Customer Reviews

Absolute Death

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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).

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!)

While about 50% of Absolute Death stories are repeated in the main Sandman Absolute volumes, nevertheless the additional material and the overall quality thoughout is fantastic. Mat black cloth cover with cover box makes a wonderful and unusual addition to the bookcase.

I hope for a simular Lucifer volume

A Beautifully presented book of Neil Gaiman's character Death. Including both graphic novel mini-series ('Death: The high cost of living' and 'Death: The time of your life') to the major appearances in the 'Sandman' titles and extra's like rare Vertigo special appearances and a wonderful Gallery of Portraits.
Book includes a great introduction from the amazing Amanda Palmer.
This edition and the four Absolute Sandman titles have been my best buy in a long time.

Death goes perfect with the Absolute series. The art and story will live forever in these books. Having met and worked for Neil at Comic Con I fell in love with the workings stories that come out of his head.

This is just what it says it is. The stories of Death. Great work. The quality of the book is wonderful, and it really makes you feel like a kid when you sit there reading a big comicbook! The book is full of wonderfully drawn and written stories and I will read it again and again! It's just really great!

This is a beautiful, collectible book that is the perfect companion to the Absolute Sandman. Highly recomended!

If you're even considering buying this you probably already know how good Neil Gaiman's Death stories are, so I'll just focus on the book itself. You get both Death ministries (The High Cost of Living and The Time of Your Life), issues #8 (The Sound of Her Wings) and #19 (Facade), as well as two other short stories that I hadn't seen before. The extras are also very nice: we get the full Death gallery and a ton of promotional drawing and material, as well as the original script for The Sound of Her Wings, which is extremely cool (I always wished this was the script they had included in Absolute Sandman #1, so it's great to have it here). And of course the oversize artwork is gorgeous. If you already own the Absolute Sandman, this one is really a no-brainer; and if you're just looking to pick up the Death stories, well, this is the nicest looking collection of them you'll find by far :-)

I'm a pretty hardcore Sandman reader. All the trades, and Absolutes. I kept thinking to myself, "I wish there were more stories with Death," and I got my wish...

This volume starts out amazing, as it reprints two Death stories from the Sandman series. And then it falls flat with Cost of Living & Time of Your Life. Both stories lack the allure of and mystical appeal of the Sandman franchise. The artwork is decent enough, but you're paying a lot of money to stare at pretty pictures.

"Death Talks About Life" wasn't so bad, but, again, not worth the entire price of purchase.