Death: At Death's Door (Death #1) (Paperback)

by Jill Thompson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Next to the title character, the most popular cast member of the acclaimed Sandman comic book series is Sandman's sister, Death--no hooded grim reaper, but a perky, black-clad Goth chick. In retelling the series' "Season of Mists" story line, writer-artist Thompson depicts Death in manga (mainstream Japanese comics) style, as a button-cute punkette. Similarly, her godlike siblings are given huge eyes and exaggerated expressions, and whole compositions take on the cartoony, freewheeling look of shoujo, the manga aimed at girls. Lucifer has abandoned Hell, tossed out the inhabitants, and given Sandman the key. While the Lord of Dreams (Sandman) deals with his newly acquired real estate, Hell's evictees crash at Death's place, where her sisters, Despair and Delerium, throw them a party. Thompson is one of few American artists to successfully mimic manga, and she imparts a lighthearted tone to an originally somber tale. Her approach will probably attract American manga fans, who don't much follow American comics, and Sandman fans, who will devour any stories featuring its characters, regardless of style. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Comics Buyer's Guide September 2003 # 1558: " It's funny and packed with details t odelight."- Maggie Thompson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563899388
• ISBN-13: 978-1563899386
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amusing Fluff, August 15, 2005

By	D. G. D. Davidson "www.scificatholic.com" - See all my reviews

Diehard Sandman fans may be annoyed at Thompson's creative re-imagining of Gaiman's world. Though At Death's Door is not exactly heavy on substance, it is filled with plenty of amusement. The story runs parallel to The Sandman: A Season of Mists. While Dream is dealing with his unwanted ownership of Hell, his sister Death discovers that Hell's evicted tenants are now squatting in her modest apartment. Delirium and Despair, the other females of the Endless, show up for basically no reason and help Death deal with the problem, using their imaginations, lots of antics, and plenty of grrrl power.

Thompson has chosen to draw this silly story in the appropriate style of shoujo manga, lending a very different tone to the Sandman universe. Even those moments drawn directly from A Season of Mists have a different character, in keeping with shoujo-style melodrama. There is a lot less brooding and a lot more yelling. Delirium seems to have reverted temporarily to Delight; gone are her hallmark leather-and-fishnet outfits, replaced by a parade of summer and party dresses. Her morose self-absorption has also moved aside for a cheery, outgoing, and thoroughly zany personality. Even Despair seems upbeat.

Fans of The Sandman should find the volume amusing but of little consequence. They will likely notice that scenes from A Season of Mists have been poorly--sometimes painfully--forced into this volume. The story of Dream's dealings with Hell is more like an excuse for At Death's Door than an explanation or background. Fans of manga unfamiliar with The Sandman may be a little confused about some sequences. And if they use this as an entrypoint into the Sandman series, they may be disappointed to find that the "canonical" Endless are harder on the eyes than Thompson's manga versions, and the stories, though containing (often macabre) humor, are frequently grim.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Season of Mists" behind the scenes action!, July 29, 2003

By	Phil Gonzales (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Jill Thompson has applied her unique talents to this behind-the-scenes look at the events of Neil Gaiman's "Season of Mists." The story begins with Destiny's gathering af the Endless and proceeds through the release of the Damned from Hell. Then Thompson's narrative kicks in. Ever wonder what Death was up to when those souls were released? Well, apparently most of them showed up in her realm looking for something to do. Delirium and Despair have to keep the lost souls entertained to keep them from wandering off as Death goes scouting for the stragglers.

The story is pretty light and breezy with Jill Thompsons trademark wit and penchant for Macabre-Cute. The most fascinating parts are the places the story crosses over with the "Season" storyline and Gaiman's original dialogue is used. Comparing the two books side-by-side reveals Thompson's respect for the original while adding a twist to the proceedings.

If you're a Sandman fan I highly recommend this book. However, those who haven't read "Season of Mists" probably won't have a clue as to what's going on. Also, if any people are put off by Manga Style comics (and I know a lot are) this book might be a little much. It is done in a very cartoony, black-and-white, sketch Manga Style (down to the fangs and bloody noses)but comes across as very authentic. Energetic, well paced and fun!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I hate to rate this so poorly but...., February 11, 2004

By	C. D. Murphy (Natick, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I looked forward to this. But it really didn't live up to expectations. Artistically, to place the Sandman series in a stylized format such as Manga immediately catches you as not being on target. The series itself never used American stylization that you would see from Marvel, Image or DC illustrators, so seeing it in what is the same format with a different cultural bend goes against the rawer illustration that were always used (although Vess can't be considered raw) to depict the saga. And the use of the most childish of the Manga genre with large eyes and title emotions was a poor choice. Something in line with Lone Wolf and Cub wouldn't have been as bad as this.

Now as for the story, Jill Thompson built a solid foundation for the story as to what happened to everyone released from Hell when Lucifer closed up shop (something that I think was quite a smart idea) and she did an excellent job of building her story into that now famous arc. However the details were poor. The story was much longer than necessary. Death was discarded time and time again for the uniteresting goings on in her realm. And it just came off as pure camp. This series is too great to ever treat it campy.

Despair was underutilized and should have beem more of a force in dealing with the multitudes of people that came from her domain. Delirium who was actually the main focal point of the story was not handled as subtely as Gaiman had done. Her outbursts are all outlandish and she lacks that strand of sanity that was brought to the table by Gaiman. In Brief Lives, she has one moment of lucidity that makes you realize that she is only slighty less powerful than Death. And you never look at her the same way again despite her eccentricities. Jill does not underly her with this lucidity and makes the character seem like a crazed Scrappy Doo.

As for Death, she is possibily the best character ever created in any format. So she should not be left to just anyone. Jill is up and down with her, writing her to expectation sometimes and making a mockery of her at others. She would never jump up and down and yell at her brother. Had she ever done so in the series, she may have never become the icon she has become today. If you are a Death fan, this will not go over well with you. Perhaps only Gaiman should be allowed to write her.