Note: At one point JD mentions Sandman Mystery Theater. He's actually referring to Sandman Midnight Theater. Blame Vertigo for choosing two very similar titles.
Seasons of Mists was, in a way, my first exposure to Sandman. Which is to say, my first exposure to Sandman was Death: at Death's Door. If you haven't heard of it, it's a manga-style adaptation of Seasons of Mists told largely from Death's perspective. It's actually pretty interesting to compare the two. A lot of the times, "At Death's Door" keeps the scenes and dialogue exactly the same, but because of the exaggerated emotional reactions, they don't quite read the same way. A lot of the time, it's not bad - just different. And there are several scenes and details "At Death's Door" just skips over, which doesn't really hurt the plot - since it keeps the plot-relevant stuff and, like I said, the story is from Death's perspective, so you don't feel like you missed much unless you've read Seasons of Mists.
I didn't get around to reading the actual Seasons of Mist until years later, when I was finally introduced to the series proper. Like you guys, I thought it was an entertaining story. Reading "At Death's Door" first did affect my perception. I didn't mind the Dead Boy Detectives stuff because I expected it to be there, and I was actually kind of surprised that the story didn't spend that much time on Death catching dead people. And, because "At Death's Door" included some scenes but skipped the others, some things I expected, while others (like revelation of . Susano-o's identity at the end) came as the complete surprise.
I don't know if you guys were planning to cover "At Death's Door," but it would be interesting how you would react to it, having read "Season of Mists" first and all.
I had forgotten about At Death's Door until you mentioned it, but I do think I remember Neil promoting it back when it came out. It's one of those I definitely would like to read eventually, especially since I love Jill Thompson's artwork.
We're not covering it since it was not written by Gaiman, but if I end up getting a copy I may add a blog post about it.
Sorry. I listened to this episode two months ago and kept forgetting to type up a comment. Despite telling Angie several times it was coming soon. Gah!
This is also one of my favorite stories of the series. I love the concept, I love the characterizations, I love the great "Now it's worse!" twist at the end. I've criticized before the way Gaiman structures his stories, but this plays to his style well: create a clearly defined batch of characters and just circle around them a few times as the situation plays them off one another.
I'd forgotten Kelly Jones did the art for the bulk of this, and really love what he brought to the book. And him having a different inker each issue made for a fascinating examination of just how different the styles of that trade can be. Given how much I love P. Craig Russell, I was surprised his inks were a bit clunky and heavy. Better were Malcolm Jones (with a MUCH better artist than Dringenberg to build off of) and a surprise treat in the legendary Dick Giordano!
I agree about the awkward placement of the Dead Boys story. It's a good if incredibly nasty tale, but plopping it in the middle of everything is too jarring. Instead of putting it at the very end, I think a nice spot would be right before the Epilogue issue. That way we mostly resolve the main conflict, then cut away to see how everything that went down affected Earth, then go from Death scrambling to deal with her souls to the opening of the Epilogue where the angels prep Hell for the big return as the remaining threads of fallout happen. I think that would have had a much more natural flow to it than the sudden cutaway.
Seasons of Mists was, in a way, my first exposure to Sandman. Which is to say, my first exposure to Sandman was Death: at Death's Door. If you haven't heard of it, it's a manga-style adaptation of Seasons of Mists told largely from Death's perspective. It's actually pretty interesting to compare the two. A lot of the times, "At Death's Door" keeps the scenes and dialogue exactly the same, but because of the exaggerated emotional reactions, they don't quite read the same way. A lot of the time, it's not bad - just different. And there are several scenes and details "At Death's Door" just skips over, which doesn't really hurt the plot - since it keeps the plot-relevant stuff and, like I said, the story is from Death's perspective, so you don't feel like you missed much unless you've read Seasons of Mists.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get around to reading the actual Seasons of Mist until years later, when I was finally introduced to the series proper. Like you guys, I thought it was an entertaining story. Reading "At Death's Door" first did affect my perception. I didn't mind the Dead Boy Detectives stuff because I expected it to be there, and I was actually kind of surprised that the story didn't spend that much time on Death catching dead people. And, because "At Death's Door" included some scenes but skipped the others, some things I expected, while others (like revelation of . Susano-o's identity at the end) came as the complete surprise.
I don't know if you guys were planning to cover "At Death's Door," but it would be interesting how you would react to it, having read "Season of Mists" first and all.
I had forgotten about At Death's Door until you mentioned it, but I do think I remember Neil promoting it back when it came out. It's one of those I definitely would like to read eventually, especially since I love Jill Thompson's artwork.
DeleteWe're not covering it since it was not written by Gaiman, but if I end up getting a copy I may add a blog post about it.
On, and Sandman Midnight Theater was designed as a crossover of sorts between Sandman Mystery Theater and Sandman, so the confusion is understandable.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I listened to this episode two months ago and kept forgetting to type up a comment. Despite telling Angie several times it was coming soon. Gah!
ReplyDeleteThis is also one of my favorite stories of the series. I love the concept, I love the characterizations, I love the great "Now it's worse!" twist at the end. I've criticized before the way Gaiman structures his stories, but this plays to his style well: create a clearly defined batch of characters and just circle around them a few times as the situation plays them off one another.
I'd forgotten Kelly Jones did the art for the bulk of this, and really love what he brought to the book. And him having a different inker each issue made for a fascinating examination of just how different the styles of that trade can be. Given how much I love P. Craig Russell, I was surprised his inks were a bit clunky and heavy. Better were Malcolm Jones (with a MUCH better artist than Dringenberg to build off of) and a surprise treat in the legendary Dick Giordano!
I agree about the awkward placement of the Dead Boys story. It's a good if incredibly nasty tale, but plopping it in the middle of everything is too jarring. Instead of putting it at the very end, I think a nice spot would be right before the Epilogue issue. That way we mostly resolve the main conflict, then cut away to see how everything that went down affected Earth, then go from Death scrambling to deal with her souls to the opening of the Epilogue where the angels prep Hell for the big return as the remaining threads of fallout happen. I think that would have had a much more natural flow to it than the sudden cutaway.
Given your lackluster response to prior stories, I was ready to get my sword out and start fighting if you didn't like this one. ;)
DeleteThat's a good suggestion for moving the Dead Boys story, and probably would have worked fairly well.