The first story introduces 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.
In the second story, 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.“
Plus, Death’s first appearance from the SANDMAN series, her tale from SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS, and much more!
Short Review
I started reading this graphic novel more than a year ago. Recently, I got the chance to continue it without having to pay for it. I would not (given the remark further down) pay for it nowadays. I am furthermore happy I did not pay for it when first starting to read it. The last years, I have enjoyed several stories by the author as much as adaptations of these. I especially loved the series adaptation of Good Omens, while I got bored of American Gods.
The relatively recent The Sandman show was also intriuging, especially due to one character focused on in this graphic novel. It’s a compilation of many appearances of Death as a character. Surprisingly, the individual chapters in this compilation eventually demonstrate a red thread and are interconnected. Given the different illustrators, some illustration styles were more to my liking. The same goes for certain stories and their messages. It is a quick read though and creates tension and a fantastical, philosophical admiration for Death.
Remark on the Author
In the recent months, six women came forward with allegations against the writer Neil Gaiman. Given these allegations of sexual assault, I won’t encourage anyone to buy anything from him. I personally am thankfully not affected by this revelation as hard as others, although it once more makes me question the morality of people in general. To be fair, I don’t get it when people say „you have to distinguish the author and the book“ or something similar. In my opinion, you cannot properly condemn a person‘s misdeeds when you continue to pay money on their works, which they eventually make profit with.
The same goes for J.K. Rowling, who has shaped so many childhoods with her books. There are nonetheless other ways to enjoy the world and even get (inofficial) merch without paying her. Delia Owens is another example. I also abandoned my books by Jay Kristoff and Colleen Hoover as I do not appreciate their reactions to allegations and their treatment of certain topics. I am not sad about having liked their books, but I would be sad about continuing to support them when I’m not sure that I want to support their values and their attitude. This is not a call for action, but maybe it will make some people reconsider their choices and where they put their money.
Disclaimer: I did only link one source about each author, knowing that this will not cover all allegations or the wohle controversy. I nonetheless hope they do spark your interest to research further.