Gaiman, Neil: The Absolute Death
The Absolute Death (2009)
Written by: Neil Gaiman
Cover Art: Dave McKean
Illustrated by: Various
After completing The Sandman during my 1-comic-book-a-day resolution, I wanted to read The Absolute Death immediately. Death is Dream's older sister, and her stories collected in the absolute edition are two mini-series and some stand-alones. Like most people, I wasn't immune to Death's charms, so I couldn't wait to read more about her outside of The Sandman books.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: THE ABSOLUTE DEATH collects the miniseries DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING and DEATH: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE together with "The Sound of Her Wings" and "Façade" from THE SANDMAN #8 and #20, the P. Craig Russell-illustrated "Death and Venice" from THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS, and the never-before reprinted stories "A Winter's Tale" and "The Wheel." This deluxe volume also features an introduction by The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer as well as extensive galleries of Death portraits and retail products, sketches by artist Chris Bachalo, and the complete original script by Gaiman for THE SANDMAN #8.
Review style: This is going to be an odd review, but don't worry, because there's NO SPOILERS. I want to talk about the Absolute edition itself and the stories it collects (and which I think is the best), the art involved, and why I wish for a bigger arc for Death instead of what we do get, and why I don't think it'd ever work.
The Absolute edition itself: it matches The Sandman Absolute editions almost perfectly. Gorgeous Dave McKean cover art, black slipcase, black covers, with one difference in that The Sandman covers are leather, Death's cover is felt-like binding, which attracts cat hair like you wouldn't BELIEVE. Still, it's a gorgeous edition and if you're anal like me and want a matching collection, you should be happy.
The edition also collects all of the Death stories and puts them in a reasonable order. The first two are kind of a cheat: they're Death-centric stories from The Sandman, and while I particularly loved #8, I had no interest in re-reading two issues I'd already once this year. Still, if you haven't read The Sandman, these are a perk.
The highlight, for me, was the collection of the two mini-series, which I'd not read before. Death: The High Cost of Living is fantastic, a three-issue story that contains some of the best Death art I've seen, so it's little wonder that Chris Bachalo's rendering is considered the template for that character. He captures her perfectly, and the story itself is excellent:
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.
I don't need to say more here, other than to say it's the highlight of the Absolute Edition.
However, I did like Death: The Time of Your Life as well. Not AS well as the previous, but it was an interesting story, and while I didn't necessary need to see yet another story featuring Foxglove and Hazel, I liked where the story went and the sacrifices made and why. The art here isn't my favorite in regards to Death's rendering, but it's not my least favorite either.
The rest of the Absolute edition features stand-alones that were published in various specials and the like. I can't say I cared for "A Winter's Tale" for two reasons: one, the story itself is pointless if you're already familiar with the character, and it serves more as an introduction to the character to those readers NOT familiar; two, I hated the art with a passion.
I wasn't fond of the art in "The Wheel," either, but this 9-11 tribute story was touching, and not only did we see Death, we saw her brother Destruction as well, and that was a nice surprise.
"Death and Venice" was a good story, and I liked the art EXCEPT for the rendering of Death. Something about it, while good in and of itself, rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn't care for it. The story itself, though, was fascinating.
Lastly, in the miscellany section, we have a gallery of art (most of which I didn't care for, which should tell you just HOW MUCH l like Bachalo's rendering of the character), images and discussion of various Death merchandise, and a special comic called "Death Talks about Life" featuring guest star John Constantine and drawn by Dave McKean. Can't say I'm fond of his pen and ink stuff, and I really don't like how Death is rendered in this either (though his paintings of her are spectacular), but the story is both good and odd. Good because it's Death talking to the reader about preventing AIDS and other STDs, and there's a lovely twist regarding pregnancy and how it relates to STDs which is both true, funny, and heart-warming. It's odd though for the same reasons. When it originally came out, I can easily see how much sense it made, but once you're an adult and past this sort of thing, it's just odd. It reminds me of a time when I was growing up when all this stuff was really new, especially talk about AIDS. It's a short story, to the point, and having Death talk about it makes all the sense in the world. It's just odd if you're like me and WAY beyond the talk. :)
And that's it. I really wish that there was a bigger story arc for Death, something along the lines of The Sandman, but my husband was telling me that just wouldn't work. And as much as I want one, I think he's right: Death is happy with who and what she is, she doesn't resist change, and she's such a part of the human spirit that short of little mini-serieses like Death: The High Cost of Living, what else could you do for her, story-wise? I can't say I want to speculate, but I think I'm with my husband here in saying that I'm not sure a bigger story-arc would work.
My Rating
Find a Cheaper Copy: New rating time, because "Buy the Paperback" just doesn't work here. There's a reason for that. The mini-series, both Death: The High Cost of Living and Death: The Time of Your Life, are MUST HAVEs. You can buy the trade paperbacks at a fraction of the cost of the Absolute Edition, and frankly, while I love the stories themselves (and trust me, Death's stories really, really stick with you. I can only imagine the impact they might have had on me if I'd read them back when I was a teenager, because I feel the echo of that potential impact now), I'm not sure the Absolute Edition is worth the cash, simply because short of the art gallery and the stand-alone stories featuring the character, the Absolute edition is an expensive book, especially compared to The Sandman Absolutes, which have FAR more material. So in regards to buying this specific edition, you need to make some decisions: do you already have The Sandman Absolutes and are you a collector fiend? If so, then you don't have a choice: get this edition, because it looks great. However, if you're a casual reader or you're not familiar with the character, you need to track down the trade paperback stories (which you can buy new on Amazon and BN.com) before you invest any serious cash in an edition like this. If you're like me and already love this character, you won't be too disappointed, but you'll probably wish there was more to the edition, like I did. It's good, but it's hard to justify that price tag.
Cover Commentary: Love, love, love it! In truth, I'd be tempted to buy this sucker for the cover art alone, if that tells you anything. I love the colors, I love everything about it. Dave McKean certainly knocked this one out of the park!
Next up: The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee