The Dreaming

Gaiman’s Last Angel Tour Moves
to Bigger Theatre for LA Finale

Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets, award-winning
author NEIL GAIMAN’s LAST ANGEL TOUR is moving
to a larger theatre for its final stop in LOS ANGELES.
The tour, which features Gaiman giving dramatic readings
from his fiction and poetry, was originally slated to reach
its conclusion at the Pacific Design Center on OCTOBER 26.
Strong ticket sales have prompted a move to the nearby
WRITERS’ GUILD THEATRE, located in Beverly Hills
just over a mile from the reading’s original venue.
All proceeds from the OCTOBER 26 event benefit the
non-profit COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND and help
protect the First Amendment rights of the comics
community.

“The Writers’ Guild is a wonderful theatre,” said Gaiman,
“and I’m glad the CBLDF has so many friends and supporters
in Los Angeles. As a member of the Writers’ Guild myself,
I think the theatre is a perfect place to host a reading to
benefit the Fund.”

“I’m amazed and completely gratified by the enormous response
we’ve gotten in LA,” said CBLDF executive director Chris Oarr.
“There are certainly worse problems to have than finding a
bigger venue! The Writers’ Guild Theatre has a lot to offer,
and should be a great spot for the finale of the Last Angel Tour.”

The Writers’ Guild Theatre is located at 135 SOUTH DOHENY
DRIVE in BEVERLY HILLS. The move to a larger performance
space means that additional tickets are now available for the
Los Angeles reading. General Admission Tickets, which cost $20
each, can be purchased through TICKETMASTER by calling
(213) 480-3232 or by visiting
http://www.cbldf.org or call the Fund toll-free at 1-800-99-CBLDF.

Neil Gaiman first attracted critical acclaim for his graphic novels
and the groundbreaking comic series “Sandman.” In addition to his
comics work, Gaiman is the author of the best-selling novels
“Neverwhere” and “Stardust,” and has seen his unique vision translated
for film, television, and the stage. He is the recipient of the
prestigious World Fantasy Award and is noted in “The Dictionary of
Literary Biography” as “one of the top ten post-modern writers” in
America. This seventh and final Guardian Angel Tour will bring the
author to Chicago, New York, Portland OR, and Los Angeles. To date,
these Guardian Angel Tours have raised more than $100,000 to protect
free expression in comics.

Tickets are also on sale at Ticketmaster for the first three stops
on the tour:

OCTOBER 16: The Vic Theatre, CHICAGO
call Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212 or visit
Ticketmaster.com

OCTOBER 18: St. Mark’s Church, NEW YORK
call Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171 or visit
Ticketmaster.com

OCTOBER 24: The Aladdin Theatre, PORTLAND OR
call Ticketmaster at (503) 224-4400 or visit
Ticketmaster.com

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization
protecting First Amendment rights in the comics community.
Donations and inquiries should be directed to the CBLDF at
P.O. Box 693, Northampton, MA 01061. For more CBLDF news and
information, pick up a copy of “Busted!,” the Fund’s free
quarterly newsletter, or visit the CBLDF web-site at
http://www.cbldf.org.

# # #

VERTIGO favorite THE DREAMING, with its eclectic characters gleaned from literature and ghost tales, will come to a close with its final storyline “Bad Dreams,” solicited in Previews Vol. X #10 for release this December. But VERTIGO’s exploration of the ethereal land of the Dreaming does not end here; THE SANDMAN PRESENTS line of character-focused titles will become more of a presence than ever as they unify into an ongoing release of miniseries and special projects. VERTIGO Executive Editor Karen Berger said, “Our exploration of THE SANDMAN mythos expands with this change as we plan to explore even more characters and develop more deeply their stories.”

THE DREAMING writer Caitlin R. Kiernan says: “For me, finishing THE DREAMING is like coming home again from a very long trip to a strange and wonderful place.”

The 4-part story, arriving in stores in December, begins with issue #57, as Echo makes a play to retain the Corinthian’s mantle of “Nightmare.” Stirring the forces of Nightmare to revolt within the Dreaming, Echo enlists the aid of nightmares Brute and Glob to capture Abel as bait to snatch members for her Nightmare Army. It’s up to Abel’s pet gargoyle Goldie to contact the House of Mystery caretaker Cain, last seen in issue #50.

According to THE DREAMING Editor Shelly Bond, “Many months ago, Neil Gaiman, Karen Berger, Cait and I thought that it would be best to bring THE DREAMING to a close at issue #60. The monthly series became more and more confining as a format, and in the spirit of THE SANDMAN, we decided to work toward a satisfying conclusion. This gave Caitlin and regular artists Christian Hojgaard and Ron Randall ample time to orchestrate a compelling finishing point to a series that really deserved solid closure.”

Writer Caitlin R. Kiernan’s explosive choreography of the coming Nightmare War will forever change the mercurial landscape of THE DREAMING and open new pages for new writers and artists to explore THE SANDMAN mythos in a new monthly series of THE SANDMAN PRESENTS miniseries and specials. Continuing VERTIGO’s successful THE SANDMAN PRESENTS (which served as proving ground for the LUCIFER ongoing series), these new THE SANDMAN PRESENTS projects will feature a startling lineup of provocative artists and writers handling their favorite characters from THE SANDMAN and THE DREAMING mythos with covers by award-winning innovator Dave McKean (THE DREAMING, THE SANDMAN, Cages).

Beginning this spring, THE SANDMAN PRESENTS will throw its curtains wide with THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE DEADBOY DETECTIVES miniseries, a Hardy Boys-meets-Philip-Marlowe detective yarn that combines elements of Harry Potter with a tongue-in-cheek hard-boiled style. Writer Ed Brubaker is joined by Eisner Award-winner Bryan Talbot and Steve Leialoha in a tale guest-starring familiar THE SANDMAN characters Mad Hettie and Hob Gadling.

One of the Sandman’s former lovers gets the spotlight in THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE THESSALIAD, written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by Shawn McManus. Thessaly (from THE SANDMAN: A GAME OF YOU) is known for her ruthless yet practical approach to magic. Find out what transpires when — for the first time in history — the most powerful Thessalian witch meets her match.

Some important questions are addressed in the 48-page one-shot THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT DREAMS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK, written by Bill Willingham with artwork by Kevin Nowlan, Mark Buckingham, Jason Little, Duncan Fegredo and others. This offbeat book addresses several oft-asked questions regarding the nature of Dreams and The Dreaming in a series of humorous vignettes featuring Nuala, Merv, Lucien, Goldie, Gregory, and other inhabitants of the Dreaming.

Other projects in development feature such characters as The Corinthian and The Furies. Further details will be announced as they become available.

Over the past ten years, acclaimed author NEIL GAIMAN has gone to great lengths to support the non-profit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. He has traveled the country, reading from his work and raising money on six GUARDIAN ANGEL TOURS. He has donated his time and talent to create benefit books, comics, videos, and more. He has literally given the CBLDF the shirt off his back, as well as his famed leather jacket, for wildly successful charity auctions. He has done all of this and more to help the Fund protect free speech in comics. Now Gaiman goes one step further.

Gaiman has announced that he will donate his ORIGINAL SCRIPTS for “NEVERWHERE,” the hugely popular television series he created for the BBC. These are the actual BBC shooting scripts for all six episodes of the series, along with Gaiman’s hand-written notes and directions.

Throughout the scripts, there are pages of dialogue that Gaiman re-wrote on the set, as well as many other changes written in his hand. The Neverwhere scripts also include the FIRST 20 PAGES of what would become the “NEVERWHERE” NOVEL, written out in longhand. Gaiman began work on the novel while filming of the television series was underway. “You can actually see all the scribblings out of the first chapter of ‘Neverwhere,’” said Gaiman. Together with the scripts, his original manuscript offers a one-of-a- kind glimpse of the author’s creative process.

And now Gaiman’s actual “Neverwhere” scripts can be yours. The CBLDF will offer the manuscripts on EBAY http://www.ebay.com in a very special auction beginning OCTOBER 16 and coinciding with the launch of Gaiman’s LAST ANGEL TOUR in Chicago. The auction will end OCTOBER 26, just as the tour reaches its conclusion in Los Angeles. In addition to the “Neverwhere” manuscript, the Fund will offer a number of other rare items sure to appeal to fans of Gaiman’s work. All proceeds from the auctions will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.