Tag Archives: Neil Gaiman

30 Years Ago, Someone Introduced me to SANDMAN. Thank You SO Very Much!

In college, I volunteered at a local crisis hotline. One of the guys there mentioned Sandman multiple times to me based on whatever we were talking about between calls (books, movies, graphic novels, whatever), and I never tried it. He kept asking me, and I never got an issue to try as it sounded weirder and more bizzaro than my cup of tea. One day I ran into him at the comic store; he handed me the latest issue (he just slid it into the pile of stuff in my hands) and said it’s the start of a new storyline; give it a chance. It had this strange cover and didn’t look appealing at all, but he was right there, so I gave it a try.

It’s 30 years later, as this was late July 1992, and the start of Brief Lives was something I’ll always look back fondly on. I was completely hooked.

That weird cover was by Dave McKean, and I grew to love his art. At some point later, I realized the Black Orchid poster I already had on the wall in my dorm room was drawn by him. Many years later, I special ordered some Mythical Creature stamps he drew for the UK (stamps for mailing letters); each had a synopsis written for each stamp. Guess who wrote the intro for each of the stamps? Neil Gaiman, who I realize at this point that I didn’t mention, is the author of Sandman. And coincidentally, the Black Orchid comic (that I just mentioned) was written by Neil Gaiman…

So at that point in time, they had started reprinting the earlier Sandman issue in trade paperbacks with each storyline, so I was getting those and catching up with earlier issues. Three decades later, I still believe that was the best starting point for this storyline. Everything was all flushed out, things had been set up to happen, and now they were happening, and I could go back to the earlier issues and get some of the blanks filled in. Honestly, if I had started reading from the first issue, I don’t know if I would have stuck with it; it was weird stuff and had no context. But I loved the way that I was exposed to it.

So why am I talking about this now? Netflix just released Sandman season 1, and it’s lovely. I’ve been thinking about (the above) all week waiting for this, and it’s fantastic. I’m sure there are some parts I won’t like, but I’m only a few episodes in, and I’ve already gotten my $20 out of signing up for Netflix for the month.

As the end credits rolled at the end of the first episode, I flipped out as the animated graphics for the credits were by Dave McKeon, who Neil coaxed out of retirement to do this (thanks, Google).

So give a few episodes a try if it looks interesting, even if it is a bit weird. If you were a fan, they did change a few things, but it does seem very true to the feels & ideals of the original so far.

I’d give my friend a shoutout, but we did things at the crisis line pretty anonymously; I was just “Gary L” to everyone, so I’m not even sure of his last name, but the anonymity we kept back then makes me not want to put a first name.

I met Neil Gaiman!!!

Neil Gaiman was speaking in Toledo tonight and I was able to go. Another cool birthday present that can be considered to be priceless, the cost of the item has nothing to do with the value of it.

He was part of an author series put on by the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and the local newspaper the Toledo Blade. If you don’t know who he is be sure to read some of my 18 earlier posts about Neil Gaiman; at least that’s who he is to me. Even though I’d read a few earlier things, it was The Sandman where I got hooked on him (thanks to Chad in college).

Coraline Movie Tie-in Edition Neil GaimanWhen we were looking for a place to eat I double-checked his Twitter feed to make sure he hadn’t mentioned where he was eating or doing something else beforehand. That might seem silly, but just hours before when he needed to be there he mentioned that he was looking for a cafe to write in* and a little while later that his phone was giving him problems and he was going to give it a factory reset* so he might not be reachable for a bit. That might seem a little silly, but I have got to eat somewhere, right? But no such luck.

There were a lot of people there tonight, it was at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo, Ohio, and I’d been there before; by strange coincidence I’d seen Tori Amos there. He was given a very nice introduction by someone at the newspaper who, I think most of the audience would agree, had no idea who he was; it’s too bad they couldn’t have had a big fan at the paper read something about him.

The Graveyard Book Neil GaimanHe then talked a bit, told us the story of how he heard he won the Newberry Award, did a delightful reading of the beginning of The Graveyard Book (the first 20 pages) and gave us the background of how he wrote the book. Then he did a really long question and answer session. He wasn’t doing autographs and he apologized for this (I knew this in advance so I wasn’t disappointed). It was a really nice evening and was glad I was able to attend.

When were leaving, there was a line-up of cars in front, so I tried to cut out around the back to avoid the traffic. And there he was leaving the building talking to a few fans! So I stopped the car and grabbed my envelope (this is where I stuck a few things to get autographed, I knew he wasn’t signing but I like to be prepared, I even had my own Sharpie!). So I ran over there and asked him for an autograph and shook his hand! He was super-nice and he actually commented on the non-typical item of his that I choose to have him autograph. Awesome!

I did only bother him for one autograph even thought I had a few things with me. But while I forgot all about getting a picture (of him or with him) since I was so excited, I did have the sense to introduce him to a friend (that I abandoned as I dashed from the car) to him as a recent fan; she’s thirteen and sometimes shy so I didn’t think she’d come over, I’m so glad she came over and that she even got to shake his hand. It wasn’t as big of a deal for her, but maybe she’ll tell all her friends at school tomorrow that she met the guy who wrote Coraline.

So it’s a few hours later and I’m still really really excited about it. Going somewhere when I knew he wasn’t giving autographs and getting the autograph and getting to meet him. What a great evening!

Neil Gaiman

I get a ridiculous amount of searches for “Neil Gaimen” on my site, but it’s spelled “Neil Gaiman” (sometimes I get some for “Neil Gaimon” too). This post is really just to help point people to the proper postings. The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman

If you’re looking for stuff about Neil you can search this site for Neil Gaiman or posts tagged with Neil Gaiman.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I’m planning to see Coraline in 3D today!

Neil Gaiman has written many incredible books and graphic novel for children and adults: (these are all Amazon links)”
“Coraline”.
“The Graveyard Book”.
“The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes”.
“American Gods”.
“Stardust”.
“The Wolves in the Walls”.
“Murder Mysteries”.
“The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish”.

And he blogs too!

A Study in Emerald – Neil Gaiman – Free eAudio Book

Study Emerald TileHarper Collins books has a free audio book for download. You can download A Study in Emerald from Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things (one story from a book of short stories). And it’s read by Neil too!

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (P.S.) Neil GaimanHere is a direct link to the download (right-click to save).

Who is the new Doctor Who for 2010?

So Matt Smith is the new Doctor Who but we won’t see him until 2010. At 26 he’s the youngest Doctor Who although I’m guessing he’ll be a year older in 2010, but he is a time-lord so you never know…

The funny thing is that The Doctor generally uses “John Smith” when he needs a “real” name for something in his travels so the matching name is fun (funny?).

Doctor Who Tardis USB 4 Port Powered Hub Station Character ToysI don’t really know who he is which means I’ll have no preconceptions about him. I’ve seen him with Billie Piper (Rose from Doctor Who) in a Secret Diary of a Call Girl episode but I don’t really remember him.

I originally read about it at Neil Gaiman’s blog and I completely agree with him in that he looks at home in front of the TARDIS and I’m sure he’ll look even more so as time goes one (especially since I’m sure they took many photos to get one that looked “right”).

This is the Daily Mail article with the Matt Smith photo in front of the Tardis. He’s an article from The Guardian and the BBC article with a short video with Matt Smith.

David Tennant’s last show is supposed to be in 2010 (after a weird four episode mini-season) so maybe they’ll make an interesting transition episode?

Comic Book Tattoo – Tori Amos

So they’re releasing Comic Book Tattoo – Tales Inspired by Tori Amos which is, according to Tori’s blog:

a 480-page, full color anthology adapting the themes and ideas behind her songs into a lush volume of sequential art

it’s a 12 inch x 12 inch book ($20-ish on-line). While this seems slightly odd, I will need one for myself!

All sorts of people are doing the fifty stories for the book with an intro by (who else) Neil Gaiman…

They also have a Comic Book Tattoo Limited Edition Hard Cover for $149 $95! I’m not sure if that’s anything extra, like a larger format, nicer paper or autographed, if anyone hears anything, please let me know.

Both editions have “coffee table format book” in their descriptions, but is 12×12 large enough for that format? Or is the hardcover edition larger? larger would be better….

Being Nice

So my philosophy in life is pretty much just to “be nice”.

Maybe ‘karma’ and ‘what comes around, goes around’ and ‘do unto others as you want to them to do unto you’ want you to do the same thing (“be nice”) but they try to make you fear what might happen if you don’t. Really, they’re just slightly nicer versions of ‘an eye for an eye’ (the way most people interpret it).

Douglas Adams pointed this out in in the beginning of two of his books,
“nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree
for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change”

So maybe the above is an appropriate quote for this weekend, but it’s stuck with me for the last 20 years since I read it. It’s a pretty simple concept, be nice. all that confusing dying for our sins and betrayal really can confuse the whole simple concept.

I’m not pushing religion or any deep philosophies. I’m not even trying to figure out why we decorate and eat hard boiled chicken embryos or chocolate shaped in their image. I’m just trying to get people to think about being a little nicer, if for no reason other than they can.

A character of Neil Gaiman (another British author) one said something like ‘It’s not any harder to be nice than it is to be mean and it’s not nearly as fun.’

Spring Cleaning

I’ve been trying to filter out some of the “stuff” at my house that I don’t use any more, today was the clothes closet. Some stuff will be bound for Goodwill / Salvation Army, some for the trash and a few things for the vacation pile (clothes that I take on vacation but don’t bring back).

What I really hate getting rid of is shirts with stuff printed on them for several reasons. One, I probably paid more for them. Two, I didn’t pay anything for them but they’re pretty unique. (But) Three, I rarely wear them. Some of it’s a mish-mash but today I noticed a bit of what I had in odd quantities:

  • Apple Computer T-Shirts (5): Most of these I got as promos or won at a conference but they’re all to small, it’s either all they had or it shrunk the first time I washed it. I keep hoping they’ll magically it some day, but…
  • Tori Amos (5): A few from concerts or that I found at a music store. I’ve got one that I got autographed at a concert.
  • Indigo Girls (6): Mostly from concerts, something from an on-line group and an autographed one that a friend bought for me at an fund raising auction.
  • Domestic Violence (7): I either purchased these at an event, they were given to me for volunteering at an event or came in a ‘thanks for donating’ package.
  • Costa Rica (1): I’ve been there 4 times and only ended up with one shirt from my first trip (from one of the Zip Line through the Cloud Forest adventures).
  • Blogography (3): Cool shirts that Dave from Blogography created.
  • Sandman related (6): Shirts inspired from the Neil Gaiman Sandman series (I think they all have Dream, Death or Delerium or some combination of them).
  • Tech Shirts (10+): Other tech shirts from vendors, tech conferences (part of registration or gift for presenting), organizations or something or another.
  • My job (6+): Shirts that one of the departments printed up for work or some kind of fund raiser event.

    I so rarely wear them out (in both interpretations), I usually just wear plain (colored) shirts. If I’m changing into something to wear after I come home and shower I’ll throw one on but wearing one out and about just doesn’t happen so often. Actually, other that wearing a music one to a concert I think the only ones I’ve worn outside in the last year is probably wearing a few of the shirts that Dave made. Continue reading