman series. The artwork toward the end was cool, the PSA comic about safe sex and AIDS was fun and informative, and it was nice seeing "The Sound of Her Wings" again after first reading the Sandman books several years earlier.
Neil Gaiman is a little hit or miss for me, though. I loved his Sandman books of course, and books like Ocean at the End of the Lane were good reads. However, sometimes he gets a little abstract and mysterious, and indulges a bit much in themes, philosophies, allusions, and other concepts related to the story. His ideas are fascinating to read by themselves, but it sometimes gets in the way of story itself.
For instance, his idea of Death is really cool, unique, and well-rounded, and I get a lot out of her talks about living, but the human characters she interacts with tend to be forgettable and don't really drive the plot much. They may learn a few things from her, but I feel like a simple essay could achieve the same thing. Things seem to just happen to the characters more often than not, and they tend to stumble onto the really meaty happenings. In "The High Cost of Living," they find themselves on a MacGuffin quest for Mad Hettie, to whom Sexton owes nothing (she holds him at knife point, for chrissakes) and whose history with Death isn't explored much, merely mentioned in passing. Didi (Death) herself seems to take this in stride, and I found myself not taking this plotline that seriously. Even when the villain captures them and steals the Ankh, Didi isn't all that distraught (this was a laughable evil plot, and a new ankh is acquired too casually), and I'm not sure how I feel about Sexton, who seems really apathetic and bleh for much of the story. The free things for Didi are kind of explained, but still felt confusing. For a story about a mortal Death, I would've liked to see a story
The other big story, "Time of Your Life," was a bit of a slog to be honest. I appreciate the continued plotline of Fox and Hazel, as well as the fairly positive portrayal of an LGBT+ lifestyle (in the mid-90s, no less), even if Fox wasn't the most faithful partner. But again, the characters weren't that captivating, and much of the relationships and story are divulged through walls of text (the balance of words to image, which Scott McCloud or Will Eisner discuss, is a bit off in this one), which messed with the story's flow. Fox doesn't have much effect or agency on the main death-related stuff until the end, it's not clear how she knows about Death or how she knows magic, and again, there isn't much tension, urgency, or cause to get really invested. I'm sure other readers got something from this, but on the whole I didn't care what happened to the characters, and I never felt concern when someone died. Maybe it's because death isn't fearsome or scary in these stories, but I think's it's more because I felt little connection to the humans.
There are other shorter stories in here like I mentioned; again, hit or miss. "A Winter's Tale" was dull and a bit vague, but short. "The Wheel" was heartwarming and I liked seeing Destruction again, but I wouldn't have been invested if it were longer. "Death in Venice" from Endless Nights was okay, but didn't tell us much we didn't already know (most of the stories in that book, aside from Dream's, were a little meh for me)
Personally, I think I liked Death better in the main series; she's a more expressive, fascinating character. She's pleasant, but isn't relegated to just that. Though she's friendly and wise, she can also get angry and frustrated, as with the Kindly Ones, and has no problem chewing out Morpheus when he's being a prick or a stick in the mud. She's kind on the job, but also impartial and professional. She can be cold and aloof, like she was eons ago, but is never apathetic. The spin-offs tend to portray her as devil-may-care or calm (again, the dangers in "High Cost of Living" don't seem to perturb her that greatly), and are mostly of her as a friendly, quirky figure, with less of the nuance. She comes off more dynamic and multi-faceted in The Sandman, and I feel it's no coincidence that my favorite part of this collection, "The Sound of Her Wings," is pulled straight form the main series.
I think Death deserves better stories, especially since there are some missed opportunities I think are worth exploring. What about Death's very first day as a mortal — when she first started her once-a-century stint? Or how she changed from the cold, grim, apathetic figure from Endless Nights to the cheerful, lively goth women we know and love? Has she ever screwed up in her job, and have to set things right again? Surely, even Dream's wise, kind older sister had some learning to do earlier in her job as an Endless. These are stories that don't need to be told, but I think plenty of fans would be down for it. They'd be compelling by virtue of providing nice character arcs for Death, and showing her change, grow, and learn. Plus, if well-executed, they'd further endear readers to what's already a fan-favorite.
This is still a good anthology all in all, especially if you're a collector. You may get more out of the human stories too. This isn't Neil's best writing, and it's definitely written for people who've read the original Sandman. If this is all fine by you, and you're up for revisiting a favorite character, then this book is for you.
This collection is gathered into a really nice volume, and has art, some spinoff miniseries, a couple short comics, and two issues from the main Sandman series. The artwork toward the end was cool, the PSA comic about safe sex and AIDS was fun and informative, and it was nice seeing "The Sound of Her Wings" again after first reading the Sandman books several years earlier.
Neil Gaiman is a little hit or miss for me, though. I loved his Sandman books of course, and books like Ocean at the End of the Lane were good reads. However, sometimes he gets a little abstract and mysterious, and indulges a bit much in themes, philosophies, allusions, and other concepts related to the story. His ideas are fascinating to read by themselves, but it sometimes gets in the way of story itself.
For instance, his idea of Death is really cool, unique, and well-rounded, and I get a lot out of her talks about living, but the human characters she interacts with tend to be forgettable and don't really drive the plot much. They may learn a few things from her, but I feel like a simple essay could achieve the same thing. Things seem to just happen to the characters more often than not, and they tend to stumble onto the really meaty happenings. In "The High Cost of Living," they find themselves on a MacGuffin quest for Mad Hettie, to whom Sexton owes nothing (she holds him at knife point, for chrissakes) and whose history with Death isn't explored much, merely mentioned in passing. Didi (Death) herself seems to take this in stride, and I found myself not taking this plotline that seriously. Even when the villain captures them and steals the Ankh, Didi isn't all that distraught (this was a laughable evil plot, and a new ankh is acquired too casually), and I'm not sure how I feel about Sexton, who seems really apathetic and bleh for much of the story. The free things for Didi are kind of explained, but still felt confusing. For a story about a mortal Death, I would've liked to see a story
The other big story, "Time of Your Life," was a bit of a slog to be honest. I appreciate the continued plotline of Fox and Hazel, as well as the fairly positive portrayal of an LGBT+ lifestyle (in the mid-90s, no less), even if Fox wasn't the most faithful partner. But again, the characters weren't that captivating, and much of the relationships and story are divulged through walls of text (the balance of words to image, which Scott McCloud or Will Eisner discuss, is a bit off in this one), which messed with the story's flow. Fox doesn't have much effect or agency on the main death-related stuff until the end, it's not clear how she knows about Death or how she knows magic, and again, there isn't much tension, urgency, or cause to get really invested. I'm sure other readers got something from this, but on the whole I didn't care what happened to the characters, and I never felt concern when someone died. Maybe it's because death isn't fearsome or scary in these stories, but I think's it's more because I felt little connection to the humans.
There are other shorter stories in here like I mentioned; again, hit or miss. "A Winter's Tale" was dull and a bit vague, but short. "The Wheel" was heartwarming and I liked seeing Destruction again, but I wouldn't have been invested if it were longer. "Death in Venice" from Endless Nights was okay, but didn't tell us much we didn't already know (most of the stories in that book, aside from Dream's, were a little meh for me)
Personally, I think I liked Death better in the main series; she's a more expressive, fascinating character. She's pleasant, but isn't relegated to just that. Though she's friendly and wise, she can also get angry and frustrated, as with the Kindly Ones, and has no problem chewing out Morpheus when he's being a prick or a stick in the mud. She's kind on the job, but also impartial and professional. She can be cold and aloof, like she was eons ago, but is never apathetic. The spin-offs tend to portray her as devil-may-care or calm (again, the dangers in "High Cost of Living" don't seem to perturb her that greatly), and are mostly of her as a friendly, quirky figure, with less of the nuance. She comes off more dynamic and multi-faceted in The Sandman, and I feel it's no coincidence that my favorite part of this collection, "The Sound of Her Wings," is pulled straight form the main series.
I think Death deserves better stories, especially since there are some missed opportunities I think are worth exploring. What about Death's very first day as a mortal — when she first started her once-a-century stint? Or how she changed from the cold, grim, apathetic figure from Endless Nights to the cheerful, lively goth women we know and love? Has she ever screwed up in her job, and have to set things right again? Surely, even Dream's wise, kind older sister had some learning to do earlier in her job as an Endless. These are stories that don't need to be told, but I think plenty of fans would be down for it. They'd be compelling by virtue of providing nice character arcs for Death, and showing her change, grow, and learn. Plus, if well-executed, they'd further endear readers to what's already a fan-favorite.
This is still a good anthology all in all, especially if you're a collector. You may get more out of the human stories too. This isn't Neil's best writing, and it's definitely written for people who've read the original Sandman. If this is all fine by you, and you're up for revisiting a favorite character, then this book is for you.