Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean is a sequel, of sorts, to the book that brought both of them to prominence, Violent Cases.  Once again, Gaiman writes a thoughtful, engaging story with amazing visuals by Dave McKean. I refer to it as visuals because it is more than simple drawings that McKean has provided.

Signal to Noise started as a serial in 1989, around the same time he started writing Sandman. It came out in collected form in 1992, right when Gaiman was starting to receive accolades for Sandman. The packaging was and creative people were similar to Violent Cases, but when people read it, it was compared unfavorably to it. I was always baffled, since I enjoyed Signal to Noise much more than Violent Cases. Over the years, both of the books (and their third one Mr. Punch…although that book wasn’t that good) have lost ground in fans minds to Sandman and Gaiman’s novels. But they should not be forgotten.

Signal to Noise is set in the late 1900s when people are just starting to realize that the year 2000 is just around the corner. The main character is a well regarded film director, who is always disappointed by how his films turn out, who just found out that he has cancer. And not the cancer you can recover from. He finds himself being forced by his own will to finish the screenplay for his latest story, a look back at a village awaiting the new year when the year turns to 1000. As he deals with his impending death and his acquaintances, the movie screenplay starts taking shape and he finds himself working on it more than he anticipated.

Gaiman is the master of the small story. His plots might involve the end of the world, but they are usually centered around a small issue with a core group of people. This book is no different. And McKean brings out his full arsenal of artistic tricks for the book. He apparently did everything except run the printer press on the book and the quality shows. His art evokes the truth beyond Gaiman’s words, even as Gaiman’s words evoke the truth beyond the simple plot. Highly recommended.