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"Dead
Chick's Party"
Death: At Death's Door
A Vertigo "Manga-sized" review
By
Troy Brownfield
Writer/Artist:
Jill Thompson
Consultant: Neil Gaiman
More
Info: www.dccomics.com
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Unless
you've been living under a rock, or unless you've trained
yourself to complete ignore comics (and what a strange, sad
person you must be) you've heard of The Sandman. Produced
by writer Neil Gaiman and a host of fine artists, the complete
original series is now available from DC/Vertigo is ten volumes
plus specials (including the new Endless Nights). Over
the years, Gaiman has allowed numerous side projects to be
brought forth from his universe. The latest, and one of the
best, is Jill Thompson's manga take on one part of the Season
of Mists story arc. In that tale, we see what happens
when Morpheus, The Sandman, gets stuck with the keys to Hell.
Thompson's take is to see what happens to his older sister
Death (as well as sisters Despair and Delirium) as a result.
Over
the years, Thompson has built a sterling reputation for witty
and whimsical stories. She's the creative force behind Scary
Godmother, and even collaborated with the beloved wrestler
Mick Foley on a children's book, Halloween Hijinx.
That same playfulness is on full display here.
The
most interesting aspect of a project like this is that you
get to see how another creator realizes the previously established
vision of another. The meeting of the Endless takes on new
form and subtleties, and the various members of the pantheons
that go to petition Morpheus for the keys to Hell get their
own reimagining.
While
some purists might not take to this right away, I personally
really enjoyed the strange, fun nature of it all. Though I
wouldn't necessarily want to see manga takes on "Preacher"
or "100 Bullets", I believe that the fluid mutability
of Gaiman's world and his willingness to allow his creations
to be interpreted in different ways lends itself to this form.
I'd like to see Thompson take a swing at another arc, perhaps
"A Game of You". For the manga fan, it's a doorway
to a new set of characters; for the hardcore, it's a chance
to throw off the blinders. Thompson's experiment can truly
be called Thompson's success.
Troy Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of ShotgunReviews.com.
Email him at psikotyk@aol.com
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