Neil Gaiman - The Wake

How does one write about Neil Gaiman without falling into cliche, falling into repetition, falling prone at his feet in worship? The man has so rightfully been praised up and freakin' down for his Sandman work that it almost seems silly to chime in with my own reaction.

Perhaps the most useful thing I can say is that this particular volume contains one of the single most moving stories within the Sandman arc: that of Master Li in Exiles. A sparsely illustrated tale of a former counsellor of kings, Exiles exemplifies the complex, challenging, pan-cultural writing that is Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.

Marvel 1602

I just finished reading Neil Gaiman's post-Sandman endeavour, entitled Marvel 1602 due to the simple fact that he's taken the Marvel universe and plunked it firmly in the final year of Queen Elizabeth's reign. 1602, to be precise.

Well-written, and a fun spin on the whole Jack Kirby/Stan Lee character empire. Mutants are called Witchbreed, and are hunted by the Inquisition.

Strangely, the character I'm most into is Daredevil, all-too brooding and self-absorbed in his usual incarnation; here a blind minstrel with a penchant for one-liners.

A fun read, I must say, especially necessary for me right now, since most of the time these days I'm knee-deep in non-fiction Latin American history or fighting through intense Shakespearean analyses.



Oh, and did I mention the bitchin' scratchboard covers by Scott McKowen? They're, well, bitchin'.