Death At Death's Door
Encyclopedia
Death: At Death's Door is a comic penned and inked in the manga
-style, by Jill Thompson
, author of the Little Endless. It seems to take a more child-friendly and humorous approach through the eyes of one of the more popular The Endless
characters, Death
, during Season of Mists
.
It begins with brief profiles of each of the Endless, a reference to manga where brief character bios (in statistic form) are often displayed in the margins, and then segues right into Destiny
's council. At the family meeting, Desire
taunts Morpheus about Nada, the former lover he banished to hell ten thousand years past. Shortly afterward, Death gives him a sound scolding and Dream feels convinced he must go to Lucifer
and recover Nada.
Expecting a battle, Dream arrives just as Lucifer is closing down Hell. Upon leaving, Lucifer hands the key to Morpheus.
The evicted dead gravitate towards Death's realm, unexpectedly swamping her in the mistaken belief that they will then be admitted to Heaven. Shortly afterward, Delirium
appears, followed by Despair
. They soon realize the problem and Death resolves to gather all the damned in one place until Morpheus finds an appropriate solution to Hell's closing, endowing her sisters with two ankhs to help her accomplish the mission.
Meanwhile, in Dream, various deities such as Bast
, Odin
, and others arrive to contest who will take over ownership of the Hell realm; the events of Season of Mists
are told here in a greatly abbreviated version.
Behind schedule on collecting the recently deceased, Death runs out to do her duty, leaving Delirium in charge. She returns to find a raucous party with her little sister serving "Horse Doovers" (sic
, hors d'oeuvres) of unusual variety, such as pencils on crackers or green mouse and telephone ice cream. A subplot involves Edgar Allan Poe
, one of the deceased staying in Death's home, who apparently has a crush on Despair, his muse. As Death leaves again, the party is rudely interrupted by demons from hell, also without a home, who intend to cause chaos. Upon her return, Death prepares to battle the demons, only to have them disappear as Dream finishes his negotiations in Hell reclaims Nada and hands off the Key to the angels, Remiel and Duma
.
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, 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...
, author of the Little Endless. It seems to take a more child-friendly and humorous approach through the eyes of one of the more popular The Endless
Endless (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, Death
Death (DC Comics)
Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
, during 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...
.
Plot
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,...
's council. At the family meeting, Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
taunts Morpheus about Nada, the former lover he banished to hell ten thousand years past. Shortly afterward, Death gives him a sound scolding and Dream feels convinced he must go to 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...
and recover Nada.
Expecting a battle, Dream arrives just as Lucifer is closing down Hell. Upon leaving, Lucifer hands the key to Morpheus.
The evicted dead gravitate towards Death's realm, unexpectedly swamping her in the mistaken belief that they will then be admitted to Heaven. Shortly afterward, Delirium
Delirium (DC Comics)
Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
appears, followed by Despair
Despair (DC Comics)
Despair is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series, The Sandman.Despair is the twin sister of Desire. She is squat, flabby and pale-skinned, with black hair, gray eyes, and pointed teeth. Her voice is little more than a whisper, and she has no odor, but her...
. They soon realize the problem and Death resolves to gather all the damned in one place until Morpheus finds an appropriate solution to Hell's closing, endowing her sisters with two ankhs to help her accomplish the mission.
Meanwhile, in Dream, various deities such as Bast
Bast
Bast may refer to:* Bast a slang term used as reference to the word Bastard* Bast, or Bastet, a goddess in Ancient Egyptian mythology* Bast fibre, a type of plant fiber* Bast, Afghanistan...
, Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
, and others arrive to contest who will take over ownership of the Hell realm; the events of 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...
are told here in a greatly abbreviated version.
Behind schedule on collecting the recently deceased, Death runs out to do her duty, leaving Delirium in charge. She returns to find a raucous party with her little sister serving "Horse Doovers" (sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
, hors d'oeuvres) of unusual variety, such as pencils on crackers or green mouse and telephone ice cream. A subplot involves Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, one of the deceased staying in Death's home, who apparently has a crush on Despair, his muse. As Death leaves again, the party is rudely interrupted by demons from hell, also without a home, who intend to cause chaos. Upon her return, Death prepares to battle the demons, only to have them disappear as Dream finishes his negotiations in Hell reclaims Nada and hands off the Key to the angels, Remiel and Duma
Duma (DC Comics)
Duma is a fallen angel in the DC Vertigo series The Sandman, created by the British author Neil Gaiman. His name means "silence", and he is based on an angel from Jewish mythology.-Outside the Sandman mythos:...
.
External links
- Death: At Death's Door at the official DC ComicsDC ComicsDC 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...
website