Death

Death: The High Cost of Living (3-issue mini; w Neil Gaiman; a Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, Dave McKean). [From DC Comics: From the pages of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN comes the young, pale, perky, and genuinely likable Death. One day in every century, Death walks the Earth to better understand those to whom she will be the final visitor. Today is that day. As a young mortal girl named Didi, Death befriends a teenager and helps a 250-year old homeless woman find her missing heart. What follows is a sincere musing on love, life and (of course) death.]

Death: The Time of Your Life (3-issue mini; w Neil Gaiman; a Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, Mark Pennington). [From DC Comics: Death incarnate, as defined by master storyteller Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN), is a genuinely likeable young girl with a fondness for ankhs who truly cares about people. It's small wonder then that when a rising star of the music world wrestles with revealing her true sexual orientation just as her lover is lured into the realm of Death that Death herself should make an appearance. A practical, honest, and intelligent story that illuminates "the miracle of death."]

The Little Endless Storybook (OGN; w & a Jill Thompson). [From DC Comics: The cute little versions of the Endless are the stars of their very own storybook. The story features Barnabas looking for the lost Delirium by visiting all the realms of Delirium's siblings, the Endless. Only Barnabas soon discovers that finding his master is harder than he might have imagined.]

Death: At Death's Door (Manga-style OGN; w and a Jill Thompson). [From DC Comics: A manga digest, printed in black, white, and gray tones, featuring appearances by Sandman and all his siblings. In an original story that parallels the events of SANDMAN: SEASON OF MIST, the minions of Hell end up in Death's apartment. Sisters Delirium and Despair decide to throw a party for the dead—which quickly gets out of control. It's up to Dream's older sister Death to figure out how to save the day and the afterlife...not to mention the carpet.] Old Book of the Week 7/7/05: In an intriguing concept, Thompson re-tells the story of Sandman: Seasons of Mist, but from the perspective of Death, who was a minor character in the original. It's certainly not a heavy story, but it has tons of goofy charm, and Thompson's enthusiastic embrace of Manga represents yet another surprise turn in what has become a long and extremely varied career.

Dead Boy Detectives (OGN; digest; w & a Jill Thompson). [From DC Comics: Neil Gaiman's inimitable sleuths from THE SANDMAN: SEASON OF MISTS star in their own Manga Digest. THE DEAD BOY DETECTIVES, guest-starring Death of the Endless, is brought to life by award-winning artist Jill Thompson (THE SANDMAN: BRIEF LIVES, Scary Godmother). Based on the overwhelming success of her first Manga Digest, DEATH: AT DEATH'S DOOR, Thompson has crafted an amazing original mystery that will appeal to both SANDMAN fans and shojou Manga enthusiasts. Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, the dead British teenagers who are always on the run from Death, travel stateside to solve a missing persons case. Our intrepid heroes have been contacted by young Annika Abernathy, a student at a posh International Academy in Chicago. It seems that Annika's best friend has vanished. For Rowland and Paine to investigate the case properly, they decide to enroll as students at the school. And since it's an all-girls academy, the duo is forced to go undercover - in drag. Secret passages, food fights, and far too many fashionistas abound as the Dead Boy Detectives solve the case and learn a lot about life from the precocious daughters of international ambassadors and famous rock stars.] Book of the Week 7/7/05: Created by Neil Gaiman in Sandman, made stars by Ed Brubaker in a mini-series, the Dead Boys now become Manga characters in Jill Thompson's second Manga Sandman spin-off (which leads to inappropriate speculations on what Thompson and Azzarello's home life must be like). If it's anything like At Death's Door, DBD will be frivolous, disposable, and wildly amusing. Even if you don't like Manga, these thick little books have enough America in them to make them worthwhile, and the price is great.