Neil Gaiman's Sandman sibling returns in Paul Cornell's Action Comics

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DC’s The Source Blog heralds the return of Death to the mainstream DC in October’s Action Comics #894 by Paul Cornell. [More below image]

Death comes to Action Comics (2010)

From DC’s official blog:

For those unfamiliar with the character at the center of the cover – and shame on you if you don’t know who that is – that’s Death, sister to Dream of the Endless and one of the most enduring characters introduced during Gaiman’s 75-issue SANDMAN series. Beautifully presented by ACTION COMICS cover artist David Finch, the cover begs the question – what is Death doing in ACTION COMICS?

Though the worlds of the Sandman and the DC superheroes have bled into one another from time to time, ACTION COMICS #894 marks a unique moment for not only Death, but the star of ACTION – Lex Luthor. Luthor, as fans of the series know, is in the midst of a storyline that takes him on a winding and dangerous quest for power – a quest that will bring the megalomaniacal villain into close proximity with characters in and beyond the far reaches of the DC Universe.

We touched base with writer Paul Cornell who, along with artist Pete Woods, are the team entrusted with the task of chronicling this special issue. Take it away, Paul:

“Death appearing in Action Comics was my own mad idea, the extreme case of putting Luthor up against characters he’s not used to dealing with.

“I’m very pleased that, after I ran the idea by him, Neil Gaiman approved me using Death in this issue. He’s been very supportive. It’s so interesting to see her back in the DC Universe. Though Vertigo readers can rest assured that the character, and the way she’s used, will be true to the spirit of what has gone before.”

ACTION COMICS #894 hits in October.

More through the link above.


One Fan’s Thoughts

While I think this is a gutsy move and I see a lot of promise with Paul Cornell as one of DC’s new exclusive talents, it seems a bit off to see Death AFTER Blackest Night. Clearly, Lex Luthor is on his own ring quest following Blackest Night, but I hope Cornell’s Action Comics also addresses where Death was during Blackest Night. How she fits in the DC Universe in light of Nekron’s pronouncements is the obvious question that follows from this great news about Action Comics in October.

That said, even though we’re only one issue in, you really should try Action Comics by Paul Cornell. Wonderful stuff so far!

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!