In Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Death is depicted as a happy-go-lucky goth girl, but her past holds secrets as to how she has changed over the eons.
Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is a revolutionary story beloved among both comics fans and literary titans. While the first issues begin slowly, the turning point of the series–the moment where Gaiman finds his voice and the series defines itself–is in issue #8, where the character of Death is introduced.
DC Comics has a number of different incarnations of Death, but The Sandman portrayed her as an upbeat, compassionate Goth girl. Quoting Disney movies and offering kind words to the doomed, this version of Death is unlike any seen at the time, making her truly unforgettable. Beyond this initial introduction, the comic explores her evolution over the eons so that audiences are able to see how she has grown and changed
The series begins when The Sandman‘s protagonist, Dream of the Endless is imprisoned in a magic circle, escaping and reclaiming all he has lost after decades locked away. But the occults who imprisoned him actually attempted to bind Death. When the two are reunited in issue #8, Dream is contemplatively feeding pigeons in front of Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. Death sidles up to him in casual goth attire, quoting Mary Poppins and using slang like “peachy keen.” Confused by these references, Dream responds monosyllabically. He finally explains the circumstances of his imprisonment, but Death still berates him for not calling her. The two reconcile, then travel together as Death visits those whose time has come. She offers kind words to those who are passing but confesses her sadness that most people are not happier to see her.
This depiction of Death could not be further from her earliest chronological appearance in The Sandman: Endless Nights story “The Heart of a Star.” Set early in the history of the universe when Earth’s sun is still a child among the much older stars, the personalities and relationships of the Endless differ greatly from their modern-day versions. Death appears only briefly, but in that time, she comes across as shrill and severe, rudely dismissing others’ decisions as insignificant while callously reminding everyone they will come to her (ie., die). Her next chronological reference is in the oral histories of an African tribe whose secret is that”the first people were of [their] tribe.” They refer to her as “Grandmother Death,” a description evoking the kindness of a nurturing matriarch.