Death
She is quite possibly one of most popular characters from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series. If you’ve never had the chance to read the series I assign it as homework to you right now. I discovered it when I was in high school. I would spend my days after school hanging out in the comic book store down the street. I can’t remember now how it was I was first introduced to The Sandman, I do remember that it changed my life.
I was already falling in love with comic books, illustration and the idea of making comics for the rest of my life. The Sandman was the tipping point to that. I knew once I saw Dave Mckeans’ covers and the interior art work that I had found my calling.
Death is the second oldest of The Endless. Before I set out to draw these characters I did a lot of research on the original inspirations for them, and then I threw them out of the window and based them on who I wanted to. For the most part they look very similar to the original characters.
The original Death was envisioned by Mike Dringenberg and based on both a friend of his and a waitress. I fashioned my version after Joan Jett and added things the character has become known for, like the ankh necklace and big hair.