Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Date With Death”
Summary
A vintage romance-comic tableau turned macabre: a blonde sweetheart in a lilac top nestles cheek-to-cheek with her grinning, green-skinned date — a rotting corpse in a grey suit and blue bow tie, his eye glowing red and his face decaying into a skull. They share a single pink milkshake with two straws, hands clasped, against a stark black-and-white Lichtenstein-style explosion burst, with D*Face's winged D*Dog tucked onto the man's lapel. It is a definitive example of D*Face's "Subversive Romance" mode, where the saccharine iconography of 1950s-60s love comics is hijacked to expose mortality beneath the fantasy.
Why It Matters
"Date With Death" distills D*Face's central trick: borrowing the visual grammar of mid-century romance comics — Ben-Day-adjacent linework, swooning lovers, soda-fountain props — and corrupting it so the dream curdles into a memento mori. The shared milkshake and clasped hands read as tender until the viewer registers that the suitor is a cadaver, collapsing romance and death into one frame. It sits squarely in the lineage that runs from Roy Lichtenstein's appropriated comic panels through to D*Face's own skull-and-lovers vocabulary, using pop nostalgia as a delivery system for a darker comment on desire, idealized love and decay.
Collector Perspective
An edition of 67 is small for a D*Face screen print, putting it among his tighter print runs and limiting supply when examples come up. The image hits two of his most collected veins at once — skulls/mortality and the doomed-lovers romance trope — which broadens its appeal beyond single-motif buyers and tends to support steadier demand than his more generic D*Dog-only sheets. It is a recognizable, fully-realized composition rather than a minor study, so it occupies a solid mid-tier position in his print market: not a marquee large-format release, but a desirable, on-brand work that trades reliably among established collectors.
Historical Context
Produced in 2017, during what is here classed as D*Face's Established Era, the print draws directly on American romance and horror comic books of the 1950s and 60s — the genre of fluttering hearts and square-jawed suitors — and inverts it with the decay imagery long associated with EC-style horror titles. The blast-burst background and flat color separations nod to Roy Lichtenstein's comic appropriations, while the winged D*Dog on the lapel anchors it firmly in Dean Stockton's own iconography rather than pure homage.
FAQ
What does Date With Death depict?
A blonde woman in a lilac top leans affectionately against a smiling man in a grey suit and blue bow tie, but the man is a green-skinned rotting corpse with a red glowing eye and a skull-like face. They share a single pink milkshake with two straws against a black-and-white comic explosion background, with D*Face's winged D*Dog on the man's lapel.
What is the edition size?
This is a limited edition of 67.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen).
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, though specific signing and numbering details for this example should be confirmed against the actual sheet and any certificate.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity imagery. His signature motifs include the winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers, and he co-founded the StolenSpace gallery.
Related Works
About the Artist
D*Face is the working name of Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a leading figure in British street art. He came up pasting stickers and posters across London in the early 2000s, then built a pop-fuelled visual language that defaces comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity iconography. Recurring motifs include his winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers. His practice spans screenprints, hand-painted multiples, sculpture and large-scale murals worldwide, and he co-founded the StolenSpace gallery in London. His work satirises consumerism, power and our collective obsession with fame.
Collecting D*Face at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic D*Face prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of D*Face prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new D*Face prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across D*Face and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.