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New Sandman Book and Signing 95

Posted by Hemos from the must-get-this-book dept.
Neil Gaiman writes "It occurred to me that the /. folk might be interested in the new Sandman book that's coming out - the first new Sandman work in about 4 years. It's an 136 page hardback -- and it celebrates The Sandman 10th anniversary. The art's by Yoshitaka Amano, and the story, set in ancient Japan, tells of a fox spirit and a monk, and their encounter with the King of All Night's Dreaming. (It's illustrated prose, not a comic.) We'll be doing a signing for the book next Friday, the 29th of October, at the Virgin Megastore Union Square, New York. It starts at 7:00pm, but get there early. We'll also do a signing November 20th at DreamHaven books in Minneapolis - and they will also be taking phone or internet orders for signed copies. It's $29.95 ($20.97 through Amazon). " I've got my order in. And I'd just like to state for the record that Good Omens is one of the funniest books ever written.
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New Sandman Book and Signing More

New Sandman Book and Signing

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  • Re:Mononoke Hime! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    He is working on turning Good Omens into a film. Same thing with Neverwhere. I guess there's even a Sandman film coming out, but Gaiman's participation is nill, and he's outspoken in his disgust with it.You can check out info on Good Omens, and Neverwhere at http://www.Cinescape.com
  • We'll be posting a review next week.

  • Hmm, I don't know too much about this, but it rang the little bell in the back of my head when I saw this. I saw an ad for it in the back of the Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide.

    Apparently the concept illustrator for Final Fantasy (?), and this features stuff from Final Fantasy Anthology? I'm not sure, the wording is far from clear, but the one picture they show looks a little like some of the art for FF6, so...

    Anyone know if this will actually has some FF stuff there? Too bad I can't be there...

  • So: What was your favorite Sandman issue?

    Issue 31, "Three Septembers and a January", the story of Joshua Norton, self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States.

    "Ramadan" is also a close second in my book.
    --

  • "Dream of a Thousand Cats" was the first Sandman issue I bought, thanks to an on-line review; it made me a life-long Gaiman and Sandman fan (though Neil has re-earned that any number of times).

    The following issue, "Mid-Summer Night's Dream", wasn't too bad either...
  • I'd suggest Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics for a good definition of comics. (I believe DC has picked up publication of this...)
  • From Slashdot Moderation last updated 9.9.99 by CmdrTaco Bad Comments are flamebait. Bad comments have nothing to do with the article they are attached to. They call someone names. They ridicule someone for having a different opinion without backing it up with anything more tangible than strong words. Bad comments are repeats of something said 15 times already making it quite apparent that the writer didn't read the previous comments. They use foul language. They are hard to read or just don't make any sense. They detract from the article they are attached to. Why where most/all of the comments in this thread moderated down? Please email me at DAldredge@Aldredge.Com and explain. DAldredge
  • Guess I'll have to go scream at the anime club then; looks like they had it wrong. I hate it when they do this... :)

    Remind me to go right to the sources more in the future.
  • Probably the whole of the Season of Mists arc (my introduction to Sandman). Or if that's not allowed, perhaps Dream of a Thousand Cats, or Three Septembers and a January.

    Next up: who's your favourite Endless? Can we have a Slashdot poll on this?

    (Mine would probably be Delirium, or possibly Dream. Though Death's kinda cute too.)

  • "Goth" (Score:1)

    by acb ( 2797 )
    The adjective "goth" in the description above doesn't boost my confidence in it. Anything that needs to be described with this word these days is, if not guaranteed to be crap, quite likely to be.

    Nowadays "goth" means "spouting all the formulaic cliches to sell to the angst-ridden adolescents with bad make-up and vampire fixations". Death, morbid poetry, the occult, fringey sexual connotations, and tortured-looking fonts on the artwork.

    The Crow (the original comic book) was good. After the movie came out, it all dropped off rapidly. And don't even mention Poppy Z. Brite (the Trent Reznor of literature).
  • My favourite of that book would have to be Stopp't Clock Yard, without a doubt.

    That story is every bit as intricate a Sandman story as Neil himself would have written.

    By comparison, some of the others are pretty lame and self-indulgent.
  • but it was one of the last issues. The story took place during the heydey of the Chinese empire (I don't think it's ever made clear exactly when, but at least 500 years ago), and the story is told in the form of an old Chinese exile writing a letter.

    I think it was both the best story and best art ... and that's saying something...
  • He mentioned the album Black and White [swipnet.se] in one of his short prose stories. I knew then that he was a Man to be Trusted. I've been hooked on his writing ever since. Comic book virtually disappeared for me after he left Sandman. His novels are excellent. He is one of those rare writers who sets out to 'delight, excite and amaze' his audience, and he succeeds brilliantly.

    I just wish he was a little more prolific.



  • Gee Neil:

    I used to swap spit with you on Compuserve going back before the internet was really popular. I a little suprised to see see a plug for a graphic novel pushed here, but hey - WHY NOT. I should have expected it. There hasn't been a great many well done releases in Comics in a few years. Maybe we can get CHakin (ie: Ruben Flagg) and Gonzales to post stuff around this zone as well!

    Looking forward to you new work. Plug Linux in it ;)

  • Some anonymous coward dun said:

    You're right, it wasn't cut... I saw the Miramax version at the Toronto Film Festival (where Miyazaki introduced the movie BTW). There were some obvious differences in the dialog compared to the subtitled version I saw, though... but apparently the changes were approved by Miyazaki himself.

    Yup...then again, most of the changes I've heard that were done to the script (alas, I've only seen the sub, and damnit, I want EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO READ SLASHDOT TO GO SEE PRINCESS MONONOKE ON THE 29TH IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, because this movie REALLY REALLY REALLY deserves to be in more than twenty cities) were mostly to clarify plot points that would not be obvious to American audiences or of Japanese idioms that didn't translate 100% well to English. (For example, they explain more on the history and mythology, and that the hero is "dead to the world" when he cuts his topknot [Japanese audiences would Get This but American audiences wouldn't, most likely]; another thing I know they changed is part was retranslated from "this soup tastes like water" to "this soup tastes like piss" (which is a LOT closer to what is meant in Japanese by saying your soup tastes like water!).)

    There's a lot of VERY neat info about the translation and the process of bringing the movie over to the States on the official website [princess-mononoke.com] along with some trailers and whatnot...and yes, Miyazaki made it a condition of Disney/Miramax releasing his films (Princess Mononoke is not the only or even the first film Disney bought the distribution rights to; they bought the rights to five of his films including "Kiki's Delivery Service" though Princess Mononoke is probably going to be the only one to see theatrical release Stateside) that none be cut or bobbitted...just dubbed and released, and he had final approval on all dubs. :)

    In all seriousness, this is a beautiful movie, one which I seriously think everyone needs to see (and for those of you worried about the kids, Miyazaki himself recommends "fifth grade and up"). I can certainly see why it ended up being the highest grossing film in Japan of all time for quite some time (only being beaten by the Japanese release of "Titanic", for which Leonardo Decaprio should be sacrificed to the forest gods ;). Lotta important messages in it that everyone could stand to hear an' all...and no, it's not preachy about it.

    (And yes, I'm serious about everyone needing to go see the movie and all. The opening on October 29th is a limited showing; nationwide theatrical release is largely going to depend on how well the movie does in the limited opening and how much "buzz" it creates. I can't afford to drive over 300 miles to the nearest showing...and I promise each and every one of you right now, if you DON'T go see it and I have to wait nine months for the fucker to come out on video because it never made it to Louisville because SOME people didn't go see it when they didn't HAVE to drive three hundred miles out of the way, I will PERSONALLY sic the Inugami on each and every one of you. I mean it. Seriously. Goddamnit, I want this thing to go NATIONWIDE AND BEYOND. I want little kids to grow up wanting to be San-sama, already...don't deprive me of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to corrupt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H teach America's children and adults of a beautiful movie :)

    Not coming from the "Committee To Hopelessly Addict Americans To Ghibli Films",

  • Yet one more cool thing to place on my To Read list. Yes, the same list that has been growing for the last three years. Honestly, I'll get around to them all as soon as I've caught up on all these tech manuals and have some time away from work!

    Of course, if Neil would sign a permission slip for my employer to let me stay home from work for a couple days . . .

    Of course, I suppose I could use all of my PTO one of these days and lock myself in a room with a stack of books. -- Man, I haven't even read that new Glickman book, either.
    ---
    icq:2057699
    seumas.com

  • Too cool!

    Just want to say, as well, that I recently watched Dark City on DVD, based on Neil's recommendation, and was very impressed.

    There should be a "reviews" section on Slashdot, so that worthwhile books, comics, movies and so forth can get reviewed more frequently without clogging up the main Slashdot news area.
  • I just bought a copy of Neverwhere at a comic convention, just watched it twice through this weekend. If you'd like it, I might part with it or copy it for you.

    Or, take a look around eBay, there are several or auction on there.
  • I work at the store were the sandman signing is gonna be. Come on downstairs to the software/book section and say hi to me :P
  • So: What was your favourite Sandman issue?

    24 Hours. One of the only comics ever to scare me (the others are the tortune issues of Invisibles Vol. #1).

  • Can someone fill me in on the recent history of
    the Sandman? I've refused to buy any Sandman
    stuff that isn't written by Gaiman, but I
    presumed that DC would be sharecropping this
    stuff out to different writers (for example
    there's that book "The Dreaming" which I think
    is still running). Did they try and keep the
    Sandman running for a while, and then have to
    drop it?



  • This might not be a very useful contribution to the discussion, but...
    knowing that Gaiman himself attends /. ..
    I don't know. But it makes me feel good :-)

  • I was there too, and it was my first time actually seeing the man in person. I had to say, in the Q&A after the movie, I was really impressed with how down-to-earth and matter-of-fact the guy was.

    If you guys are looking for the movie Princess Mononoke now, it just had a limited premiere last week at about a dozen locations across the US and is slated to go to ~1000 theaters soon.
  • Gaiman has always been one of my favorites.
  • I know the old saying "good things come to those who wait"... But I just got one word: FINALLY! :))

  • Is there somewhere to PRE order it other than amazon? I went to the bookstores site but saw nowhere just yet to order it. Is the bookstore going to only be taking orders on the 20th or what?
    "We hope you find fun and laughter in the new millenium" - Top half of fastfood gamepiece
  • Yes,yes,yes! I saw this film over a year ago; a two-generation old copy of a Chinese VCD bootleg of the Japanese release with English sub over the Chinese one. I was awe-struck. No film I have seen since (well, maybe American Beauty) comes close in plot, character development, and my overall enjoyment. Anyway, I got to see the English dubbed Miramax version in Austin TX about two weeks ago. Neil showed up to boot (and mentioned the new book too). Despite the movie itself, this has to have been the most flawless dub I have ever seen. The lip synch was executed flawlessly. The characters seem like they really are speaking English. Even a small glitch in the audio after a scene cut was preserved.

    Anyway, see it. On the 29th. If you can.

    ObSlashdot: I'm typing this from this 'get2net' terminal in LaGuardia while waiting for a plane. They give you 15 mins browsing for free when you sign up. Fun!

  • Yowza! (Score:1)

    by Khan ( 19367 )
    Neil Gaiman reads /. ? Very cool. I remember the first time I picked up Sandman #1 and thought "Whoa!" I was hooked from then on. Guess I'll have to order my signed copy or maybe I'll make the drive to Minneapolis to get Dream Hunters and Sandman #1 signed. It's a short drive from Wisconsin :) Either way, it's great to see Mr. Gaiman writing Sandman again. I was bummed when he stopped writing the monthly.

  • Amazon (Score:1)

    by QuMa ( 19440 )
    It's probably already been said, but: Please, can you stop giving amazon links untill they stop this silly lawsuit/patent thing?
  • They were under contractual obligation not to cut the movie, and the dozen or so screenings have shown that the movie was NOT edited. A few lost limbs nowadays can fit in a PG-13 rating apparantly. (Heck, look at Ghost in the Shell, at PG-13)

    --
    Evan

  • I know this comment is redundant but I want to go on the record even if my karma takes a hit..

    I've been a Sandman reader since the start and mourned when it stopped a while ago. This new post brought a smile to my face on an otherwise dull Sunday night going through area edits on my game.

    Neil's tight stories and the awesome art work by several talented individuals were tremendous sources of inspiration for me whilst in college.

    I try to emulate in my work his skill at making the fantastical seem read and reality seem so fantasical. If you're reading this Neil.. I love your work!

    P.S. When's the movie? Johnny Depp as Morph anyone?
  • I choose to start this comment now.

    Who is Sandman you are talking about. Coming from Australia, the Sandman is a bloke originally on a radio station, now on tv, that is a "loser" at everything.... Actually very funny. His trademark lines are "I choose to start this story now.", and "The end.".

    For more info, go to Triple J [abc.net.au].
  • Well, "Ramadan" is definitely my favorite issue. And the twist at the end is masterful.

    2nd place: "The Golden Boy," part of the "World's End" series. (it involved 70s-era DC character The Prez and Boss Smiley). A wonderful eyes-wide-open paean to idealism....

    Rob Thornton

  • WHAT?! No Vancouver? AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

    Not that I haven't seen the original Japanese video 20+ times already. (Offshoot of Japanese wife and bilingual kids).

    Let me make this perfectly clear...

    YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM!!

    Ashitaka
  • > the first two The Books of Magic followups by another author are also good - are there any more?

    There's 6 BoM books in my counting:
    • The Books of Magic
    • Bindings
    • Summonings
    • Reckonings
    • Transformations
    • Girl In The Box

    Incidentally, Girl In The Box is labeled as #5, I guess they're not counting the original Books of Magic, or "counting" it as #0.
  • The really interesting thing is that it is supposedly THE neil Gaiman that sent this in! I knew that he had an internet connection before I did ( explains the compu serve email address ) But I did not know he was technically inclined.
  • Ah, let's not forget that the Golden Age Sandman far pre-dates Gaiman's Sandman. While Gaiman's re-use of the Sandman name, and the connections he established between his Sandman and both the original and second DC Sandman characters, may have reinvigorated the Golden Age Sandman, saying that he was "hinted at very briefly" by Gaiman gives the wrong impression as to who created the character.

    At any rate, I agree that DC has been respectful of who created the Dreaming for them (or re-created - I think that the second Sandman used to the Dreaming). Gaiman is still listed as a consultant on The Dreaming, although only he can say how much input he is permitted, or how much he actually offers. I don't recall if he was listed in the credits of the JLA issues with Dream, although I actually hope not. As for Books of Magic/Books of Faire, those aren't as tied to the Dreaming, and perhaps for that reason, tend to be better books. The Dreaming and the Endless seem to be more of a personal vision of Gaiman's, and even the best portrayal of them in the hands of others pales in comparison.
  • I'd never even heard of Neil Gaiman until
    I read Good Omens. Terry Pratchett is the man
    for that sort of humour. The Discworld series
    is very very funny.
  • > Apparently the concept illustrator for Final Fantasy (?), and this features
    > stuff from Final Fantasy Anthology?

    Amano-sama had been the character designer and illustrator for the Final Fantasy series up through and including FF6 (FF3US). For Final Fantasy 7, he designed the city of Midgar (which was an excellent creepy postmodern metropolis) and I believe that his work on recently-released FF8 included the Gardens, a sort of academy for soldiers and mercenaries. Amano-sama has done artwork for other video game titles, including Kartia and SaGa Frontier (unfortunately, his artwork was the only redeeming quality in the latter), and is also a highly respected artist outside of the video game design field.

    I would *love* to go see the exhibit running in NYC of his work, dammit! I've been a fan of Squaresoft and their Final Fantasy titles for ages.
  • I'm pretty sure this is a different sandman than the one you're talking about.. this one's a kinda tall guy, pale skin, wears alot of black, presides over the Dreaming, has Death for a sister.. ringing any bells?
    Dreamweaver
  • To reply to the actual post rather than the moderation of said post..

    Software patents do suck, but Amazon is still the biggest online bookseller out there with the widest selection of books and (in many cases) the best price (i'm not saying other places dont have a lower one, but amazon's are pretty good) and coupled with the selection it makes them a reasonably good choice to look to when you need a link for a book, software patent deviltry aside
    Also, in this case it's Neil's fault, he's the one who posted the link.. shame on you Mr. Gaiman ;)

    Dreamweaver
  • Well, I'd have to say that my favorite issue was #4, which was the first one that I ever read. (insert plug here for Twilite Zone Comics, Glen Burnie [formerly in Annapolis], MD).

    (and well, I was too stupid to bring it to get it signed when I went to a book signing in Crystal City, VA ~8-9 years ago)

    However, my favorite Gaiman works weren't Sandman, (although, I'm 5 issues short for completing a second complete set). I really wish that there were some way of getting a NTSC copy of Neverwhere (the miniseries brought out quite a few things that I didn't see in the book, and visa-versa). Hell, I'd even get a DVD player for it, if it were available that way.

    Another great work was Angels and Visitations. (which I seem to have never gotten back after loaning to someone). Erm...it wasn't available on Amazon last I looked, but Neil had some mention there of another book where you could get most of the stories, if memory serves) [it was a collection of short works]
  • In the off chance that someone will read this, even being a multi-day old topic, with plenty of comments already--

    There's a part of an interview with Neil Gaiman at Aint-It-Cool-News:

    http://www.aint-it-cool-news.c om/display.cgi?id=4583 [aint-it-cool-news.com]

    (it's towards the bottom). It mentions what else he's currently working on, including a movie versions of Neverwhere.
  • Oh please can I meta-moderate this one? Why, pray tell is "I agree. Those are my top 2 as well." interesting? It probably should have been moderated down as redundant. If you didn't know Hemos had posted it, that is...
  • It reminds me of the silly and utterly crappy storyline about the death of Superman, a few years ago...

    They tried to ask Gaiman's permission to use Death in the final issue. Gaiman's response was, 'Well, is he dead?' Since they couldn't give him a straight answer, he said no.

    "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

  • Is the book sold at Amazon.com signed as well? I truly hope so, this would make a great gift for a friend of mine.

  • Shameful to admit, but I've never read *any* Gaiman stuff--no Sandman, nothing. It's my own damn fault--about eight years ago I put down my last Marvel comic, puked, wiped my mouth and said "That's it--I am NEVER reading this mainstream crap again" and ever since then it's been anime/manga all the way. Then earlier this year a friend lent me his copy of "Castle Waiting" and my head exploded. Some of the best stuff I've read this side of "Watchmen!" So now I'm gonna see if I can get ahold of the Sandman trade paperbacks and the "Death" stuff. Can anyone out there recommend some other good U.S. or Brit (or anyone else) comix?
  • Maybe Rob, Jeff, and the gang could do one of these in light of the new book.

    I've been a large fan of Sandman. Seeing Sandman end was like the shattering of a priceless statue worked in crystal. Throughout the series I've always had questions.

    I'd be curious to see what questions he would answer and what other questions he would consider undisclosed. That was part of the magic. Building a tight story that still leaves you thinking.
    A story which built a following by creating interesting and compelling characters while giving them some shared mutual history with the audience. Worked for Sandman, concept still works for Buffy.

    The only other things that I would consider close to this would be Watchman, and Hellblazer.

  • I'm glad to see there's more fodder for us Sandman fans to gobble up. Earlier in the year, I had the oportunity to speak with Neil, and I asked about all the movie talk that's going on.
    He says that the "Sandman" film that is supposedly in the works doesn't look promising (he does not have creative control over the Sandman Series). The script he read start with something like, "Foolish mortals.....What fools you are to think you could defeat me!" (I'll pass, thanks.)

    He does, however have control of other characters (namely, Death), and he said there's a strong possibility for a movie deal there. Keep your eyes out.
  • "It's illustrated prose, not a comic."

    That pretty much defines comic for me. Is that opposed to illustrated poetry or non-illustrated prose?

  • I was dissappointed by Good Omens, It was dumb.



    Stardust was ok, but a little for the young crowd (like 14-17 depending on maturity). and a little too much like other fantasys out there. (not as bad as asimov though)



    Neverwhere WAS cool though. very cool. veryveryvery cool.

  • Not related to the post, but Gaiman related, does anyone know if there is any way to get the BBC miniseries "Neverwhere" in NTSC format? Apparently it's been shown in some markets (San Fran area on KQED I think is at least one, maybe the only one) but certainly not in my area. Buy, beg or borrow I would love to see the series.

    -=-=-=-=-

  • There was also a Justice League two-parter guest-starring D----l (I know that's not his name, but we have to protect those who haven't read all of Sandman yet) and written by Grant Morrison. Unfortunately, it was pretty far towards the "stale urine" end of his immensely wide bell curve. You missed nothing.
  • I've refused to buy any Sandman stuff that isn't written by Gaiman

    There's one non-Gaiman Sandman book that I highly recommend: The Book of Dreams [amazon.com], an anthology of prose selected by Gaiman. My favorite story is The Birth Day by B.W. Clough, which was mailed to Neil unsolicited and convinced him to get the ball rolling. That "river of sheep" imagery just strikes me as such a wonderful starting point for human civilization, up there with the bone in 2001.

    Of course, don't neglect all the great Gaiman non-Sandman books out there -- Neverwhere, Violent Cases, Miracleman, and ...damn, forgot the name... that faerie thing illustrated by Charles Vess. I keep thinking "Startide Rising" but of course that's David Brin.

  • NYT recently had an extensive article [nytimes.com] on the film. I watched the subtitled version -- do watch it, and other Miyazaki films, they're great.
  • Well, I can recognize Caitlin Kiernan's book in your description of "goth", and certainly I was a bit annoyed by her constant references to angst-ridden '80s rock songs. Despite this, I found it an interesting and well-written book. I'd rather read another Kiernan novel than anything by Poppy Z. Brite. I tried reading a collection of PZB's stories a while back; there was one story (title now forgotten, alas) that I thought was really good, but the rest did little for (or to) me.
  • For this article and this book, an Amazon link wouldn't mean too much to me. If I want this book I would just drive to Dreamhaven (can't walk there anymore like in older times).
  • Yes, this patent is as stupid as the Apple Look & Feel nonsense that got them left out of the free software movement for years. I'm taking my business elsewhere until they get some sense.
  • Speaking of which over at Coming Attractions [corona.bc.ca] they have an interview with Neil about the translation process and also have tidbits on other upcoming projects such as Neverwhere. Now if they could just get a Sandman or Death movie out I would truly be happy.
  • My all time favorite issue is definetly the las issue of the kindly ones. It was so sad, after reading almost ten years of work in less than a week (i've only been reading these books for about a year, but have all of them already) to see morpheus die in such a noble way. Among my other favs is episode 1 of season of mists.
  • This is best described as a novel with pictures. The story is told in paragraphs (rather than speech baloons and captions) and the illustrations accompany the text. So, yeah, "illustrated prose" really is the best way to describe it.
  • Nope, this is all Amano. Which ain't a bad thing.

  • See Princess Mononoke (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I've seen the non-dubbed version a few times; anyone with any interest in animation or good fantasy should see this great movie from an animation master. Is the Neil Gaiman's script in the dubbed version decent?

    As a side note, if you see it and like it, tell your friends! Miramax is apparently taking a "word-of-mouth" approach, because this movie is getting very limited release initially and they'll only release it in a wider selection of theaters if there's good buzz (thus me hawking it). If you're lucky enough to live near a big city, see it!

    Info can be found at www.rotten-tomatoes.com [rotten-tomatoes.com] (good general movie site) and www.princess-mononoke.com [princess-mononoke.com].

  • I agree. Those are my top 2 as well.
  • When the story about Amazon's One-Click patent was posted on slashdot almost everyone thought it was horrible. But, slashdot still has a link to Amazon in it's book reviews. Why? Since software patents are so dangerous to the Free software / OpenSource movement why is slashdot still supporting Amazon? After all other retailers offer assoc. programs to. DAldredge
  • Sandman is easily the best comic series i've read yet. Then again, I should admit that I haven't read very much, but this is still absolutely amazing. The only thing that comes near it is Alan Moore's Watchmen.

    As for Princess Mononoke... I've seen the subbed version. I know already that some footage had to be cut in order to keep a PG-13 rating. If anyone can cut footage and still do the original justice, it's Neil. I know he can do it well, and I certainly hope he did.

    Now, all I have to do is get a ride to Toronto...
  • My understanding is that Gaiman owns the Sandman character. For instance, when DC Comics recently wanted to include Sandman in one of their other titles (JLA), the author had to ask Gaiman for permission to use the character.
  • Actually, DC Comics owns the Sandman characters lock, stock, and barrel. However, Gaiman (IIRC) made it fairly clear to DC that if they used the character without consulting with him, they wouldn't have to worry about him ever gracing their halls again. Hence, every issue of The Dreaming I've seen has in the credits "Neil Gaiman -- Consultant" No idea if this happened with the JLA issue, though, but I'd assume that Grant Morrison gave Neil at least a phone call about the idea...

    --Matt
  • I would hate to see this film disappear because of not enough word-of-mouth, and because I'm a bit bitter that it's not going to show in my hometown -- Here are the cities that it -is- showing in, for those of you who don't want to go hunting for the information...

    October 29
    Boston
    Chicago
    Los Angeles
    New York
    Toronto

    November 5
    Atlanta
    Dallas
    Denver
    Detroit
    Houston
    Minneapolis
    Philadelphia
    Phoenix
    Sacramento
    St. Louis
    San Diego
    San Francisco
    San Jose
    Seattle
    Wash, DC

    November 12
    Minneapolis

    November 19
    Cleveland
    Portland

    &^_^& now i've done my part in the word-of-mouth department ...
  • Well, you might not really want a Sandman movie...

    I saw Neil read from his latest novel at a local megabookstore a few months back, and he talked about the Sandman movie and the horrid, terrible, very very sad scripts that Warner Brothers had come up with. Think of the Corinthian as Dream's brother and the lord of bad dreams (as opposed to the Sandman who's the lord only of good dreams); the Corinthian traps Dream and steals his power, but with his own two fists and the love of a good woman Dream wins back his kingdom. Dreck dreck dreck. Hope it never comes to pass (unless, maybe, studio execs at WB are suddenly possessed by good spirits and hire Harlan Ellison to script it...I can dream, can't I?) He did drop hints about a Good Omens film being a possibility, though.

    I just re-read my complete Gaiman collection - the whole Sandman series, Black Orchid, the two Death stories, and The Books of Magic (the first two Books of Magic followups by another author are also good - are there any more?), so I'm definitely ready for more!

  • I have a few friends that are seriously into anime and they turned me onto a decent subtitled Princess Mononoke about a year ago.



    Man,oh,man,oh,man,oh,man! By far the best I've seen yet! Excellent story and art. I recommend it to everyone on the planet.



    (Only 5.684 billion left to go)
  • The Sandman itself ended with issue #75, where Gaiman left it; it has not been revived. DC's Vertigo imprint has had several Sandman- or Gaiman-related titles since then, some written by Gaiman (Stardust, for example), but mostly by other writers. Surprisingly (perhaps), most of these other writers have been very good in their own right. John Ney Reiber's Books of Magic was wonderful. The Dreaming started out a little unfocused, but got much better once Caitlin R. Kiernan took it over. (Kiernan is also the author of an interesting goth-horror novel, Silk.) Sandman Mystery Theatre was a sort of film noir take on the Golden Age Sandman, who was hinted at very briefly in one of Gaiman's early Sandman stories. There have also been a variety of miniseries, most of them worth reading (particularly Kiernan's The Girl Who Would Be Death).

    Overall, I think DC/Vertigo have been quite respectful of Gaiman's universe; they have given other writers room to explore and extend it, but the results have been good enough that I would not say they have been "sharecropping" it or merely "exploiting" it.

  • my wife and I met because of Sandman (Score:3)

    by opus ( 543 ) on Sunday October 24, 1999 @06:52AM (#1591945)
    It was the summer of 1993, and she and I and her friend Jenne were all subscribed to this Sandman fanzine called "Dream Lovers", published by this guy who called himself "Fluffy". Jenne and I became pen-pals, and one week she invited me both and my future wife Janet to stay with her for a week in Onenonta, NY, halfway between where I lived (Rochester) and where Janet lived (Long Island).

    Janet and I fell in love that week, and two years later were married. It's been four wonderful years.

    Anyway, thanks Neil, for writing such a great comic book, and for playing your part in the chance or fated sequence of events that led to my marriage. I look forward to reading your new book.

    Are there any other former "Dream Lovers" subscribers out reading Slashdot?
    --

  • Mononoke Hime! (Score:3)

    by EXTomar ( 78739 ) on Sunday October 24, 1999 @08:27AM (#1591946)
    If you like what you see in "The Dream Hunters", then I recommend you checkout "Princess Mononoke"("Mononoke Hime") coming out this fall. Neil Gaiman wrote the English screenplay and did an excellent job of helping bring alive the English version of the film.

    It is also interesting to note that Good Omens [imdb.com] is listed in Gaiman's writer filmography. It maybe nothing, but wouldn't it be neat if "Good Omens" was made into a movie? :-)

  • On anohter Neal Gaiman note (Score:3)

    by infoflux ( 103311 ) on Sunday October 24, 1999 @06:31AM (#1591947) Homepage
    This completely unrelated to his book, but another recently related Gaimon project is he english dub of the Japanese animated file Princess Mononoke. It features the voices of Claire Danes, Gillian Anderson, Billy Bob Thorton and others. I was lucky enough to see a screening (with Gaiman in atendance no less) and the film was wonderful. Definitely worth checking out if you have the chance.
  • Check out http://www.amanosworld.com/
    Someone else mentioned Yoshitaka Amano, the artist working with Gaiman, but I thought I'd mention the URL. The site has some examples of his art, and an online store where you can buy a book that I'm impatiently waiting right now. Once I get a copy of the new Gaiman, the two books can sit next to each other on my shelf in all their shiny Amano glory. Woo.
    Slightly off-topic I know, but whatever.

  • Awright... (Score:4)

    by Skyshadow ( 508 ) on Sunday October 24, 1999 @06:23AM (#1591949) Homepage
    I've read a lot of Gaiman's stuff -- Good Omens, Neverwhere, etc. His short stories are usually really good (the one about the cat fighting the devil each night was converted into the best campfire story in my mental collection).

    But nothing touches Sandman and his other work with graphic novels. Rich storytelling, terrific dialog, great characters, etc. "A Dolls House" and "48 Hours" rank among the most-rereadable works in my library, followed up closely by Books of Magic (the first series -- the ones Neil wrote, not the later issues which just got a bit odd).

    So: What was your favorite Sandman issue?

    "An Epilogue: Sunday Morning", the one which takes place just after the Wake in which Hob Gadling, who was always one of my favorite characters, deals with the death of Morpheus. Of all the loose ends, I was glad he was the one that got some special attention.

    (note: Ramadan was a close second due to the amazing story and art, but you can only have one favorite)

    ----

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