Books: The Sandman: Death: The High Cost of Living

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The Sandman: Death: The High Cost of Living
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham
1993




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Deities from beyond time and space meet up with everyday messed people and go out to get hot dogs: in this joyous comic that expertly mingles the mythic and ordinary - (the field that Neil Gaiman has pretty much made his own). Starring sullen New York teen Sexton Furnival (whose zany name I'm guessing was inspired by growing up with the surname "Gaiman") who decided that everything is rubbish and life isn't worth living - until a random encounter brings him into orbit with a strange woman who says she's the personification of Death and - thus - he spends a day and a night learning to lighten up. With a lightness of touch that's positively gleeful ("is this guy bothering you?"), a strong sense of good comics (the use of the cigarette to mark the passing of time is pretty nifty) and great characters (Death being the best): it's just like hanging out with a really great friend and feels over much too soon. This is the point where I should mention that it's a spin-off from epic Sandman series (especially A Game of You) - but you don't need to have read that to appreciate this (and in some sense - this would be a good, nice, easy place to start). With an introduction by Tori Amos (which probably says more than I can say) and an bonus hard-to-find public service announcement AIDS-awareness 8-page comic Death Talks about Life strip (art by Dave McKean - also starring John Constantine and a banana). If you're looking for your heart - this may be the best place to start, or to put it another way: Peachy keen!

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Further reading: The Sandman, The Sandman: Death: The Time of Your Life, The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, I Kill Giants, Shortcomings, The Unwritten.

Profiles: Neil Gaiman.

All comments welcome.