Neil Gaiman has made a career out of telling stories that seem simple, but have a lot of hidden depth. One of his earliest books was Violent Cases, a memoirish story about a broken arm and a doctor who might be in with the mob, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy. Gaiman’s latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, reminds me a lot of Violent Cases. The young narrator and the half remembered story merge together to give a similar vibe. But, this is a much different story and a fun read. Let’s check it out.
Category Archives: Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere was Neil Gaiman’s first solo novel (having previously collaborated with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens), but it’s really more of a novelization than a novel. By that I mean the story was created for a BBC TV series and then Gaiman wrote the novelization of the series. Having never seen the TV show, I can’t comment on which one is better or whether the novel captured the essence of the show. But it is a terrific urban fantasy novel. So, let’s check out what Neverwhere is.
Neil Gaiman on Gene Wolfe
In today’s Guardian, Neil Gaiman talks about Gene Wolfe:
I was a young journalist, and I asked for and was given an interview with Wolfe. I do not know what I expected, but whatever I imagined the author of those glittering, dangerous stories to have been, I was not expecting the genial gentleman I met. He was a former potato crisp engineer and magazine editor, and he reminded me of a sweeter-natured, rotunder Sergeant Bilko. Oddly, perhaps, given the difference in our ages and temperaments, we became friends. And now, almost 30 years later, we are still friends and I am still a fan.
Good Omens TV Series??
I missed this announcement from Terry Pratchett on March 1, 2011 (with no way to do a direct link yet):
There has been one hell of a lot of rumours regarding a Good Omens adaptation over the past few weeks, mostly started by me at the SFX Weekender. So, ladies and gentleman, I can hereby exclusively reveal that – YES – Neil and myself have shaken hands and received groats from Rod Brown sealing a TV deal. An official announcement from Prime Focus will follow in a couple of weeks time. However, I can reveal right now that Terry Jones (yes, the Python) and Gavin Scott (not a Python, but he gets it) are already on the job. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s looking good.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has made his career out of writing about Gods. His Sandman
Graphic Novels you must own: Sandman
Neil Gaiman came into Sandman
Great Books that never happened: Sweeney Todd
In the late 1980s, after getting burned out on mainstream comics*, Steven Bissette created his own publishing imprint called Spiderbaby Graphix. Among other projects he created a horror anthology called Taboo. Taboo featured short stories and continuing stories that were mostly horror by some of the industries top names. Alan Moore created two ongoing stories, From Hell
*Stephen Bissette has a great 12 part series on his blog that deals with this time period. It’s required reading for anyone who’s interested in that era of comics.
In the last self-published issue of Taboo, there was the start of another ongoing story. But with the change in publishers and the issues being published a lot less frequently, that story just died with no other episodes in the story. Neil Gaman and Michael Zulli had started a Sweeney Todd book. All we have left of it is the 26 pages in Taboo #7. This chapter is more of a prologue. It features Neil Gaiman driving with a friend to go to Temple Bar (a large gateway that was on Fleet Street) to get pictures for Michael Zulli to use a reference. Neil and his friend Mike find it and then stop off for food, only to find out from the waitress that they were at the wrong place. Then they go and find the real Temple Bar and Neil starts dreaming of Fleet Street and Sweeney Todd and the story ends.
It’s a wonderful tease for what looked to be a great story and one that, most likely, we’ll never see.
Sandman on TV???
Heat Vision (from the Hollywood Reporter) is reporting that Warner Brothers TV is looking to make a TV show out of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really see this as a good idea. But I’ll be watching, just in case.
Warner Bros. TV is in the midst of acquiring television rights from sister company DC Entertainment and in talks with several writer-producers about adapting the 1990s comic. At the top of the list is Eric Kripke, creator of the CW’s horror-tinged “Supernatural.”
Miracle(Marvel)man by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and a cast of thousands
Miracleman (also known on the England side of the world as Marvelman) started as a Captain Marvel replacement and ended up as a legal hot potato that involved bankruptcy, confusion over copyright ownership, lawsuits, two different comic book companies buying the rights from two different copyright holders, delays, confusion and still no end in sight. And it’s a sad story because not only are the Alan Moore stories now out of print, but the Neil Gaiman stories have never finished their storyline. But who or what is Miracle(Marvel)man?
Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Signal to Noise