Thompson, Jill: Delirium's Party
Delirium's Party: A Little Endless Storybook (2011)
Written & Illustrated by: Jill Thompson
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 64 pages
Why I Read It: I found this by sheer luck. Honestly, I'm still not sure how I happened upon this on Amazon, but I did, and since I thought The Little Endless Storybook was rather cute, and since I had to order stuff from Amazon anyway, I stuck this in my cart. Because it's cute!
The premise: ganked from publisher's website: The diminutive versions of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN mythos are back by popular demand in DELIRIUM'S PARTY: A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK.
In an effort to rid Despair of her unhappiness once and for all, Little Delirium throws a party for her dour sister and invites siblings Dream, Destruction, Death, Destiny and Desire. But this is no ordinary affair. We're talking about a party planner who is the personification of delirium, so you can only imagine that this event will be as outrageous and unpredictable as Little Delirium's haircolor. But whether Delirium's party will be a smashing success - or whether it will end in tears - is anyone's guess.
Brought to life through whimsical prose and watercolor by multiple award-winner Jill Thompson, DELIRIUM'S PARTY: A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK will be an affair to remember for all time - and all ages.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. This really doesn't qualify as a graphic novel, and it's more of an illustrated children's book not quite appropriate for children, despite the cuteness. Not only will I spoil NOTHING, but let's just cut straight to "My Rating" and talk about the story and the art all at once, all right?
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations
As long as you don't go into this expecting The Sandman, you're gonna be fine. Jill Thompson's Little Endless is chock full of cuteness, and she's smart to funnel her stories and therefore her art through Delirium, who, by her nature, is kind of crazy and colorful and all over the place. The way she views the world, the way she interacts with others, all lends itself to Thompson's style, and in terms of art, that's perfect. It's colorful and crazy, and it's a lot of fun to stare at the illustrations just drinking in the details and looking for things you might've missed if you were just skimming. Granted, Thompson's style isn't going to appeal to everyone, but if it amuses you, you'll enjoy this.
The story had more substance this time, too, than The Little Endless Storybook, which was nice. Here, Delirium's realizes her sister Despair never smiles, and she decides to do everything in her power to make that happen. Cuteness and hilarity ensue, and I love looking at Thompson's renditions of the Endless. Despair's actually one of the best ones, in terms of art rendition.
And of course, I adore puppy Barnabas, who is just adorable.
It's well worth the purchase, so long as you enjoy this cutesy vision of the Endless, and there's nothing wrong with cutesy, especially when seen from Delirium's point of view. Glad I got my hands on this, even if it was entirely an accidental discovery!
Cover Commentary: I love the creativity of this, how Delirium's dress is actually a cake, and the Endless are her candles. Quite cute and clever, and the art's just as colorful and lively on the inside.
Next up: Blood Rights by Kristen Painter