The Official Neil Gaiman Thread!

It seems we have a few people who like Neil Gaiman so I thought, let's find a thread to resurrect. Well there isn't one. So I'm starting one.

BTW: I didn't know exactly where to put this thread because, yes he's worked on comics, BUT he's done books and screenplays also. (If it should go to the Anime forum, please move it.)

SO, Talk anything Neil Gaiman related here (and this includes Sandman).

I really liked Sandman to tell you the truth. My mom is the one who got me into Neil Gaiman (and I should give her the victory for leading the way...). I was so suprised last night as I read vol. 2 how Gaiman has a habit of throwing all this junk out and then BAM! it makes sense later on. I also really enjoy the artwork.

Also, when I read Stardust, I really enjoyed how he used myths and just played with them slightly. He knows his myths (as mom has said...), though...it was a different kind of book.

Has anyone read Neil Gaiman's Murder Mysteries? When I searched the library cateloge yesterday, I stumbled upon this. I've ordered it to read it, but I was wondering if anyone else saw it.

I figured throw in the "manga" Death by Jill Thompson...though I don't know. It seems kinda "fluffy" for the Sandman Universe...I enjoyed it, but it seems "too cute."

So, who else likes Neil Gaiman [and related stuff] and let's discuss ?

Later,
Pen1300

Everyone is familiar with the works of neil gaiman, except me.

..I suppose you'll now want to be dissecting my brain.

quote:

Originally posted by pen1300 Has anyone read Neil Gaiman's Murder Mysteries? When I searched the library cateloge yesterday, I stumbled upon this. I've ordered it to read it, but I was wondering if anyone else saw it.

I am simultaneously impressed and annoyed by authors who can totally change the entire story in the last few panels. The twist is pretty grotesque, but the philosophy is beautiful (i.e. standard Neil.)

quote:

I figured throw in the "manga" Death by Jill Thompson...though I don't know. It seems kinda "fluffy" for the Sandman Universe...I enjoyed it, but it seems "too cute."

I loved Abel's Chibi-Death retelling of the Garden of Eden, but I guess there it had the balance of Cain's retorts and it also fit his perspective wonderfully: from his experience, everything was always perfect, except one fight with his brother.

I guess she's also doing a spinoff about the ghosts of Rowland and Paine which looks just as fluffy.

Which is odd, because she was responsible for some of the most moving images in the series. Plus I like her take on Delerium.


But I love McKean's stuff...I've been debating getting some of their early partnerships like Violent Cases and Black Orchid...thing is, with Neil, you just never know what you're going to get.

And I am trying to keep my expectations to a reasonable level for Mirrormask since Sony put very little faith into it. But they've gone from straight-to-DVD to Jan '05 theatrical release, which is an excellent sign.

Not to mention the Sony Exec's review: "That was like Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast... on acid... for kids..."

I read some of Neil Gaiman's Sandman for awhile all I need to do is acctually buy it now for future porsperity.

quote:

Originally posted by AlexRosewater I read some of Neil Gaiman's Sandman for awhile all I need to do is acctually buy it now for future porsperity.

I...nearly...feel that way too. At least the Wake. I loved that one so much.

But my library is getting out of hand as it is, and there's still so much of his bibliography I haven't read.

I probably should just contribute to Book Crossing and get the darn thing.

I hear so much about Sandman and always thought it would be a good idea to read, but whenever I actually start to look through it, it doesn't seem my style at all and I get bored. I don't want to be reading it just so that I can talk about it... can anyone explain what exactly is so great about it, and which volume would be most interesting? I just kinda want to get a sense of it without forcing myself to read something I'm not having fun with.

I just read Death: The Time of Your Life. That was a good one. I thought the art was good and the plot was quite interesting. I don't know why I enjoy this stuff soo much.

I officially give mom the Victory of telling me Neil Gaiman is good!

I like Sandman for one because it is a many faced plot. Also...I like the overall look of the book, but that's the illustrators magic. Ok, there's a story in The Sandman: The Doll's House where Dream hears a guy say he refuses to die. So, Death let's him go on and every 100 years Dream meets up with this guy and asks him, "You still don't want to die?" and the man says "I still want to live on!" It was interesting because the guy challenges him and says "Why do you come back? I think its because you're lonely and think we should be friends." I'll leave it at that.

Another story that comes to mind is the bit about Nada. She's intresting for sure.

BTW: Did you know Neil Gaiman wrote an issue of Batman Black and White? I found this the other day (while I was surfing for pics of Death to make an avatar) and stumbled upon this info. It's called a "Black and White World" and is just kinda a whole "day-in-the-life of two characters as they work in the comic book industry." Very typical Neil.

Was Stardust supposed to be illustrated? (According to Batman B&W it was). Mom and I both read it and would like to see pics if it was indeed illustrated.

Later,
Pen1300

quote:

Originally posted by Sharpshooter005 Everyone is familiar with the works of neil gaiman, except me. ..I suppose you'll now want to be dissecting my brain.

Yeah, I've never read anything by him, either. A friend I have is obsessed with Sandman, though. I figure I'll go read something by him eventually.

quote:

Originally posted by Wazpy I hear so much about Sandman and always thought it would be a good idea to read, but whenever I actually start to look through it, it doesn't seem my style at all and I get bored. I don't want to be reading it just so that I can talk about it... can anyone explain what exactly is so great about it, and which volume would be most interesting? I just kinda want to get a sense of it without forcing myself to read something I'm not having fun with.

It's hard knowing what would be your style without knowing your style. ) Any hints?

Like pen1300 said, it stands out because of how multifaceted it is in plot and style. It's very much like the X-Files was when it was good: dark and meandering and drawing on a vast knowledge of world mythology to create intelligent social commentary.

quote:

Originally posted by pen1300 Ok, there's a story in The Sandman: The Doll's House where Dream hears a guy say he refuses to die. ...Another story that comes to mind is the bit about Nada. She's intresting for sure.

I would also recommed starting with The Doll's House, I think. I love Hob Gadling. He's like the intelligent bits of Highlander without the decapitation. And it introduced Rose, Nada, Gilbert, and Barbie, who all become major players later on. It does have its share of gruesomeness, but it also has a lot of variety and is early enough in the series (#2) that you aren't really missing much.

http://www.dyve.net/sandman/ and http://www.stahl.bau.tu-bs.de/~hildeb/sandman/ both have more info on the series.

There are also several stand alone books if you want a quick sense of what the series is like. I highly recommend The Dream Hunters (illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano), especially if you are into japanese folklore at all. There was a recent anniversary release called Endless Nights that should be available in paperback soon. And there are two books about his sister, Death: Time of Your Life and The High Cost of Living.

quote:

BTW: Did you know Neil Gaiman wrote an issue of Batman Black and White? I found this the other day (while I was surfing for pics of Death to make an avatar) and stumbled upon this info. It's called a "Black and White World" and is just kinda a whole "day-in-the-life of two characters as they work in the comic book industry." Very typical Neil.

I'm not sure if I've heard this, but haven't actually seen it in the bookstore. I'll look now.

And I know I've already linked to it but http://www.sandman.tv/ hosts excellent avatar fodder.

quote:

Was Stardust supposed to be illustrated? (According to Batman B&W it was). Mom and I both read it and would like to see pics if it was indeed illustrated.

Yes, the compilation has been re-released, too! (Or at least I thought it was...Amazon's listing is sort of confusing) It's an illustrated book, not a comic, but it was originally released in four separate issue like a comic. Charles Vess's site has some of the full page illustrations.