For those who have only discovered Neil Gaiman through his novels, there is a treasure trove of comic book/graphic novel works to unearth. Below you will find my personal picks, although almost everything he’s done is worth seeking out.
Black Orchid
This was originally a three issue limited series and marked Gaiman’s first work for DC. It’s a mystery story that revolves around the title character, a woman reborn as a plant. As her tale unravels, she encounters several DC Comics regulars including Batman, Poison Ivy, and Swamp Thing. It’s a beautifully told and at times uncompromisingly violent tale with some amazing artwork from regular Gaiman collaborator Dave McKean.
Books of Magic
Before Harry Potter there was Timothy Hunter, a young British lad destined to become a great magician. The first issue of this limited series was published in 1990, six years before Master Potter even found a publisher. It ties in closely to DC mystical mythology but not so much it gets in the way of the story. Each issue had a different artist with some of the biggest names in comics collaborating with Gaiman. John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, and Paul Johnson are all strikingly different artists, yet each fitted the story perfectly.
Death: The High Cost of Living
This was a three issue Sandman spin-off series from 1993. Once every hundred years Morpheus’s sister Death walks the earth in order to better understand mankind. Every bit as good as the series that spawned it, this is a heart-warming tale of Death, and that’s something you don’t find very often. The art on this one is by Chris Bachalo.
The Last Temptation
This was another limited series, this time for Marvel in 1994. This sprang from his work with Alice Cooper on his The Last Temptation album in 1994. Gaiman and artist Michael Zulli bring the story from the concept album to life on the printed page. It’s a Halloween tale about a boy, Steven’s temptation by the diabolical Showman, and his theatre of the real. Far from Gaiman’s deepest work, it’s nonetheless an enjoyable read, particularly if you’re an Alice Cooper fan as well as a Gaiman fan.
Article comments
1 - Richard Marcus
Ian,
Wow, now I'm really sunk, here I've been working my way through all his written stuff and loving it, and I haven't even begun to touch on any of his graphic or comic work.
Then I've got to read something like this and hope that somehow I'll be able to find the pennies to be able to buy all of them - review copies are out of the question for any of those titles it seems.
sigh.
anyway thanks for the overview
cheers
Richard