Death: the high cost of living by Neil Gaiman, Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, and Dave McKean, ill. New York: DC Comics, 1993. 

                              Possibly Challenged Text   

ISBN: 1563891336

Media: Inkpen and color pencils

Death is a character that emanated from The Sandman.  This graphic novel is originally 4 magazines that depict Death's journey as a human being.  The book personifies Death as she is happy to live among humans and helps a  16 year old boy named Sexton learn that suicide is not the answer for divorced parents and teen troubles.  There is also a seven page tutorial at the end of the novel that helps youth understand the importance of safe sex. 

 

Literary Devices: personification and sophisticated language

Curriculum Connection: This content is appropriate for grades 7-12 in regards to sex education.  The text can be used in conjunction with teaching kids how to be safe from sexually transmitted diseases although this text may not be accpeted in all schools as there is content which addresses syringe use and alternative forms of sex which may not be deemed appropriate by conservative communities. 

Why this book may be challenged: Parents may feel the need to challenge this graphic novel due to the writings on safe sex.  This depicts the importance of using a condom if you are going to have sex.  There is information on STD's, AIDS and a list of alternatives to having sexual intercourse such as fondling and non-pentrative sex.  There is also a tutorial on how to clean a syringe so drug users do not contract AIDS. 

Rating: 5Q/5P

Link to Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAztaHgbrJk

Wess Garcia, August 2009

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman, ill. Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, David McKean. Vertigo, 1994.
Also Death: The Time of Your Life, 1997.

Summary: In "High Cost of Living" Death spends a day as a mortal woman and interacts with a variety of people, including a suicidal teenage boy. "Time of Your Life" focuses on two minor characters from the first book -- Foxglove, a lesbian up-and-coming singer-songwriter, and her lover and son.

Analysis: These are good, but odd and, as the note says on the back of the book, "for mature readers". I should note that I haven't read the rest of the Sandman books and tend to find Gaiman too dark for my taste. I liked "Time of Your Life" much better than "High Cost of Living"...the first volume seemed to be trying to put too much stuff all in one place. It jumps between the innocent cheerfulness of Death (how often do you get to say that?) to the weird random characters pursuing her, to a too-wide array of people to really get to know any of them. But it seems to be popular among Sandman fans, so it might just not stand alone very well. "Time of Your Life" has a much more focused plot, and Foxglove's struggles with her relationship to her lover and her career are very well-played. "High Cost of Living" ends with an afterward by Death about safe sex which is quite well-done but a bit random.

Illustrations: Generally realistic digital images combined with photography for section breaks.

Rating: 4Q/4P

Curricular connections: Good for a high-school language arts class or for free reading.