Once upon a time, I was furious at the idea that one day I would die. I've never believed in an afterlife. Not *really* believed - I don't deny the possibility, but I'm not expecting anything but oblivion.

I'm still expecting oblivion, but somehow that doesn't seem so bad anymore.

I'm at a loss to explain this. My fear of death seems so natural, so logical that I can't really put my finger on where it's gone. I'm happy to be alive now, and I certainly don't want that to stop anytime soon. But the idea that life won't go on forever... is OK.

In the Sandman comics, Death is depicted as a bright, perky goth-girl. When I first read Sandman, I thought the Death character was cool. I thought it was a clever inversion of a toothless old stereotype[1]. Now, I'm not so sure of that. I like the picture of Death as an old friend, who comes to meet you at the end of a long life.

Casting Death as a Goth is appropriate too. When I first read the comics I thought the character looked nice, but I thought real Goths were scary. Goths look scary, and most people assume that they are sad and miserable. But when you get to know them, they're a bright, perky, friendly bunch. Not scary at all...

...like death really.

[1] - Of course, I mean the hooded, sythe-carrying figure from mediaeval morality plays.