Wasn’t that astonishingly, astoundingly fab?

It must be noted, before I continue, that I have long been an ardent admirer of Neil Gaiman’s work. That’s not because I’m worried about the Johnny-Come-Latelies hijacking the Gaiman bandwagon. He’s too big for this to be a break out piece of work. Instead, I need to say that because this review will be so gushing, so enthusiastic and so pro-Gaiman that anyone would think I had gone into this with low expectations and been surprised by an unknown and unexpected quantity.

So let it be noted that this is not the case. I am well aware of Neil Gaiman’s talent. He can be directly credited with my love of comics (in the same way that without A New Hope I wouldn’t love Film, without Sandman I would never have discovered, or grown to love, comics). His writing, especially his children’s books and short story collections, is wonderful and his blog is brilliant. I love the films he has been involved with, whether as writer (Mirrormask), translator (Princess Mononoke) or as creator (Coraline, Stardust). He is one of my favourite authors, and I would purchase anything and everything he puts out.

Continue reading →