Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!
Delirium’s Party: A Little Endless Storybook
Written and Illustrated by: Jill Thompson
Published by: Vertigo Comics
There’s a comic shop in the city of Toronto that Biff Bam Pop’s Editor-In-Chief, Andy B, and I like to visit. In that store is a tall, rectangular, glass display case that holds a number of different comic, anime, sci-fi and fantasy figurines and statues of all different sizes and shapes. Every time I walk into that store, my eyes are immediately drawn to the middle shelf and the tiny, squat, two-inch high Japanese manga versions of the seven brothers and sisters of the Endless family from the Sandman series of comic books. One of these days, I’m gonna leave that store with the set. It’s a bit of a dream, if you catch my meaning.
Who here remembers the Sandman? Ok, ok! Put your hands down!
For that one person in the back of the interweb that doesn’t know what the rest of us are talking about, The Sandman was a fantasy series of comic books written by author (before he was a “book” author) Neil Gaiman and illustrated by a host of fine artists back in the late 1980’s and through the 1990’s. To the point: it was an amazing, much-loved series, redefining the comic book genre and winning a World Fantasy Award among many others, while it was at it. Go look it up. There are trades, hardcovers and beautiful over-sized Absolute Editions that reprint the entire series.
A few years back, Jill Thompson, one of those fine artists on the Sandman series, wrote and illustrated a sort of “kids” version of the Endless family (which was the Sandman’s extended family), affectionately called “The Little Endless Storybook.” The 64-page softcover publication was very well received by fans and critics alike and now Thompson and her water-colour illustrations of Dream (who was the Sandman, of course), his sister Delirium, sister Death, twin sisters Despair and Desire, brothers Destruction and Destiny (as well as everyone’s favourite canine pal, Barnabus) return with the “Delirium’s Party” hardcover.
If you ever loved – or plan to love – the Sandman comic, or, 20 years after it’s first publication, would like to see a young son or daughter enter the lives of the Endless family at an early age, “Delirium’s Party” is a wonderful fantasy world where you and your own family could happily adventure.
Make the Wednesday Run this week and let your child (and your own inner child) have some fun reading stunning, visual storytelling. And while you’re at it, pick up the brand new hardcover reprint of the original “The Little Endless Storybook,” released today as well!
Two dreams to share on the same Wednesday. What’s better than that?
