Mike Dringenberg

A solid collection of loose comics featuring Death. Also love the collection of art in the back. I do love the endless callbacks, how the Sandman books are so connected, but sometimes those callbacks are very obscure, even while trying to read them all in relatively short order. (I did mean to entirely finish all the Sandman related books THIS YEAR but of course that didn't happen... next year?) Though it seems like Hazel and Foxglove are really taking over these stories a bit TOO much. But I'm not sick of these stories yet...… (more)

Dammit, I hate when GR loses my review. Okay, once again...

Reading this collection, I don't know about the other readers, but I couldn't help but fall in love a little bit with Death. Very much like some of the characters in the stories.

This particular collection shows off a deceptive simplicity to Gaiman's approach to the stories. The two main ones involve a madwoman wanting her heart back, and a bargain, previously struck and honoured, now being called in. Imagine, if you will, these are Ringo's steady backbeat to a Beatles' song.

Then Gaiman and Bachalo come in and create these wonderfully complex and fully realized characters, each with much to say. These would be the equivalent of Lennon or McCartney bringing in the ideas for the songs.

And then, through the course of these stories, these characters talk. They talk about things we all wish we had that good friend or lover that we could talk to of such things. They talk to Death, or they talk to a character who knows to ask the right questions. In either case, while answers are not always given, the questions and the discussions around them are both fascinating and illuminating. These would be the flourishes of musicianship shown by McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison. Combined with that beat, they become masterpieces.

Exactly like what you have in this collection. Wonderful, thought-provoking masterpieces.… (more)

This book is supposed to be the same as the Absolute Death, but it has 40 fewer pages… What is my edition missing?!?!?! Probably just bonus scripts and design artwork, but I’m still going to have to read it eventually. It was an absolute pleasure being able to read all of the graphic novels and single issues that feature Neil Gaiman’s Death of the Endless in one place, though, since it has been many years since I read them originally and some of the single issues I don’t believe I’ve ever read! It’s a great way to make the entire series more accessible to readers (and collectors), even though we have to get the rest of the [mystery] content from the absolute edition.… (more)