Episode 178 – Death: The High Cost of Living

The Comics Canon

Content warning: suicidal ideation.

In this episode, we drop in on everyone’s favorite perky psychopomp, Death of the Endless, with a look at the 1993 three-part miniseries Death: The High Cost of Living, by Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachalo, published by DC/Vertigo!

In a nod to the 1934 film “Death Takes a Holiday,” Dream’s older sister Death, well ... takes a holiday. We’re pretty sure, anyway. You see, there’s this girl named Didi who looks a lot like Death, and claims to be Death, wandering the earth as a mortal for 24 hours to get a feel for how the other half lives. But 16-year-old Sexton Furnival, who says he wants to commit suicide, isn’t buying what Didi’s selling.

Can Didi convince Sexton that life is worth living? Can they escape the clutches of the mysterious Eremite and find Mad Hettie’s heart? And can this short Sandman spinoff charm its way into that Sweet Hereafter known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

• What’s Sexton’s middle name situation?
• Catching up with a couple of characters from A Game of You
• Maniac of New York Vol. 1: Death Train
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• Shin Ultraman
• The Sound of Her Wings (Sandman #8) and Façade (Sandman #20)

Join us in two weeks as we discuss either Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt or Batman: A Death in the Family!

Until then: Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!