Dreaming the Dreamer: A Tribute to Neil Gaiman
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Years ago, I was big into Tori Amos. During that time, I heard mention of "The Dream King," and "Me and Neil" in her songs, and eventually I discovered that she was referring to some comic book writer whom she admired, and with whom she was close friends. Being the Tori fanboy that I was, I tracked down the comic book in question.
I'm no longer the Tori fanboy that I used to be, but I have become a Neil Gaiman fanboy. I own most of his works (many of them signed), I've met the author once at a convention, and I even have a tattoo of Death on my arm. Sandman may have been a groundbreaking comic book, but his novels Stardust and American Gods have brought his success straight into the world of narrative fiction, and for good reason. The man is an incredible storyteller, and so long as he keeps writing, I'll continue reading.
What follows is a tribute to one of my favorite writers, and his works.
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Sandman
We may as well start with the work that made his name famous, Sandman. Neil Gaiman took an obscure DC universe character and reinvented him, filling his background with mythology and legend, two staples that continue to characterize Neil's work. The fact that he also created a cute, Gothic character who had a bubbly personality, and just happened to take folks to their final resting place, sealed the deal with a lot of people.
Only two stories have been published since the end of the Sandman run. One was a book called Dream Hunters, a collaboration with Yoshitako Amano, and the other was Endless Nights, a collection of seven stories, all focused on a different Endless character, and each drawn by a different artist. For the most part, the story of Morpheus has ended.
I also collect quotes from the stories I read, and I probably have more from this series than from anything else I've read.
-
-
2.
Board Game: Death Test
[Average Rating:6.46 Unranked]
[Average Rating:6.46 Unranked]
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Death: The High Cost of Living
Of course, Death couldn't rest easily just being Dream's sister, so Neil wrote a mini-series featuring just her. According to the story, Death has to live life as a human being for one day every year, to remind her of what she takes from them all the time. What follows is a poignant look at life, death, and all that happens in between.
-
-
3.
Board Game: Death Test 2
[Average Rating:6.73 Unranked]
[Average Rating:6.73 Unranked]
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Death: The Time of Your Life
So, who was more famous: Dream or Death? You can't have one without the other, but Death sure did draw the crowds. She returned for another mini-series, and proved to be just as popular the second time around.
Who can resist being taken from this mortal coil by a cute, Goth chick?
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Miracleman: The Golden Age
The only other continuous series Neil Gaiman worked on was Miracleman, which he picked up after Alan Moore decided he had said all he could about the god-like figure he had created. Neil took the characters and made them human again, while retaining their immortality. It was a smart decision, since he had had success in applying these same characteristics to the Endless.
I count myself among the many people who hope that Neil will get the chance to finish telling his stories of the Miraclemen.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Violent Cases
Before the success of Sandman, Neil entered the world of comic books with a short graphic novel about being a young boy in a world of adults. Violent Cases was the result, and while it can be a bit rough around the edges, it still shows a lot of the talent Neil had for telling stories.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Black Orchid
DC Comics took a liking to Neil's idea of what he wanted to do with Sandman, but they also didn't want to commit to 75 issues without seeing what he could do in a miniseries format first. Hence, Black Orchid.
If Alan Moore became famous for deconstructing superheroes and making them into the gods they were, then Neil Gaiman became famous for taking superheroes and making them human again. He also enjoyed taking obscure characters and giving them wider appeal, as he did with Black Orchid. This was his springboard into Sandman, and he brought it off with class.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Signal to Noise
His next single-story graphic novel was Signal to Noise, which centered on a screenwriter, dying of cancer, but who was determined to finish the screenplay he had in his mind. It's about a group of villagers in the year 999 AD, who are convinced that the world will end when the new year begins.
The pairing of a man coming to terms with the end of his own life with a group of villagers trying to come to terms with their own deaths succeeds admirably. I believe this is one of my favorite of Neil's works, and one that I recommend over and over to new readers.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch
This was the beginning of my foray into collecting signed copies of Neil's works. I bought this brand-new, and managed to get a friend to get it signed for me, and since then I've bought most of my stuff through Dreamhaven Books. It's become a near-obsession with me, but a pleasant one.
I wish I could remember more about this story, but it's not one I revisit often. I don't think it had much of an impact on me at the time.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
The Last Temptation
Some of Neil's work can be considered of the grand guignol variety (look at the comic "24 Hours" from Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes for further proof), so while it was a bit of a surprise that he teamed up with Alice Cooper for a collaboration, it wasn't unprecedented.
This release coincided with the release of an Alice Cooper record, and while the music was less than impressive (aside from a couple of tunes co-written with Chris Cornell, it was typical cock-rock), the story that Neil put together from Alice's concept was brilliant. It's a coming-of-age story with a dark twist, and Neil pulls it off very well.
-
-
10.
Board Game: Stardust
[Average Rating:5.63 Unranked]
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Stardust
If I had to pick one story to be my favorite above all other Neil Gaiman stories, this would be the one. It's a fairy tale, written for adults, and it is a wonderful story of love, dedication, and growing up. Charles Vess' illustrations for the graphic novel edition of the story are fully appropriate, but the novel stands well on its own.
This is simply a beautiful story, with an ending that gets me every time, no matter how many times I read it.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Marvel: 1602
I don't know if this was Neil's first foray into the Marvel universe, but regardless, this is one hell of an examination of the characters who live there. He took the major characters from the Marvel canon and relocated them to the year 1602, with incredible success.
I read an interview with Neil where he talked about who he decided to use for the story. Basically, he decided that if the character couldn't work in the setting of the 17th Century, then he discarded them completely; hence, Wolverine doesn't show up in the story. This daring is part of what makes him an extraordinary writer. I'm not sure that many other writers would exclude Wolverine from their stories, considering how popular he is among Marvel readers.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Angels & Visitations
Neil Gaiman has an affinity for x & y sort of titles, so it's no surprise that his first narrative fiction collection followed this formula. As far as I know, this has only ever been published by Dreamhaven Press, but it has rarely ever been out of print. It's a testament to Neil's talents and popularity that this is the case.
A lot of the stories here are a bit rough, but a lot of them are also hysterical. His essay about the effects of alcohol on a writer is the show stopper from this collection. And don't let your life slip by without having read "Chivalry," which is likely one of the best stories in the English language.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Smoke & Mirrors
A lot of the stories that showed up in Angels & Visitations are repeated here in his first collection for a major publisher, but also included are more recent stories, for which I was thankful.
I may be in the minority here, but I've always preferred his prose to his poetry. I'm sure he's a fine poet, but poetry has never been my thing.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Midnight Days
I suppose it was only a matter of time before DC Comics collected his one-shots in a collection, knowing that I (like many other fanboys) would buy anything he writes. My only complaint is that they could have collected a TON of stuff, and made it into a whole series of collections. Still, a little new Neil Gaiman stuff is better than none at all.
Like Angels & Visitations, some of the work is a bit rough, but you can see a lot of where he was headed with these stories.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Adventures in the Dream Trade
This little lagniappe is a collection of essays, introductions, and other little ditties that Neil has written over the decades, collected with a Blog that he wrote while he was on the road promoting American Gods. It's very entertaining, but probably only appropriate for us fanboys ... which is probably why it was published by a small press.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Good Omens
Moving on to his novels, it's best to start with his first one, which was a collaboration with Terry Pratchett. Only this team could have pulled off a funny story about the beginning of the Apocalypse, and they do it with class and style.
My favorite part of the novel is when Death (on a moped, instead of a horse) is playing a trivia game in a pub. He's running away with the "Death" category, where he has to give the years certain celebrities died, and a small crowd has gathered around him to watch him win. Suddenly, the men in the crowd start saying, "1977. 1977, man, I know when it happened, because I was there!" Death nonchalantly responds, "I don't care what it says, I never touched the guy."
It was Elvis Presley. 
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Neverwhere
I don't know if Neil was hesitant to start his first novel or not, because while Good Omens was a collaboration, Neverwhere was a novelization of a teleplay he wrote for a BBC miniseries. I have both the book and the video set, but can't remember much of the former, and I haven't watched the latter yet.
One of these days, I will re-read the book before watching the movie. I hate it when I can't remember the details of books I've read....
-
-
18.
Board Game: Gods
[Average Rating:5.86 Overall Rank:4414]
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
American Gods
So, if Neil WAS hesitant to sit down and write his first novel, let's just say he waited long enough to create this ambitious work. Imagine all of the forgotten gods of the world, who have taken on mortal forms since their believers deserted them. Imagine that they have all moved to the US, as a result of following immigrants overseas. Imagine further that they are planning a war to make themselves important again. That's American Gods.
I like this book a lot, and need to re-read it. It's one of those books that begs more than one read.
One of my favorite quotes from this book is, "I believe that people who don't like sex just haven't done it properly." Or something like that.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Anansi Boys
Anansi is the spider-god, and this is the sequel to American Gods. I wish I could tell you more about it, but I haven't had the time to read it yet!
-
-
20.
Board Game: Go Fish!
[Average Rating:4.42 Unranked]
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
It was just a matter of time before Neil decided to write a book for kids, and this was the first of those books. It's a cute adventure, illustrated wonderfully and appropriately by Dave McKean, Neil's long-time collaborator. It might be a bit over the heads of the youngest kids, but it's fun for older kids, as well as any Neil Gaiman fanboy.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
The Wolves in the Walls
This was Neil's second children's book, which is a bit darker than Goldfish. It's about a family who has to abandon their house when the wolves finally come out of the walls and take over.
Of interest is the recurring character of the Queen of Melanesia, who had an appearance in Goldfish.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Coraline
What's spookier than Stephen King, more atmospheric than H.P. Lovecraft, and still appropriate for young children? Coraline. Neil pulls off this novella quite well, making it nice and eerie, all with the use of a few well-placed buttons.
This is just behind Stardust as one of my favorites of his works, and I plan to re-read it every Halloween.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Warning: Contains Language
When I met Neil at the aforementioned convention, I also attended a reading he gave to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. I was one of the lucky few to attend (they only sold 200 tickets), and I'm so glad that I did, because Neil is as accomplished a storyteller aloud as he is in writing.
This collection contains "Chivalry," one of my all-time favorite stories, and a song called "Banshee," performed by the Flash Girls. He has written a handful of songs for the band, but I think this is his best.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
Telling Tales and Speaking in Tongues
Dreamhaven followed up Warning: Contains Language with these two collections. It's still just Neil reading his stories, but if you haven't had the pleasure of hearing him tell his own stories, then there's nothing "just" about it.
-
-
♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
-
The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection
I imagine that Neil didn't come up with the title of this audio collection; it's just too boring! Still, it's a nifty collection, as it collects four stories he wrote for children. Aside from Goldfish and Wolves, he also reads one other short story ("Cinnamon") and one funny poem ("Crazy Hair"), but the real treat here is the interview at the end of the collection. His youngest daughter interviews him, and it's a sweet ending to a sweet collection.
-
-
|
|
Entropy Seminar:
.
