How Neil Gaiman invented Death for ‘The Sandman’ — and why it’s his biggest responsibility

No storyteller has been able to create such relatable characters out of cosmic and abstract concepts such as Destiny, Desire, Despair, and even Death as Neil Gaiman has with The Sandman. And now that one of the best-selling comic books of all time is getting the live-action treatment on Netflix, these iconic characters will take on a new visceral apparatus.

The prolific novelist himself has been doing the press rounds ahead of The Sandman‘s premiere on Aug. 5, going in-depth into the process of bringing it to life on the small screens, and how he set about writing the acclaimed story in the first place. One such instance was on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, where Gaiman talked about the importance of Death and the encouraging nonchalance with which this anthropomorphic being approaches her job.

“When I created Death, I thought, you know, I just want a Death I would like to meet when I get hit by that car. Somebody who’ll say, ‘You really should have looked both ways before crossing that street. Hi, okay, we’re going to move onto the next thing.'”

According to the writer, his take on Death has certainly had the impact he’d hoped for, allowing many people to cope with the passing of their loved ones.

“I don’t think there’s judgment but there’s a certain practicality. And she’s a grown-up and I like that. Just a Death that I’d like to meet. Over the years, probably the biggest responsibility that I feel like I have from having been a writer in my life is the number of people who’ve come up to me and said, ‘You know, your Sandman comic, it got me through the death of my son.’ It got me through the death of my mother, or my lover, or my uncle, or my friend. And the idea of thinking of your Death being with them at the end let me cope.”

The Sandman‘s Death may not be real when all is said and done, but it’s a comforting thought nonetheless, especially to people who’d do anything to find a semblance of consolation in a situation like that.

Hopefully, even more people will get to meet Death soon as The Sandman gears up to begin its run on Netflix.