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Death (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
Death is a fictional character
from the DC
comic book
series, The Sandman (1989–1996). The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 (August 1989), and was created by Neil Gaiman
and Mike Dringenberg
.
In the stories, Death is both the end of life and a psychopomp
. Like most anthropomorphic
personifications of death
, Death meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their new existence. However, unlike most personifications of death
, she also visits people as they are born, according to Destruction
in the "Sandman Special". Evidently, only she seems to remember these encounters. In the special issue, it is also revealed that Death was known in Ancient Greece as Teleute.
Physically, Death is also opposite to the traditional western culture personification of death (see Grim Reaper). In The Sandman, Death instead appears as an attractive, pale young goth woman dressed in casual clothes - often a black top and jeans. She also wears a silver ankh
on a chain around her neck, and has a marking similar to the eye of Horus
around her right eye. She is pleasant, down-to-earth, perky, and has been a nurturing figure for both incarnations of Dream
. This irony has helped make Death one of the most popular characters from Sandman. Death was named the fifteenth greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine.
Other personifications of Death have appeared in the DC Universe. These altering physical appearances may be rationalized as being completely different characters with an unknown relation (or lack thereof) to the overall Death shown in the Sandman series, or may be explained by a sequence at the beginning of the Sandman series. In the sequence where Morpheus is searching for his objects of power, he appears at Martian Manhunter
's door, and for a frame we see him as Martian Manhunter sees him: it's nothing like humans see him. This could indicate that the physical appearance of the Endless (the appearance of Dream, at the very least) is subject to the mind of the person doing the observing. Many references are made throughout Death and the Sandman series which indicate that perception of the form of the Endless is subjective, not objective.
In Captain Atom
#42 Death appears alongside Black Racer of the New Gods
and Nekron
(a being embodying the will of "The Black", the solitude and peace death represents from Green Lantern
). The story stated that all three were equal, representing different aspects of death. Gaiman has denied this, however, and his stories make it clear that Death of the Endless is the ultimate personification of Death. It might be assumed, however, Nekron, the Racer, and the Black Flash are connected to her in some way. Alternatively, there may be multiple avatars or gods of Death in the DC universe, besides those claiming to be Death. Blackest Night has resolved this apparent contradiction or ambiguity, with Nekron no longer being referred to as an aspect of death but instead as a construct formed of darkness in response to the emerging light of the emotional spectrum.
A more traditional version of Death, a skeleton in a bluish or purplish cloak, appeared as host in such DC titles such as Weird Mystery Tales
, House of Secrets, Ghosts, Weird War Tales
(including being in the story in issue #94), DC Comics Presents
#29, etc. Weird War Tales typically featured Death as a skeleton in some sort of military uniform relevant to the era and locality of the war depicted. This character appeared as recently as Elvira
's House of Mystery
#2 (February 1986). How this pre-Crisis
Death relates to Gaiman's Death, if at all, is unclear, although her older brother Destiny
appeared with the character, and both Deaths have appeared with incarnations of Superman
. Superman referred to the earlier Death with the term "Grim Reaper", so perhaps that could be regarded as a distinct character, however, in the pages of Weird War Tales, he called himself "Death." He also appeared when Weird War Tales was published under the Vertigo imprint and in the 2010 Weir War Tales one-shot.
In Swamp Thing
vol. 2, #6, The Phantom Stranger
met Death in the form of a middle-aged gentleman, possibly inspired by Death Takes a Holiday
. In the story, a young woman, Margaret "Maggie" Brennan, had what should have been a minor head injury and at one glimpse of Death chose to become Death's bride. As someone newly-dead herself, she taught Death that he needs to show compassion for the newly-dead to allay their fears. He takes her advice and they both serve as aspects of Death. This version of Death was created by Mike W. Barr
and Dan Spiegle
. Maggie is blonde and bears only minor physical resemblance to Gaiman and Dringenberg's version, though her compassionate nature is a similarity. In The Spectre (vol. 2), The Phantom Stranger himself appeared to be the only psychopomp in the DC Universe.
The current incarnation of Death first appeared in the final chapter of Sandman’s first story arc Preludes and Nocturnes
, "The Sound of Her Wings", (issue #8) where she gave Dream direction and a degree of understanding. Death instantly became very popular to readers, and she appears at least briefly in each of the nine subsequent story arcs. However, Gaiman attempted to entice and tease readers by rationing out the number of appearances from Dream’s family, so Death did not appear as frequently as one might expect for such a popular character. At the end of the ninth Sandman story arc The Kindly Ones
, there is a lengthy and noteworthy appearance from Death, in which she finally brings her brother peace.
:
McKean also used a series of professional English models for representations of Death on covers of Sandman.
Despite some rumors, Death is not based on Gaiman's friend Tori Amos
.
Death's apparent age varies slightly. In the picture above, from Death: The Time of Your Life, she appears to be a teenager. In most Sandman stories she looks to be in her mid-twenties. In the giveaway Death Talks About Life (an AIDS-prevention giveaway), Death appears to about thirty, with wrinkle lines in her forehead that are not usually present.
, a family of anthropomorphic beings. Death is possibly the most powerful of the Endless (and may be the most powerful being in the universe) having been shown (in a flashback in Brief Lives
) to be virtually omniscient and being able to intimidate the Furies, who show no fear of the other Endless, simply by raising her voice in The Kindly Ones
. The witch Thessaly mentions that Death is the only one of the Endless who is bound by no rules. In addition, it is mentioned in Brief Lives that she is the only one of the Endless who may survive the end of this incarnation of the universe. Death's realm is not portrayed in detail in the series, except for a brief scene in her 'house' in the Sandman Special, Song of Orpheus
, and later in The Books of Magic
series. This is where she keeps her floppy hat collection, her goldfish
Slim and Wandsworth and possibly her gallery. A brief glimpse of her realm can also be seen in The Little Endless Storybook
, when Barnabas visits her, although this time in her 'apartment suite.'
One day every century, Death lives (and dies) as a mortal, in order to understand the value of the life she takes. She does this by becoming a mortal fated to die that day. At the end of Death: The High Cost of Living
her Endless self briefly converses with her mortal self.
, Death: The High Cost of Living
(1993), and Death: The Time of Your Life
(1996). Both were written by Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Bachalo
, and dealt with Death's encounters with various mortals. Death: The High Cost of Living became the first comic released under the newly-instigated Vertigo branding in 1993, at which point The Sandman also moved from the DC to Vertigo imprint.
In 2003, the manga
-style graphic novel
Death: At Death's Door portrayed Death's activities during the fourth Sandman story arc Season of Mists
. It was written and illustrated by Jill Thompson
, and the format proved popular enough for Thompson to produce the similarly manga-influenced follow-up Dead Boy Detectives
, featuring minor Sandman characters, and "featuring a cameo by Death."
A one-shot issue titled A Death Gallery (1994) was released as one of several art showcase comics spotlighting various Sandman characters released between 1994 and 1995. The Death Gallery featured representations of Death by more than thirty comics artists, including a rough sketch by Gaiman himself. In Endless Nights (2003) Gaiman shows Death several billion years ago, with a markedly different personality — forbidding and joyless.
She also appears in The Books of Magic
(first volume, 1991, also written by Gaiman) at the very end of time, where her function is to set things in order and close the universe down. She meets Timothy Hunter
and Mister E
there after Mister E has taken Timothy all the way to the end of time, because only there can he kill Timothy without fear of interference. Death stops the murder on the grounds that "I took both of you billions of years ago." She sends Timothy back home, but forces Mister E to return the hard way. John Ney Rieber
included her in The Books of Magic (vol. 2 #3-4), in which she lets Timothy Hunter hang out at her house and hold her teddy bear, Cavendish, while he is recovering from the venom of the Manticore
. Hunter later encounters Death walking in the rain in The Books of Magic #25, and there was later an arc about her in Hunter: The Age of Magic. In Hellblazer
#120, Death appears briefly in a pub filled with ghosts.
She also appeared in Mike Carey's Lucifer
series when the eponymous main character was wounded and nearly died. Initially it appears that Death has actually arrived for Lucifer, but in fact she is there for Elaine Belloc
who dies (temporarly) saving Lucifer's life. Death admits she's arrived a little early and takes the opportunity to talk to Lucifer who is currently trapped between life and death.
In Madame Xanadu
, the title character calls out to her while chained up and denied access to her youth potions during the French Revolution
. As she is a survivor from the days of King Arthur
, she grows very old very quickly without them. She summons Death and reads her own cards, interpreting her Death card as predictive of her future destiny on earth. Death is so amused by this interpretation that she grants Madame Xanadu immortality, revocable any time Xanadu wishes.
,To the annoyance of Neil Gaiman, she appeared in Captain Atom
#42-23 (June–July 1990), as merely an aspect of Death. Other Giffen stories that feature Death include Ambush Bug Nothing Special one-shot (Sep 1992), a cameo in the Lobo comic book Lobo's Back #3 (Oct. 1992), in which she slaps Lobo for getting fresh with her. She observes the destruction of the Earth in Legion of Super-Heroes
vol. 4, #38 (Dec 1992). The character appeared in Action Comics
#894, which was written by Paul Cornell
. Cornell confirmed that Neil Gaiman has given his approval for the use of Death in the storyline. In the story, while searching for a black
power ring, Lex Luthor encounters her.
-awareness eight-page comic Death Talks About Life by Gaiman and McKean (which was first included in various Vertigo titles, and later released as a stand-alone giveaway pamphlet), Death demonstrates safe sex by placing a condom
on a banana
held by John Constantine
. Lightening the impact of the underlying message, she informs the reader that when one is through with the demonstration, "you can eat the banana." This was used in high school health classes and is also reprinted as an addendum to the Death: The High Cost of Living trade paperback.
This version of Death also made a cameo appearance in the crossover special Avengers/JLA #2. She is represented in the Grandmaster
's home base, alongside Deadman
, Hela and the purple-robed version of Death
native to the Marvel Universe
, which, as the plots of other crossover comics have hinged upon, exists in the same continuum of fictional universe
s as DC's. (Marvel's version of Death appears alternatively as a coldly beautiful woman in a purple robe or a walking skeleton (sometimes male and sometimes female in form, depending upon the context), again in a purple robe.)
She made an appearance in the Marvel Universe, at the wedding of Rick Jones
and Marlo Chandler
in The Incredible Hulk
#418 (handing Marlo a hair brush, a visual pun referring to Marlo's recent 'brush with death').
, an imprint of DC.
"Death of the Endless" is referenced in the 2009 Young Adult novel, The Suicide Club, by Rhys Thomas. In it, the lead character describes death returning with the sound of beating wings.
Death is referenced in Sam Keith's "The Maxx" "They're all necro-nerds and Sand freaks. They think death is romantic. Death is hard and cold and ugly, not some cute chick. " as quoted by the character Sara. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112065/quotes
The Virgin Books' New Adventures
Doctor Who
novel series introduced a manipulative and generally morally ambivalent female incarnation of Death (or rather, as later revealed, one of several Eternal
s masquerading as cosmic principles). In Happy Endings
she quotes from the original The Books of Magic
mini-series. Although the bulk of the novel was written by Paul Cornell
, the section featuring Death was written by author Neil Penswick, as part of a chapter written in tandem by the authors of the previous 49 novels.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series, The Sandman (1989–1996). The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 (August 1989), and was created by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
and Mike Dringenberg
Mike Dringenberg
Mike Dringenberg is a German/American comic book artist best known for his work on DC/Vertigo's Sandman series with writer Neil Gaiman after original artist Sam Kieth's departure.-Biography:Dringenberg was born in Laon, France...
.
In the stories, Death is both the end of life and a psychopomp
Psychopomp
Psychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage...
. Like most anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
personifications of death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
, Death meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their new existence. However, unlike most personifications of death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, she also visits people as they are born, according to Destruction
Destruction (DC Comics)
Destruction is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional Biography Within The Sandman:...
in the "Sandman Special". Evidently, only she seems to remember these encounters. In the special issue, it is also revealed that Death was known in Ancient Greece as Teleute.
Physically, Death is also opposite to the traditional western culture personification of death (see Grim Reaper). In The Sandman, Death instead appears as an attractive, pale young goth woman dressed in casual clothes - often a black top and jeans. She also wears a silver ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
on a chain around her neck, and has a marking similar to the eye of Horus
Eye of Horus
The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet...
around her right eye. She is pleasant, down-to-earth, perky, and has been a nurturing figure for both incarnations of Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
. This irony has helped make Death one of the most popular characters from Sandman. Death was named the fifteenth greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine.
Publication history
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
's door, and for a frame we see him as Martian Manhunter sees him: it's nothing like humans see him. This could indicate that the physical appearance of the Endless (the appearance of Dream, at the very least) is subject to the mind of the person doing the observing. Many references are made throughout Death and the Sandman series which indicate that perception of the form of the Endless is subjective, not objective.
In Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
#42 Death appears alongside Black Racer of the New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
and Nekron
Nekron
Nekron is a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by DC Comics, specifically those related to Green Lantern. Created by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein and Joe Staton, the character, who exists as an embodiment of Death, first appeared in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2...
(a being embodying the will of "The Black", the solitude and peace death represents from Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
). The story stated that all three were equal, representing different aspects of death. Gaiman has denied this, however, and his stories make it clear that Death of the Endless is the ultimate personification of Death. It might be assumed, however, Nekron, the Racer, and the Black Flash are connected to her in some way. Alternatively, there may be multiple avatars or gods of Death in the DC universe, besides those claiming to be Death. Blackest Night has resolved this apparent contradiction or ambiguity, with Nekron no longer being referred to as an aspect of death but instead as a construct formed of darkness in response to the emerging light of the emotional spectrum.
A more traditional version of Death, a skeleton in a bluish or purplish cloak, appeared as host in such DC titles such as Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
, House of Secrets, Ghosts, Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics which ran from September 1971 to June 1983.-Background:...
(including being in the story in issue #94), DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
#29, etc. Weird War Tales typically featured Death as a skeleton in some sort of military uniform relevant to the era and locality of the war depicted. This character appeared as recently as Elvira
Cassandra Peterson
Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her on-screen horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation...
's House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
#2 (February 1986). How this pre-Crisis
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
Death relates to Gaiman's Death, if at all, is unclear, although her older brother Destiny
Destiny (DC Comics)
Destiny is a DC Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 , and was regular host of that series for the first fourteen issues, after which he hosted Secrets of Haunted House. He is one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series,...
appeared with the character, and both Deaths have appeared with incarnations of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. Superman referred to the earlier Death with the term "Grim Reaper", so perhaps that could be regarded as a distinct character, however, in the pages of Weird War Tales, he called himself "Death." He also appeared when Weird War Tales was published under the Vertigo imprint and in the 2010 Weir War Tales one-shot.
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
vol. 2, #6, The Phantom Stranger
Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
met Death in the form of a middle-aged gentleman, possibly inspired by Death Takes a Holiday
Death Takes a Holiday
Death Takes a Holiday is a 1934 romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing, based on the Italian play La Morte in Vacanze by Alberto Casella.-Synopsis:...
. In the story, a young woman, Margaret "Maggie" Brennan, had what should have been a minor head injury and at one glimpse of Death chose to become Death's bride. As someone newly-dead herself, she taught Death that he needs to show compassion for the newly-dead to allay their fears. He takes her advice and they both serve as aspects of Death. This version of Death was created by Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels.-Biography:Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 , for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man...
and Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle is an American comic book and cartoon artist and illustrator . He has had a long career in drawing comics based on movie and television characters, and has worked for companies including Dell Comics, DC Comics and Marvel Comics.-Life and career:In his second year of high school,...
. Maggie is blonde and bears only minor physical resemblance to Gaiman and Dringenberg's version, though her compassionate nature is a similarity. In The Spectre (vol. 2), The Phantom Stranger himself appeared to be the only psychopomp in the DC Universe.
The current incarnation of Death first appeared in the final chapter of Sandman’s first story arc Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #1-8...
, "The Sound of Her Wings", (issue #8) where she gave Dream direction and a degree of understanding. Death instantly became very popular to readers, and she appears at least briefly in each of the nine subsequent story arcs. However, Gaiman attempted to entice and tease readers by rationing out the number of appearances from Dream’s family, so Death did not appear as frequently as one might expect for such a popular character. At the end of the ninth Sandman story arc The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
, there is a lengthy and noteworthy appearance from Death, in which she finally brings her brother peace.
Character design
According to Gaiman, the initial visual design of Death was based on a friend of Dringenberg's named Cinnamon. From The Sandman CompanionThe Sandman Companion
The Sandman Companion is a book by Hy Bender and published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics, providing annotations and commentary on Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman....
:
McKean also used a series of professional English models for representations of Death on covers of Sandman.
Despite some rumors, Death is not based on Gaiman's friend Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
.
Death's apparent age varies slightly. In the picture above, from Death: The Time of Your Life, she appears to be a teenager. In most Sandman stories she looks to be in her mid-twenties. In the giveaway Death Talks About Life (an AIDS-prevention giveaway), Death appears to about thirty, with wrinkle lines in her forehead that are not usually present.
Fictional character biography
Death is the second eldest of the EndlessEndless (comics)
The Endless are a group of beings who embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe...
, a family of anthropomorphic beings. Death is possibly the most powerful of the Endless (and may be the most powerful being in the universe) having been shown (in a flashback in Brief Lives
The Sandman: Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Jill Thompson, inked by Vince Locke and Dick Giordano, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein....
) to be virtually omniscient and being able to intimidate the Furies, who show no fear of the other Endless, simply by raising her voice in The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
. The witch Thessaly mentions that Death is the only one of the Endless who is bound by no rules. In addition, it is mentioned in Brief Lives that she is the only one of the Endless who may survive the end of this incarnation of the universe. Death's realm is not portrayed in detail in the series, except for a brief scene in her 'house' in the Sandman Special, Song of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
, and later in The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
series. This is where she keeps her floppy hat collection, her goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
Slim and Wandsworth and possibly her gallery. A brief glimpse of her realm can also be seen in The Little Endless Storybook
The Little Endless Storybook
The Little Endless Storybook is a picture book by Jill Thompson published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. It features the popular Endless characters from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comic book reimagined as toddlers.-Plot:...
, when Barnabas visits her, although this time in her 'apartment suite.'
One day every century, Death lives (and dies) as a mortal, in order to understand the value of the life she takes. She does this by becoming a mortal fated to die that day. At the end of Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living is an American comic book miniseries, written by Neil Gaiman with art by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham. It is a spin-off from Gaiman's best-selling Vertigo Comics series The Sandman, featuring the Sandman 's elder sister, Death of the Endless in a self-contained...
her Endless self briefly converses with her mortal self.
Vertigo Comics
Death's popularity saw her spun off into two solo limited seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The High Cost of Living is an American comic book miniseries, written by Neil Gaiman with art by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham. It is a spin-off from Gaiman's best-selling Vertigo Comics series The Sandman, featuring the Sandman 's elder sister, Death of the Endless in a self-contained...
(1993), and Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life
Death: The Time of Your Life is a three-issue American comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, one of many spinoffs from his series The Sandman. It was illustrated by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, and features an introduction by Claire Danes...
(1996). Both were written by Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Bachalo
Chris Bachalo
Chris Bachalo is an American comic book illustrator known for his quirky, cartoon-like style. He became well known for stints on DC Comics’ Shade, the Changing Man and Neil Gaiman's two Death series...
, and dealt with Death's encounters with various mortals. Death: The High Cost of Living became the first comic released under the newly-instigated Vertigo branding in 1993, at which point The Sandman also moved from the DC to Vertigo imprint.
In 2003, the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
-style graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Death: At Death's Door portrayed Death's activities during the fourth Sandman story arc Season of Mists
The Sandman: Season of Mists
Season of Mists is the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman.It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, and P...
. It was written and illustrated by Jill Thompson
Jill Thompson
Jill Thompson is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably better known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.-Career:Jill Thompson illustrated The Sandman story...
, and the format proved popular enough for Thompson to produce the similarly manga-influenced follow-up Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives
The Dead Boy Detectives are fictional characters that have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. They were created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III in The Sandman #25 ....
, featuring minor Sandman characters, and "featuring a cameo by Death."
A one-shot issue titled A Death Gallery (1994) was released as one of several art showcase comics spotlighting various Sandman characters released between 1994 and 1995. The Death Gallery featured representations of Death by more than thirty comics artists, including a rough sketch by Gaiman himself. In Endless Nights (2003) Gaiman shows Death several billion years ago, with a markedly different personality — forbidding and joyless.
She also appears in The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
(first volume, 1991, also written by Gaiman) at the very end of time, where her function is to set things in order and close the universe down. She meets Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
and Mister E
Mister E
Mister E is a fictional character that appears mainly in the Vertigo Comics universe, though he sometimes appears in the DC Comics universe. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in Secrets of Haunted House and was a recurring character for ten issues...
there after Mister E has taken Timothy all the way to the end of time, because only there can he kill Timothy without fear of interference. Death stops the murder on the grounds that "I took both of you billions of years ago." She sends Timothy back home, but forces Mister E to return the hard way. John Ney Rieber
John Ney Rieber
John Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. He has been writing for the comics The Books of Magic, Captain America, G.I. Joe and Tomb Raider.-Bibliography:Comics work includes:*Shadows Fall Issues #1-6...
included her in The Books of Magic (vol. 2 #3-4), in which she lets Timothy Hunter hang out at her house and hold her teddy bear, Cavendish, while he is recovering from the venom of the Manticore
Manticore
The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth , and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both...
. Hunter later encounters Death walking in the rain in The Books of Magic #25, and there was later an arc about her in Hunter: The Age of Magic. In Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
#120, Death appears briefly in a pub filled with ghosts.
She also appeared in Mike Carey's Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
series when the eponymous main character was wounded and nearly died. Initially it appears that Death has actually arrived for Lucifer, but in fact she is there for Elaine Belloc
Elaine Belloc
Elaine Belloc is a fictional character in the DC/Vertigo Comics series Lucifer created by Mike Carey. Elaine was created by Carey specifically for the Lucifer series, and her character is that of a young girl with special powers who encounters Lucifer and takes part in the adventures and battles...
who dies (temporarly) saving Lucifer's life. Death admits she's arrived a little early and takes the opportunity to talk to Lucifer who is currently trapped between life and death.
In Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
, the title character calls out to her while chained up and denied access to her youth potions during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. As she is a survivor from the days of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, she grows very old very quickly without them. She summons Death and reads her own cards, interpreting her Death card as predictive of her future destiny on earth. Death is so amused by this interpretation that she grants Madame Xanadu immortality, revocable any time Xanadu wishes.
DC Universe
Death has also made occasional appearances in the mainstream DC UniverseDC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
,To the annoyance of Neil Gaiman, she appeared in Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
#42-23 (June–July 1990), as merely an aspect of Death. Other Giffen stories that feature Death include Ambush Bug Nothing Special one-shot (Sep 1992), a cameo in the Lobo comic book Lobo's Back #3 (Oct. 1992), in which she slaps Lobo for getting fresh with her. She observes the destruction of the Earth in Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
vol. 4, #38 (Dec 1992). The character appeared in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#894, which was written by Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
. Cornell confirmed that Neil Gaiman has given his approval for the use of Death in the storyline. In the story, while searching for a black
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
power ring, Lex Luthor encounters her.
Quasi-canonical appearances
In the AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-awareness eight-page comic Death Talks About Life by Gaiman and McKean (which was first included in various Vertigo titles, and later released as a stand-alone giveaway pamphlet), Death demonstrates safe sex by placing a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
on a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
held by John Constantine
John Constantine
John Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
. Lightening the impact of the underlying message, she informs the reader that when one is through with the demonstration, "you can eat the banana." This was used in high school health classes and is also reprinted as an addendum to the Death: The High Cost of Living trade paperback.
This version of Death also made a cameo appearance in the crossover special Avengers/JLA #2. She is represented in the Grandmaster
Grandmaster (DC Comics)
The Grandmaster is a fictional character, a type of Manhunter agent in DC Comics publications that first appeared in Millennium #1.-Fictional character biography:...
's home base, alongside Deadman
Deadman
Deadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...
, Hela and the purple-robed version of Death
Death (Marvel Comics)
Death is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain Marvel #27 Death is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain Marvel #27 Death is a fictional...
native to the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, which, as the plots of other crossover comics have hinged upon, exists in the same continuum of fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
s as DC's. (Marvel's version of Death appears alternatively as a coldly beautiful woman in a purple robe or a walking skeleton (sometimes male and sometimes female in form, depending upon the context), again in a purple robe.)
She made an appearance in the Marvel Universe, at the wedding of Rick Jones
Rick Jones (comics)
Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones is a fictional comic book character in the .-Publication history:Rick Jones first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1, as a sidekick to the Incredible Hulk...
and Marlo Chandler
Marlo Chandler
Marlo Chandler is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Peter David, she first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #347 , and became an ongoing supporting character, first in that book, and later in the Captain Marvel series published between 1999–2004...
in The Incredible Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
#418 (handing Marlo a hair brush, a visual pun referring to Marlo's recent 'brush with death').
Non-canon references and appearances
Death {not of the Endless] was also the narrator and host of The Big Book of Death (1995), a large format comic in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not "strange but true" genre which came out from Paradox PressParadox Press
Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton the imprint was renamed. It is best known for graphic novels like A History of Violence and Road to Perdition...
, an imprint of DC.
"Death of the Endless" is referenced in the 2009 Young Adult novel, The Suicide Club, by Rhys Thomas. In it, the lead character describes death returning with the sound of beating wings.
Death is referenced in Sam Keith's "The Maxx" "They're all necro-nerds and Sand freaks. They think death is romantic. Death is hard and cold and ugly, not some cute chick. " as quoted by the character Sara. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112065/quotes
The Virgin Books' New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel series introduced a manipulative and generally morally ambivalent female incarnation of Death (or rather, as later revealed, one of several Eternal
Eternal (Doctor Who)
The Eternals are a race of cosmic beings first introduced in the Doctor Who TV adventure "Enlightenment." One Eternal who called himself Striker explained to the Doctor that he and his people lived outside of time, in the realm of eternity. They considered the mortal inhabitants of the universe to...
s masquerading as cosmic principles). In Happy Endings
Happy Endings (Doctor Who)
Happy Endings is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the fiftieth book in the Virgin New Adventures series...
she quotes from the original The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
mini-series. Although the bulk of the novel was written by Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
, the section featuring Death was written by author Neil Penswick, as part of a chapter written in tandem by the authors of the previous 49 novels.
See also
- The EndlessEndless (comics)The Endless are a group of beings who embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe...
- Characters of The SandmanCharacters of The SandmanThis is a list of characters appearing in The Sandman comic book, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. This page discusses not only events which occur in The Sandman , but also some occurring in spinoffs of The Sandman and in earlier stories that The Sandman was based on...
- The Books of MagicThe Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...