Spin-offs are a very tricky thing. There is always the charge of simply rehashing what has already been done before, and not in a particularly good way. Grappling with this bar that the original has set before them is a hard enough feat in itself, it is even harder to keep up with that standard once that bar has been passed.

The opportunities for failure are massive, and nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the recent spate of spin-off superhero flicks that have found their way unto the big screen for the past year or so.

Catwoman, for instance had as its heroine a character that was already well-entrenched in the very successful Batman franchise. A name change and a completely different back story later, the movie earned Halle Berry the dubious distinction of winning the Razzie’s worst actress award a year after she made history as the first African-American to win a best actress Oscar.

But there have been instances where spin-offs have sparked the same interest audiences used only to have for the original.

The Cheers spin-off Frasier went on to have an 11-year run and a plethora of Emmys and Golden Globes. Angel, the spin-off from the hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, stuck around for seven years, and even had impassioned fans signing petitions to keep it on air when it became apparent that its seventh season would also be its last. Buffy itself was a spin-off, earning much more money and acclaim than the original movie that starred Kristy Swanson.

‘LITTLE’ ENDLESS

One author-illustrator who has found herself on the brighter side of the spin-off coin is Jill Thompson. Initially an illustrator for Wonder Woman, Thompson really found her niche when she took over illustrating duties for the Brief Lives story arc of The Sandman series, as well as the issue The Parliament of Rooks included in the Fables and Reflections volume.

It was within this story that Thompson first introduced the "Little Endless,’’ dimunitive versions of the famous Sandman family. Although she only initially did Death and Dream, the response from fans was enormous.

"Once Death and Dream appeared in diminutive form in issue #40 of The Sandman they quickly became the most requested sketches from fans," she relates in a special section in her work, The Little Endless Storybook. "I faxed a drawing to Neil (Gaiman) and proceeded to paint a Little Endless family portrait. The fans went crazy. They wanted to see postcards or posters and books that featured the ‘little’ Endless family."

It wasn’t long before Thompson was given the go ahead to try her hand at expanding the universe of The Sandman universe, and the initial result of this endeavor was The Little Endless Storybook, a children’s book using childlike versions of the Endless.

The Little Endless Storybook tells the story of Delirium, the youngest of the Endless, and her dog Barnabas. The story of Barnabas’ encounters with the Endless siblings, his fear of the Thing always following him around, and the eventual solution to Barnabas’ problem all make for interesting reading for child and adults alike, but undoubtedly it is the illustrations that take center stage.

From the scared expression on Barnabas’ face as he traverses the Woods between the Worlds, to the explosions of color that comprise the realm of Delirium, to the foggy kingdom of Despair and her mirrors that reflect nothing, any kid would be hard-pressed to put the book the down, even if they weren’t much of a reader.

MANGA AND ANIME

Thompson’s success at translating the usually mature Sandman universe into child-friendly material caught the eyes of editors at DC Comics who entrusted her with taking The Sandman into yet another direction, not just storywise but artistically as well.

"I was called by Karen Berger (vice-president and executive editor of DC Comics) and was asked if I might try and tackle a manga style Sandman story," she relates in an online interview. "I’ve always loved manga and anime. And this gave me carte blanche to buy all of the manga I could find as research."

The product was Death: At Death’s Door, and acts as a sort of side story to the Season of Mists story arc of Sandman. When Dream is given the Key to Hell by Lucifer, all of its inhabitants are free to roam about in the outside world. While her brother thinks about what to do with this responsibility, Death has to round up the demons and the damned while balancing it out with her duties as the guide of the dead to the afterlife.

Thompson found the experience not only exhilirating, but educational as well.

"I learned a new way to tell a comic story," she adds. "The timing and the mood and the silent storytelling are things I think I most appreciated. Those things will stay with me. Plus I like black and white storytelling. I will probably use a greytone in my work as well from now on."

But perhaps the best nugget to be gleamed from this interview, and the secret to the success of her own Sandman spin-off, lies in her answer as to what inspired her during the creation of Death: At Death’s Door. It is in respecting the material without copying it that ensures the success of any spin-off.

"It was more of a challenge than an inspiration, she explains. "I was asked to use an existing Sandman story and expand upon it so we could introduce new readers to Sandman as well as give existing fans something new - without changing an existing story."