Death: The High Cost of Living
Encyclopedia
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 (Dream
)'s elder sister, Death
of the Endless
in a self-contained story based around the fable that Death takes human form once a century, to remain grounded and in touch with humanity, an idea touched upon in several other media, for example in the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday
and in the Terry Pratchett
novel Reaper Man
.
A movie based on this series has been in the works for several years in various stages of development and until recently was in the works at New Line Cinema
. Gaiman had previously confirmed that this movie was in progress and that he was planning on writing the script and directing it, with Guillermo del Toro
as executive producer. The film, which is currently on hold, was operating under the title Death and Me.
' mature readers imprint and cover-dated March to May 1993. It was the first stand-alone mini-series derived from the then-on-going Sandman series by Gaiman, and was written by him with artwork by Bachalo and Buckingham and covers by regular Sandman cover artist Dave McKean
. The High Cost of Living was one of the first new titles published under the newly-created Vertigo imprint, alongside Peter Milligan
's Enigma, and is also notable for being one of the very few Vertigo comics to feature an alternative cover, as #1 did. Vertigo's other output in its debut month consisted of a half-dozen continuing DC series, newly moved to the mature imprint. These continuing series' included Hellblazer
and Gaiman's own The Sandman.
, as well as the hard-to-find public service announcement
AIDS-awareness 8-page comic Death Talks about Life. This short comic was written by Gaiman and drawn by Dave McKean, and featured basic safe sex
information about the transmission of HIV
and AIDS. Included in issues of Sandman, Shade, the Changing Man
and Hellblazer, it featured Death discussing life and demonstrating how to wear a condom
through the use of a prop banana
, and a cameo from Hellblazer protagonist John Constantine
.
The hardcover collection was reprinted as a trade paperback in June 1994 under a new McKean cover, with identical content.
Fan Award for Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series for 1993 with Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. For their work in the mini-series, Neil Gaiman and Karen Berger received Eisner Award
in 1994 as Best Writer and Best Editor.
, but who also insists that she is Death personified, taking her one day every hundred year sabbatical as a living person. She guides a suicidal
young male protagonist called Sexton on a journey of self discovery. As the story goes on, Sexton gains a reason for not wishing to die, his love for the girl claiming to be Death.
Gaiman's take, as he started in issue 8 of The Sandman, is a young, attractive, perky Death in this fresh interpretation of the concept. For it was said in Sandman 21: 'One day in every century, Death takes on mortal flesh, better to comprehend what the lives she takes must feel like , to taste the bitter tang of mortality.' Didi manages to eat from street vendors, run into a number of people including a megalomaniac known only as "The Eremite" (not overtly stated, but implied to be an alternate future version of Mister E
, after his return from the end of time at Death's hands in the original Books of Magic
miniseries), and a British woman named Mad Hettie who is looking for her heart.
. Gaiman wrote the screenplay, and would also direct, with Guillermo del Toro
as executive producer
. Gaiman spent several days on the set of del Toro's film Hellboy II: The Golden Army to get pointers on how to direct.
Other than two additional scenes at the beginning (set in a Tibet
an monastery and Alaska
), and a move from New York City
to London
for the main setting, the screenplay was relatively unchanged from the comic script.
After being in development hell
for several years, work on it was renewed in 2007, but quickly derailed again due to the WGA strikes
. According to Gaiman, the studio "may still be New Line, but Warner Independent
is keen on it too." Shia LaBeouf
may have had a role in the film, possibly as the lead character Sexton, due to his help in trying to get the movie developed.
On October 14, 2010 it was reported in an interview with Gaiman that as of June or July, DC and Warner Bros. had closed down work on the film and it was unclear if they would start it up again.
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...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, written 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...
with art 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 Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
. It is a spin-off from Gaiman's best-selling Vertigo Comics series The Sandman, featuring the Sandman (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...
)'s elder sister, 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....
of 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...
in a self-contained story based around the fable that Death takes human form once a century, to remain grounded and in touch with humanity, an idea touched upon in several other media, for example in the 1934 film 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:...
and in the Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
novel Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
.
A movie based on this series has been in the works for several years in various stages of development and until recently was in the works at New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. Gaiman had previously confirmed that this movie was in progress and that he was planning on writing the script and directing it, with Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
as executive producer. The film, which is currently on hold, was operating under the title Death and Me.
Publication history
Death: The High Cost of Living was originally published as a three-issue comic book miniseries, published monthly by Vertigo, DC ComicsDC 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...
' mature readers imprint and cover-dated March to May 1993. It was the first stand-alone mini-series derived from the then-on-going Sandman series by Gaiman, and was written by him with artwork by Bachalo and Buckingham and covers by regular Sandman cover artist Dave McKean
Dave McKean
David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician....
. The High Cost of Living was one of the first new titles published under the newly-created Vertigo imprint, alongside Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan born in London, a British writer, best known for his comic book, film and television work.-Early career:Milligan started his comic career with short stories for 2000 AD in the early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called Bad Company, with artists Brett...
's Enigma, and is also notable for being one of the very few Vertigo comics to feature an alternative cover, as #1 did. Vertigo's other output in its debut month consisted of a half-dozen continuing DC series, newly moved to the mature imprint. These continuing series' included 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...
and Gaiman's own The Sandman.
Collected editions
The High Cost of Living became one of Vertigo's earliest hardcover collected editions when it was published as such in November, 1993. The collection was prefaced with a foreword written by Gaiman-fan and collaborator, singer Tori AmosTori 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...
, as well as the hard-to-find public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
AIDS-awareness 8-page comic Death Talks about Life. This short comic was written by Gaiman and drawn by Dave McKean, and featured basic safe sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
information about the transmission of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and AIDS. Included in issues of Sandman, Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....
and Hellblazer, it featured Death discussing life and demonstrating how to wear 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...
through the use of a prop 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....
, and a cameo from Hellblazer protagonist 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...
.
The hardcover collection was reprinted as a trade paperback in June 1994 under a new McKean cover, with identical content.
Awards
The mini-series shared the Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Fan Award for Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series for 1993 with Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. For their work in the mini-series, Neil Gaiman and Karen Berger received Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
in 1994 as Best Writer and Best Editor.
Plot
The main character is a teenage girl named Didi, who appears to be an eccentric, orphaned gothGoth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, but who also insists that she is Death personified, taking her one day every hundred year sabbatical as a living person. She guides a suicidal
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
young male protagonist called Sexton on a journey of self discovery. As the story goes on, Sexton gains a reason for not wishing to die, his love for the girl claiming to be Death.
Gaiman's take, as he started in issue 8 of The Sandman, is a young, attractive, perky Death in this fresh interpretation of the concept. For it was said in Sandman 21: 'One day in every century, Death takes on mortal flesh, better to comprehend what the lives she takes must feel like , to taste the bitter tang of mortality.' Didi manages to eat from street vendors, run into a number of people including a megalomaniac known only as "The Eremite" (not overtly stated, but implied to be an alternate future version of 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...
, after his return from the end of time at Death's hands in the original 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...
miniseries), and a British woman named Mad Hettie who is looking for her heart.
Film adaptation
For several years, a film based on Death: The High Cost of Living, to be called Death and Me, was under production at New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. Gaiman wrote the screenplay, and would also direct, with Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
. Gaiman spent several days on the set of del Toro's film Hellboy II: The Golden Army to get pointers on how to direct.
Other than two additional scenes at the beginning (set in a Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an monastery and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
), and a move from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the main setting, the screenplay was relatively unchanged from the comic script.
After being in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
for several years, work on it was renewed in 2007, but quickly derailed again due to the WGA strikes
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. According to Gaiman, the studio "may still be New Line, but Warner Independent
Warner Independent Pictures
Warner Independent Pictures was the specialty division of film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset...
is keen on it too." Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
may have had a role in the film, possibly as the lead character Sexton, due to his help in trying to get the movie developed.
On October 14, 2010 it was reported in an interview with Gaiman that as of June or July, DC and Warner Bros. had closed down work on the film and it was unclear if they would start it up again.
Other Sandman spin-offs
- Death: The Time of Your LifeDeath: The Time of Your LifeDeath: 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...
- Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths ForetoldDestiny: A Chronicle of Deaths ForetoldDestiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold is a 1996 comic book mini-series published by Vertigo, written by Alisa Kwitney and with art by Kent Williams, Michael Zulli, Scott Hampton and Rebecca Guay...