Absolute Death [Hardcover]

Neil Gaiman (Author), Chris Bachalo (Illustrator), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2009

From the pages of Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN comes the young, pale, perky, fan-favorite character Death in a new Absolute Edition collecting her solo adventures! Featuring the miniseries DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING #1-3 in which Death befriends a teenager and helps a 250-year old homeless woman find her missing heart.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* "Easily the best comics series around." Time Out * "A comic strip for intellectuals." - Norman Mailer" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the most critically acclaimed comics writer of the 1990s and is the author of numerous books and graphic novels. He is the New York Times No. 1 bestselling author of American Gods and Anansi Boys, and won critical acclaim for his first feature film, Mirrormask, with long-time collaborator Dave McKean. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (October 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401224636
• ISBN-13: 978-1401224639
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 1.6 x 15 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For the die-hard Sandman fan only, October 31, 2009

By 

Trevor Burnham (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Absolute Death (Hardcover)

If you already have all 4 volumes of The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 on your shelf, you'll be pleased to know that this finely-crafted collection, though thinner than any of the Sandman volumes, will look equally pleasing on your shelf. However, if you're not a collector with money to burn, you should think carefully. This is a very expensive comic book, and disappointingly short on content.

There are two issues of The Sandman in here (#8 and #20), a handful of short pieces (only one of which, "Death and Venice," memorable for me), and a hundred pages of miscellany (sketches, promotional pieces, a curious pamphlet about AIDS called "Death Talks About Life"). All of this felt like fluff to me. The meat of the volume is two 3-part stories: "The High Cost of Living" and "The Time of Your Life." I was indifferent to the latter, but "The High Cost of Living" is a very solid short story in the classic Neil Gaiman tradition. Fortunately, it's available in a much cheaper volume: Death: The High Cost of Living

If you're on a budget, you can live without Absolute Death.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peachy keen?, October 29, 2009

By 

Ralph Jenkins (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Absolute Death (Hardcover)

Yes, this book is a bit overpriced if you pay full list price. However, like the other volumes in DC's "Absolute" series, it is very high quality. Since the two Death miniseries ("The High Cost of Living" and "The Time of Your Life") were only three issues apiece, some padding was needed to make this into an Absolute. It was originally to be called "The Compleat Death", but it was later changed into an Absolute, perhaps so it would match the Absolute Sandman volumes on the shelf (which it does). Note that if you have Absolute Sandman Vol. 1, two stories in that volume also appear here (#8 and #20), along with the Death story from the "Endless Nights" graphic novel, a few short vignettes, the Death Talks About Sex PSA pamphlet, the Death Gallery (which benefits the most from the larger format), a merchandise gallery and Neil Gaiman's complete script for Sandman #8 (with the original pencils). "The High Cost of Living" (which has been relettered for this edition) is the highlight of this book; it is here that penciler Chris Bachalo created the version of the character that would become most familiar to comics fans for the next decade. The original printing of Death: The High Cost of Living #1 erroneously split up a 2-page sequence (the left half of a splash page appeared on the right, and you had to turn the page to see the right side of the picture). No such problems here. This is the definitive Death collection. It is probably not worth $100, but if you buy it with a discount from Amazon or otherwise can pick it up as a discount, it may be worth it. Note: I don't think anything has been recolored, with the exception of Sandman #8 (which was also in Absolute Sandman Vol. 1).

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars worth every penny, November 16, 2009

By 

M. Buso (Morgantown, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Absolute Death (Hardcover)

So I won't waste time recapping what is in this collection.. the other reviewers cover it pretty well. However, I will call attention to 1) the astounding beauty that the larger Absolute format brings to the work, 2) the complete-ness you feel in this collection (its got all the major Death in it - if you were a Death-goth kid you may not have wanted to buy Absolute Sand 1 just for the 2 Death issues, so they are included here - I see that as very reader-friendly of DC), 3) how great it is in connection with the 4 Sandman collections - amazingly amazing. Gaiman is an incarnation in his own right, and 4) how much I love DC for including the Death / AIDS pamphlet. It is surprisingly hard to find, and yet of great interest as an historical comic artifact and something that is still relevant to this day - using comics as education never gets old, especially when it promotes understanding and tolerance. If you're a Gaiman fan, a Death fan, a Sandman fan, or all of the above, buy this - just don't pay full price (it's worth it, but save yourself some dough, eh!)