The book is what the title implies, a guide to The Sandman comics.

It also mentions that Charles Vess won the World Fantasy Awards this year for best artist.

Princess Mononoke Reviews and Articles:

• Boston Globe Review (and Neil interview)
• Boston Phoenix review
• Chicago Tribune Review
• Los Angeles Time's Review and an article about Mononoke
• Star Tribune article on Mononoke (thanks Lance!)
• Newsday Review
• NY Post Review
• Village Voice Review and story about Miyazaki
• The Daily Variety (Reuters) Review

Internet Movie Database Pages of Interest:

• Good Omens page
• Mononoke Hime page
• Neil's page

Hi. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Pucks girlfriend, Mel, and I'm the one who did the updates today. I'm not an html guru, nor am I the Neil Gaiman expert that Puck is, so bear with me. If you would like to reach me, my email address is ambrosia@darkedge.com. You should keep sending submissions and stuff to Puck rather than me. I'm not sure how long I'll be doing this job.

• Article at IGN Sci-Fi.
• Lucy Anne found this article at the Comic Book Continuum (you have to scroll down a bit).
• Check out Yoshitaka Amano's official website which contains info and the cover art to Dream Hunters: The http://www.amanosworld.com

• The official 999 website is: http://www.999-666.com
• Click here to read the early press release for the book.

• Listen to Neil Gaiman's story Murder Mysteries at sci-fi.com.
• Dave Dinsmore reported that the script for Murder Mysteries is going to be released in a signed limited edition due out in late Feb 2000. The book will be made with handmade paper with illustrations by George Walker. It will contain a new poem by Neil and possibly a cd with the radio play now on scifi.com.

• Stardust won the 1999 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. Read about it here.
• You can view and purchase some Stardust images by Charles Vess.

• Interview for SFX magazine
• Interview for CNN along with audio clips
• Interview at DangerMedia
• Interview for The Austin Chronicle

Jonathan Carroll's fantasy novel The Land of Laughs is to be adapted for the screen by none other than Neil Gaiman. The book centres on a small American town where the imaginary world of an author comes horrifically to life [well done for giving the story away guys]. "I said yes on the basis that I love Jonathan Carroll's work and I would hate to see somebody else fuck it up," says Gaiman, "if anyone's going to fuck it up it may as well be me. We're just sort of in talks with Miracle Pictures right now."

• Review by Roger Ebert from the Telleride Film Festival
• Review by David Polland from the Telleride Film Festival
• Review from the New York Times:

Updated the link on the Lore page to the Dave McKean website, "Dreamline", which has moved to here: http://www.erasing.org/dreamline/

The Kids' Reading Room
Reading by 9
Kids' Books
Poetry and Fantasy Still Good Ways to Set Young Minds in Motion
MARIA D. LASO , TIMES STAFF WRITER
Los Angeles Times , Home Edition , Column: E , Page: 5 , Sunday August 15, 1999
View Desk

It's wonderful to expose children to a range of experiences, and books offer a low-cost, low-risk way to do so. As these authors demonstrate, inspiration comes from all sorts of people, places and things. Illustrations are also a big part of the allure in "The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish" (1998; White Wolf Publishing Inc.; $14.99), inspired by a not uncommon childhood fantasy of trading in one's parents. Neil Gaiman and illustrator Dave McKean ("The Sandman," "Mister Punch") wittily collaborate again with delightful results in this funny, visual book suggested for ages 4 to 8 but probably enjoyable for older readers as well. McKean's whimsical art layers graphics, drawings and collage. Gaiman nails a young boy's point of view, down to the tattling sibling, with perfectly executed child logic. A boy and his sister are left alone with their dad, who just wants to read the newspaper (we knew he had some redeeming quality). When a friend comes over with a couple of goldfish (you know how chatty they are), a trade seems obvious. But when Mom comes home and makes the kids set things right, it will take a lot of undoing to fix what's been done.
Note: This book is best for adults with a sense of humor. They may enjoy reading this as much for themselves as for the kids.
Copyright 1999 The Times Mirror Company Los Angeles Times
© 1999 Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved.

This will be in no particular order, just as I remember it. In general, it was a good show, despite itself.  Guests were great, con-organizers were not, but I won't get into that here as this is neither the time or place.

As for the CBLDF, we raised just shy of $500, which was more than we expected, as it was a literary con, and most folks there (not counting the Gaiman fans, of course) do not count comics as literature.  But nonetheless, we did pretty good.

Now for Neil stuff.  It was a good show to hang out with Neil, much like Tropicon was (I've heard), and how ConCat looks to be.  We hung out for most of the weekend in the Hotel lounge; Neil holding court and telling stories, and having genuine conversations with every passer-by, and signing everything shoved in his face.

Not counting opening ceremonies, Neil was on 3 panels (Can SF be Great Literature?, Turning Fairy Tales to Modern Fantasy, and Braving the Netherworld: Heroic Voyages to Hell and Back), 1 Q&A, 1 reading and 1 autograph session.  I made opening ceremonies (where Neil had some rather humorous praise for the Toastmaster, William Browning Spencer's book Zod Wallop), the SF Lit panel, half of the Netherworld panel, the reading, the Q&A, and I worked the signing.

Neil news, again in the order that I remember it.  As someone mentioned before, Neil is writing another chapter for Signal to Noise for the CD release of the BBD radio drama by Dave McKean's record label (whose name escapes me) but there is no official release date yet.

About the adaptation of Murder Mystery for the Sci-Fi channel: reactions have been very good.  It will sometime in the future, be released on cd or one of those audio-book things.  He plans on doing more adaptations of this sort, but doesn't know if they will be for the Sci-Fi channel or not (too early to say).

Reactions to Mononoke have been very good.  After the premier at San Diego, Neil did a Deja-search for reactions.  After reading many posts about people arguing about whether or not is should have been Princess Mononoke or The Princess Mononoke, he gave up, declaring it a success. American Gods is scheduled for a September 2000 release, and he is currently writing, or has just finished chapter 2 (I can't remember which).  He also said they are long chapters, so we shouldn't be discouraged at his apparent lack of progress.

Wolves in the Walls is finished, and will be illustrated by Dave McKean, when he finds the time.  Coraline still isn't finished, but is turning into quite a "spooky story for little girls."  Coraline may or may not be illustrated by Dave (probably not), and will not be in the format of Goldfish (it will be more in the style of the traditional children's/young adult novel).  Both should be published by Avon (he thinks).

The third (I believe) draft of the Neverwhere movie has been turned in, and they are looking for a director.  They all agree that it could use another draft, but they are waiting for a director to be attached, so the script can be tailored to his or her particular style.

He is still signed on to executive produce the Books of Magic movie, but there is no news to speak of at this time.

He has a script for Snow Glass Apples, which he plans to direct, but realises that it would be a 10-15 million dollar 15 minute movie.  He hopes to do it one day, maybe as a part of an anthology series, either movie or television.

Speaking of television, he has a few things in the works for American TV, but decilned any further comment other than to say that they are for on-going series, instead of mini-series or tv movies.

Good Omens is still optioned, but he and Terry are having as little to do with it as possible.  The person that would possibly direct it (who Neil also declined to name), is apparently someone that has been interested in it for some time, and is also someone who Neil knows.  I don't know what anyone else thinks, but my first thought was Terry Gilliam.  But again, that is only my thought, and should in NO WAY be construed in any way as having come from Neil's mouth!

There appears to be some movement on the Death movie, but again, no comment on that.

As far as comics go, Neil is incredibly optimistic about the Dream Hunters.  He feels that it will do extremely well in the mass market, i.e. big bookstores (Barnes & Noble, etc.).  He also expects this to completely blow the lid off of Amano's popularity, and bring his work more into the mass market spotlight.

The first of the artwork for the Swamp Thing story is comming in from Steve Bissette and John Tottleben.  He says it is absolutely incredible; very reminiscent of the classic Alan Moore era Swamp Thing.

Neil said that if Michael Zuli and himself do not finish Sweeny Todd (as published in Taboo) within the next 5 years, that he will just write it as a novel himself.

As far as cons go, those of you who are waivering about going to ConCat, should really think hard about it, as he has put a 2 year moratorium on conventions after he has met his current convention committments.  That means no more shows until 2002!

The Plain Dealer April 28, 1999
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. 1E

LETTING GOOD FANTASIES ROLL; AUTHOR NEIL GAIMAN'S FAR-OUT IDEAS PRODUCE RIPPLE EFFECT

BYLINE: By JULIE E. WASHINGTON

Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman's gaze pierced the lenses of his sunglasses. His skinny frame, clad in black, was relaxed enough to prop one foot on the seat of his chair.

The Brit-turned-Minnesotan ordered tea in a downtown Cleveland hotel, then said he installed a reverse osmosis filtration system in his kitchen - "Is that sad, or what?" - in pursuit of a decent cup of tea. He is one year shy of 40.

You would never suspect that Gaiman lives with one foot in the world of bricks and mortar, and the other in the land of dreams and fairies. For him, the boundary between the two is fragile and ever in flux.

"It's 'Through the Looking Glass,' he explained. "Everyone is one cyclone away from Oz. It's just the back of a wardrobe."

You may never have heard of Gaiman, but to the legions of young people who continually discover his seminal graphic novel "The Sandman" and the many new readers drawn to his urban fantasy "Neverwhere" and his latest, the fairy tale "Stardust,"

Gaiman is a very big deal.

They turned out in droves to hear him speak at a recent Plain Dealer Book and Author event. Many "nice ladies of a certain age," as he described them, listened to him speak, then bought copies of "Stardust" and joined his autograph line. Their sweater sets contrasted with the Goth-y kids and comics fans.

He recently finished a 21-city book tour for "Stardust," during which he averaged 350 people per signing.

It seems like a marketing strategy hatched by a public relations department: Author ditches fringe readership for the more lucrative land of mainstream sales, bookstore chains and TV talk shows. Yet he denies that the decision to leave "The Sandman" at the height of its popularity in 1996 and write novels was a bid for a wider audience. He simply wanted to learn his craft in other areas.

Happy accidents

"My life seems to be a series of happy accidents," he said. Gaiman's work comprises "Good Omens" with Terry Pratchett; the children's book "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish"; several graphic novels, including "Miracleman: The Golden Age"; and two short-story collections.

Fantasy is appealing because people are searching for a brief vacation from reality, he said. "You go on a journey, and come back a little bit changed." Fantasy, unlike science fiction, can be "reassurance in a strange and shifting world. The future is no longer what it once was."

"Neverwhere," his first solo novel, published last year, creates an alternative London Below of monsters, angels and "the forgotten bits of time," he said. The book is based on his BBC miniseries of the same name.

Gaiman set out to write an old-fashioned fairy tale for adults with this year's "Stardust" (Avon, $22), but he wanted to avoid what he regards as the dull, Tolkien-derivative, cliche-ridden fantasy clogging the bookstore shelves. "Stardust" probably could double its sales if a unicorn sat on its cover but, "It's not "Lord of the Rings,' nor does it try to be. It's the ice cream. It's not meant to be good for you," he said.

The residents of the pastoral English town of Wall guard the stone barrier that separates their world from the land of Faerie. The gate opens only once every nine years, so that villagers can enjoy a most unusual market fair. Young Tristran Thorn, himself the product of a liaison between a villager and a fairy, crosses over the ancient wall on a quest to procure a fallen star and win the love of a haughty beauty.

"It's a novel about good people, and even the bad people are kind and wonderful," Gaiman said.

Young people bored with superhero comics continue to discover "The Sandman," which DC publishes in collections. The 10-volume graphic novel combines horror, fantasy and mythology in a story that revolves around Morpheus, or Dream, and eternal beings called the Endless.

"Sales have not dropped. If anything, they've gone up," Gaiman said, explaining that young men usually get their girlfriends interested, then the young women take half the "Sandman" collection when they break up, and in turn pass them on to the next guy. "A lot of times it's sexually transmitted,"Gaiman said, sounding like a social scientist.

Gaiman juggles a dizzying number of new projects and Hollywood offers to adapt his work. Miramax is interested in a film adaptation of "Stardust," and he's working on another children's book, novel and picture book. His early jobs with newspapers in the United Kingdom taught him to meet deadlines and write anytime, anywhere.

"I feel like I'm getting away with something," he said. "I get to happen underneath the cultural radar."

One challenge remains: writing a Broadway musical. Coming from Gaiman's imagination, it would probably be something totally unsuitable for the matinee crowd.

"It would be set partly in the Grand Guignol," he mused, "and partly in hell."

The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
March 28, 1999, SUNDAY,
SECTION: FANFARE, Pg. H6

COMICS AS AN INVESTMENT? OH, PISH-POSH, SAYS NEIL GAIMAN
by Jody Callahan

Neil Gaiman is certainly outspoken.

Gaiman, on a variety of topics:

-- The state of comic books today:

"Unfortunately, desperately trying to sell comics as an investment item to gullible children has harmed comics enormously as a field, given it a blow from which it may never recover. It's really sad. Marvel completely went over to this sad nonsense of comics as investment items."

-- On comic book creators he admires:

"Alan Moore can do it. I think Dave Sim is a remarkable writer and artist. I think Kurt Busiek - I love what he's doing with Astro City. I still like Jeff Smith, what he's doing on Bone is so marvelous. Alan and Eddie Campbell are possibly my two favorite writers in comics.

"Mike Mignola is wonderful, and he's such a fine artist. I love Frank Miller . . . but I'm glad he didn't have another Sin City. Frankly, it all seemed to be similar."

-- On possible movies of the characters he's created, including Dream and Death.

Does he have any role in a possible Sandman movie? "Absolutely none. Oh God, I hope not. The last script I saw was possibly the worst thing I've ever read. The Sandman was kept prisoner under New York City by giant electromagnets. And he must fight his brother The Corinthian. It was the biggest load of illiterate posh I've ever read."

-- On a movie featuring Death, in Gaiman's world a cute, New Age woman with a Goth look and a surprisingly sunny disposition, given the nature of her job:

"The trouble is that Warner Bros. (DC Comics's parent company) regards Death as a Sandman spinoff, and they just sort of put it off into limbo until they had their Sandman made."

( Lucy Anne's n.b.: As of the summer, this may have changed)

-- On the pervasive influence of Death, surely one of the most original comics characters in recent years and soon to become her own action figure:

"What is really getting strange now, is that you'll now get Death clones who've never read the comics. They just like the look."

-- On his winning a World Fantasy award for an issue of Sandman, and the organization's immediate rewriting of the rules to prevent another such win by a comic book:

"I just thought, 'You're being silly. What are you afraid of, that comics are going to come in and win all your awards?' "