Death: The Time of Your Life

Summary: This stand-alone comic features Death of the Endless, everyone's favorite cheerful goth girl. However, the story mostly stars two other familiar faces from the Sandman series, Hazel and Foxglove. Foxglove is now a famous musician, flying all over the world for tours, photo shoots, and interviews. She's also been closeted by her manager for the sake of her career, so Hazel is living in L.A. with her son, and being treated as if she's Foxglove's secretary as they drift apart. But the lives of those who have been touched by the Endless are never free from complications, as both Hazel and Foxglove will learn...

Review: I wish I'd had read this book closer to the Sandman volume in which Hazel and Foxglove first appear... or at least show more known to pay better attention to them at the time. They were somewhat peripheral to the main story, and not really ever my favorite characters, so while I know that they were involved, for the life of me I can't quite remember how (or details like who Alfie's father is, etc.) I also am reading this out of order of the other Death spin-off, but I don't think that matters quite as much - I caught what I assume was a reference to what happens in the first one, but it's brief. In any case, the bulk of what *happens* in this story would be understandable to someone who's new to the Sandman world, but I think that the more familiar with the universe you are, the more resonance it's going to have.

The artwork in Time of Your Life is an interesting juxtaposition of short, choppy panels and big, sweeping, detailed painting, and is all gorgeously done. The story is well-told and has a slight mythic feel to it, although at heart it's pretty standard fare that doesn't feel like Gaiman is stepping too far out of his comfort zone. Mostly, though, for having her name on the title, I felt like there wasn't enough of Death. Hazel and Foxglove are fine characters, but Death spends most of the book listening and nodding compassionately - which, while I get that that's what she does, effectively served to take the focus off of the character I most wanted to read about. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: An interesting and quick story featuring some Sandman alums, but I didn't think it was quite up to the standard set by the best of the main-series volumes... which, admittedly, was a tall order to fill. Still, Sandman fans should enjoy it, and newcomers will hopefully be intrigued enough to check out the main books. show less

When Hazel strikes a deal with Death, she and Foxglove find themselves at a crossroads.

Death is very much a side-player in this, the second collection to bear her name. The story really focuses in on Foxglove, who has gained a major label contract and gone big since we last saw her. She's living the life of a (closeted) pop star, while Hazel poses as her secretary in L.A. Both characters are in a very different place than they were in either A Game of You or The High Cost of Living.

I felt like this story was much tighter and more focused this time around. There are a couple of very definite things going on, and everything herein contributes to our understanding of the characters and their story. It's good stuff. Hazel and Foxglove are show more among my favourite characters in the Sandman mythos, and I thought Gaiman did some wonderful things with them throughout the course of this story. It's not all happy stuff, and it's not all positive, but it's all handled very, very well.

I highly recommend this. I don't think you need to have read either A Game of You, (the fifth volume of Sandman, and the first place these characters appeared), or The High Cost of Living in order to enjoy this book, but I'd certainly recommend that you check them out first. Personally, I found that The Time of Your Life returned to many of the themes A Game of You dealt with; namely, the whole idea of changing and letting things go. The two books complement each other very well. show less

While not quite as good as the first Death book, this book is still a good addition to the Sandman universe. If you're curious about Foxglove and Hazel - appearing a couple of times in the Sandman series, one of the stories in this book features these two prominently. The extra Death pictures from various artists make for a great treat.

Death: The Time of Your Life picks up after Neil Gaiman's earlier story about Death of the Endless in The Sandman: A Game of You and features the characters Foxglove and Hazel McNamara. Unlike Gaiman's earlier story, The High Cost of Living, Death herself does not appear until the end of the first issue and the story itself focuses primarily on Foxglove and Hazel with Death serving as an interlocutor for them to discuss their hopes and fears. Fans of Gaiman's writing and his method of exploring larger themes will enjoy this volume, but those who want a story in which Death makes more of an appearance might find the story lacking.

Wow, 5 stars for that whole first half, so eerie and interesting. I loved the opening when Hazel takes the baby out in the rain, and something bad has happened. And when Larry appears with a warning, it's so good. I really really liked watching Foxglove go through her paces. It was really great.I wasn't nuts about the story once it came together, though, the deals with Death and the visit to her realm. It was a little simplistic, so, not as exciting as its surroundings. Still, loved it.

Good, but one of the things that's weird about reading the comics when you're a Gaiman fan is it makes you wonder where his humor went. One of the things I love about the author is his ability to mix wit with fantasy and it's not something I see here. Still, it's a good quick read and I love Death's character.

I liked this one better than Death's first outing in High Cost of Living. I liked the main characters and their humane problems. Death is a side-character, which I think she's best at.