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Ask Neil Gaiman
A very special "call for questions" today: Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman, a series whose long-awaited resurrection was -- not coincidentally -- announced last week. Neil is also winner of the uncoveted Roblimo's favorite book of the 21st Century so far award for American Gods, and a free speech activist who has concentrated -- again, not coincidentally -- on comic book and graphic novel authors' and vendors' freedoms. Please read this interview, listen to this NPR interview, and check other material about Neil before you ask questions, in order to avoid triteness. We'll send 10 of the highest-moderated questions to Neil tomorrow, and post his answers when he gets them back to us.
Neil,
/EJS
I greatly enjoyed your chat last night with Art Spiegelman. After listening to both of you talk about the medium of comic books and graphic art, a question came to mind:
Unlike music and video, most people still prefer to read books page-by-page. Copying and downloading books and pictures is easier than doing so for music and video, partially because text and individual pictures are so much smaller. Yet, as of this moment, I haven't heard about a single case of writers and book artists complaining about the copying of their work on the internet.
Why do you think this is? Do you feel that this might change in the future as people become more accustomed to getting their information on a screen? Are you at all worried about the technology of copying in the same way that the music and movie industries are? Why or why not? How does your work as a free speech activist contribute to this debate? Is it a help or a hindrance to "creator's rights" that these copying technologies can allow individuals to control distribution and shake off the major media companies?
Thanks for your time,
Hi Neil,
Did you work at DEC in the late 80's/early 90's?
AXEL::FOLEY (For those who don't know, it was the DECnet method of addressing. node::username\
Thanks,
What's my Karma Mr. Burns? "Excellent"
I was wondering, if you had to go back and rewrite American Gods today, are there any new gods that you would add?
====
Crudely Drawn Games
I noticed you gave slashdot.org a shout out in the Destruction story in Endless Nights. Do you visit here often?
How did the actual comics medium affect how Sandman turned out, especially the Dreaming and the Endless?
...how you tailor your writing to which side of the Atlantic your intended audience is on. When I read Neverwhere it was the US edition and clearly contained language and explanations that would seem a little inappropriate to readers in the UK. Do you carry out your own 'translations' of your books? What differences do you see between American and British audiences to which you need to adapt? And how involved are you in the translations to other languages and hence cultures?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
You have a journal online at http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp. What kind of an impact has your journal had on your interactions with the public? What thoughts do you have regarding online journals (aka weblogs) in general?
--Sam
From the Roblimo's favorite book of the 21st Century so far award
Neil,
Did you know that when you signed my girlfriend's lower back (at Vromans Book Store in Pasadena, 1999) that she went to a tattoo parlor right afterward to have the moment made permanent?
How do you deal with this kind of (admittedly deserved) fan appreciation?
Kind regards,
Michael Judge
SurveyComplete
P.S. American Gods and Coraline are fantastic!
I vaguely recall from the Neverwhere DVD that the germ of the idea was the homeless of London, but that you were wary of glamorizing something that really is not glamorous. In the Talk of the Nation interview last week, the serial-killer convention was brought up, and I got the feeling you were uncomfortable with something so dark being glamorized.
I wonder if there have been any project ideas that you've left by the roadside because you felt the result would hold something unfortunate up for admiration.
I really enjoyed your short story you wrote for the Matrix website when they had their series of 'comics' coinciding with the release of the second film. Are there any plans for you to be involved in any way in any future works in that series?
I enjoyed Good Omens tremendously. Is there any possibility of the two of you working on another book?
Cheers,
Ian
Does Endless Nights mark, to your mind, the final volume of Sandman? Or are there more stories you intend to tell in that universe. Do you see yourself ever being truly done with Sandman, or is it something you think you'll come back to every few years to fill in another hole or story here and there?
Philip Sandifer's academic website
If your life was made into a movie (like American Spendor), who would play you?
I read in places that Good Omens was being considered for a movie release.
Is this still happening, and what do you think of it being made into a film?
What sort of challenges did you face when you wrote the script for the dub of Princess Mononoke?
There's been talk about a screen version of Good Omens on and off for several years now, but the film seems to be more or less dead in the water. Is there any hope that this film will actually get made at some point? If not, are there any chances of you and Pratchett working on a sequel?
Does the depth of geek herd mentality ever surprise you?
I was the midget watching in the corner with a fat lady eating pie.
What led you to write the young adult novel Coraline?
Was the writing process for Coraline fundamentally different than some of your other works?
How did you control the prose to achieve a balance between richness of language and accessibility to your younger audience?
A very special "call for questions" today...Roblimo's favorite book of the 21st Century so far award for American Gods...a free speech activist....avoid triteness.
My Question:
Mr. Gaiman, what's wrong with Roblimo? Why does he keep humping your leg?
The opinions stated herein do not necessarily represent those of anybody at all. Deal with it.
Neil, You and Terry Pratchett are two of my favorite authors, but asides from Good Omens, I never noticed much of a cross-over between any of your books. However, when American Gods came out, I couldn't help noticing that the portrayal of its gods and goddesses was very similar to Pratchett's portrayal of gods in Small Gods, another classic. Is this more than a coincidence?
Good day,
Good Omens was one of the funniest books in the fantasy genre I have ever read. The blend of your wonderful gothic images with the bizarre twist that Pratchett can put on mundane things was amazing. Have you ever thought of writing another book together, assuming you can find more time when you are both awake?
Back in March of 1993, some friends and I met you at the Motor City Comic Con. I brought Good Omens with me for you to sign, and one of my friends asked when you were going to get back together with Terry Pratchett to write another book. You mumbled something about the book to her, and signed "Burn this book!" in my copy.
So, for a decade, I've wondered on and off: What your true feelings are about Good Omens and Pratchett? Might we ever see another book from you two?
BTW, you gave me the best piece of advice I ever got about writing: Finish it. Whatever you start, finish it.
I appreciate that advice to this day.
Thanks,
Geoffrey Sperl
Detroit, MI
So I love every word I've read from your pen, but presently I'm in the middle of a dry spell--and the way I figure, if you're going to seek advice, seek advice from one you admire, right? So, are there any authors out there right now you can't get enough of? Anybody you're reading that you feel nobody should miss? Fiction, nonfiction, a decent biography you've read lately? Do you even have time to get a good read in with all the hustle and bustle of just being Neil Gaiman?
why is this offtopic? am i to understand that there is a specific, limited range of questions that we may only ask?
If you and Terry Pratchett were to wresetle (in a WWE style tournament), who would win? And why? What would you choose as a your wrestling name and outfit?
-psy
Do you have a set of religious beliefs or spiritual philosophy?
Libertarianism is rich wolves and poor sheep playing gambler's ruin for dinner.
what's the latest on the posibility of Good Omens coming to the screen?
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
As you can probably tell by my name, I am a huge fan of yours. Sandman is what brought me back to comics.
#1) Is there any chance of bringing back Sandman on a semi-regular basis (IE: Quarterly)?
#2) Kudos on 1602. Your take on Marvel characters is interesting. I'm very curious as how this story will fit in the Marvel Universe timeline. How did this story come about?
#3) Will we ever see MiracleMan?
It's better to burn out than to fade away
How do you pronounce your last name?
"You know Myra, some people might think you're cute. But me, I think you're one very large baked potato."
This man needs to read more. I enjoyed American Gods but please, Neil Gaiman is not the James Joyce of the twenty-first century.
sincerely,
davis
Okay, this has been driving my wife and I CRAZY. The god in Ameican Gods that you can't remember after you talk to him. Was that modeled after an existing god or did you make that up yourself?
I believe you even stumped the internet on that one.
Excellent book. BTW.
(/local/home/curiosity)-#who -u|grep thecat|cut -c 44-49|xargs kill -9
Much like Batman, when I heard there was a Sandman movie in the works, my interest was piqued. I've even been thinking about casting for it:
Death: Bridget Fonda (Looks great in black, is thin, has that certain presence)
Dream: Still Thinking.
Desire: Tea Leoni (Thin, edgy, can be made to look male and female)
Delierium: Lori Petty (Did you see Tank Girl?!?!)
But it's been some time since I've heard anything about it...is it still in the works?
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
Neil,
I perversively enjoyed your aggragrious produce in "The Sandman". It was an eye opener for me of unforeseen proportions that allowed me to strip the molybdenium of my dentures.
Now my question is this: do you think the Yankees will win the pennant this year?
Thank you in advance.
Do you find solo work (such as American Gods) to be more productive or pleasant for you than collaborative work (such as Good Omens)?
The graphic novel medium relies strongly on collaboration. Not only with artists and editors, but also to a limited extent with marketers, trademark lawyers, and even the "past continuity" of what others before you have written. Your persistence in this field seems like it could get to be almost hellish unless you drew very solid boundaries with your collaborators or you really enjoyed such chaos.
As a freelance programmer I struggle trying to find the appropriate balance of collaboration to satisfy and motivate. While your work is in a completely different field, I'm curious what thoughts, anecdotes, or advice you might have on keeping collaboration in balance.
It is obvious in your writings that you spend a fair amount of time thinking about Religion, and I see that at least one other person has asked you about your current belief set. I have a slighly different question, as asking someone to explain their Religous Beliefs is like asking someone to urinate in public.
It is rumored (one doesn't believe everything one reads on the internet) that you come from a scientoligist (I can type that without gettin sued, right?) background, but you are no longer with the church. What are you feelings on Scientology now?
(/local/home/curiosity)-#who -u|grep thecat|cut -c 44-49|xargs kill -9
After reading the entire Sandman run (1-75), I am certain that I'm not alone in this question.
Do you do any kind of drugs?
I mean... you *HAVE* to have to write that.
Its too good... tooooo good. Couldnt possibly write that sober.
I think this guy is SPOT ON! So now whenever someone tries to recover payment for their work, their efforts are called "draconian"? Whatever happened to the noble "pay the artists, not the industry" sentiment?
And furthermore, I doubt your sincerity as a "fan", since you obviously don't believe his work of high enough quality to merit financial compensation.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Hi Neil, Just a quick two part question for you. Two of my favorite characters in "The Sandman" are Delight and Merv Pumpkinhead. My question is this, will you ever write a story or let us know how Delight became Delirium and how did you ever come up with Merv? I read Hy Bender's Companion book and didn't see either question really answered. Thanks for your time and for all you have written. Shannon
As one of the rock-style stars of the comics world (and more than a bit outside it), what do you think of the state of the industry as a whole?
They've been pinning a lot on the sales of your Endless Nights and 1602 work to bump sales and get readers into shops, but as whole the direct market continues on a slow downward arc- and the great savior graphic novels are grow more in bookstores than comic shops- what can we do to keep comics vital an interesting? To encourage more genre bending work like your own (I'd be happy with more gneres though)?
What is this about? American Gods is only 2 years old! I don't think 2 years would radically alter how Neil Gaiman would write his book.
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
Ok, just curious on this one -
:P
Terry Gilliam was born in the Minneapolis area and moved to England.
Neil (Gaiman) is from England and moved to the Minneapolis area.
Neil would only work with Terry for making a Good Omens movie.
Is this some kind of weird symbiotic connection or am I drawing conclusions?
Alex is just great, Geddy's dog is a bit constipated though.
You commented at MIT (BTW: wonderful reading of a great short-story) that you didn't want to see Sandman the Movie made at this point because of the horrible treatment it had been given (I think the last draft script you had read contained, "Puny humans, your bullets cannot harm me!")
With the change in attitude toward comics in Hollywood, have you considered pressing the issue again? Also, have you considered talking to Hollywood's most successful comic book geek (Jess Whedon) about his getting behind the project? I would be stunned if he wasn't interested, though I'm sure the Firefly movie is sucking down a good chunk of his time....
Neil,
As far as I know the only type of media not wildly pirated (yes I have seen it happen) are the traditional paper media, like comics and regular books. With books I realise OCR'ing it would be the only viable option to spread it, and this is quite work-intensive, but scanning a comic is quite trivial.. any thoughts on why it isn't happening?
And if you found out a pirate 'honestly' believes in the rationale he/she will buy something if he truely considers it 'something worth having' (even if he already read it), and applies this principle to your works would you have a problem with this person?
Neil,
In your body of work, you borrow legends, myths, Gods and stories from many different mythos, and you usually bend and mold them to fit into your own tales.
My question is this, do you follow any religion or religious ideal in particular?
What an amazing coincidence -- I just bought and read (for the first of many times) Endless Nights today at lunch and now there is a Q&A with Gaiman on Slashdot. Also coincidentally, Slashdot features prominently in the Destruction story in Endless Nights.
My question relates to another coincidence. The first Sandman comic I read was Ramadan and it still one of my favorites. The thing that really clicked for me was the fact that, on the same day I read Ramadan, I read an essay by Jorge Luis Borges on the Arabian Nights tales (in the collection Seven Nights) and was, and still am, convinced that the Borges essay inspired the Ramadan issue of Sandman.
Is this true, or was the writing of Ramadan just an interesting synchronicity I made up by reading the two at the same time?
I know Mr. Gaiman is an admirer of Borges. The Destiny story in Endless Nights is a great tribute to The Garden of Forking Paths and The Library of Babel.
-- stream of did I lock the front door consciousness
Sandman started around 88, when I met Neil, and then I started at DEC in Reading, when I first heard AXEL::FOLEY from Vaxnotes! I was forty2::boyes then.
Howdy Neil. Me again. (Because three hours of asking you questions for Nova Express just wasn't enough.) You've collaborated with a wide range extremely talented people, including Terry Prachett (Good Omens), Gene Wolfe (A Walking Tour of the Shambles), numerous illustrated projects with David McKean, and, of course, an ever-rotating cast of artists on your many graphic novels. If you could collaborate on a future project with any living writer/artist/etc., that you haven't already collaborated with, who would it be and why?
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
THIS QUESTOIN FUCKING TROCKS!11
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What was it like working with Yoshitaka Amano? Did you correspond with him directly, about what the pictures should look like, or did you just let him have free reign?
It was a great story, as always. Thanks.
You figured out the subtext I guess. Well done!
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
Mr Gaiman,
I absolutely loved The Dream Hunters. It was actually my first introduction to your work, and has stuck with me ever since. The final conversation between Dream and Matthew (or their equivalents) still fascinates me.
I'll resist the temptation to trail that comment with the obvious question ("When will you collaborate again?"), though, and move right along to the following:
Do you have any particular thoughts on the stories of modern computer & console games? Is the medium in any way interesting to you? What would you expect to be the potential & notable challenges and/or rewards in working in the medium?
Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask what you think your ideal "game" project might be, and what sort of style you'd like to work with (or create), if given the opportunity.
By style, I mean do you imagine that it would be a sit-back-and-watch-the-occasional-cutscene affair (as is Final Fantasy X, or Xenogears, to give examples), a detailed backdrop in which to set gameplay (like, say, Mario Bros., Zelda, or Street Fighter), a more environmental story experience (Half-Life, Halo), or something else entirely?
Apologies for my wordiness in this question; I mainly would just love to hear your musings on the subject, especially if you find the field or medium at all compelling.
(And I would, predictably, very much like to thank you for all of the great work you've produced and shared with us all.)
Thank you.
Neil,
You have worked with a number artists and authors over the years. Do you have any favorites? Anyone you haven't worked with that you would like to collaborate with on a story?
Bonus questions: If you could pick up someone elses character and do a story, who's would it be? What kind of story would you do?
"These laws they're passing won't even compile anymore, let alone execute." - anon
One theme that seems to popup in multiple places is that magic is all around us yet most of us are too engrossed in our day to day existence to notice.
Mr. Giaman, have you ever considered doing a set of stories or a full novel about the magic in the every day cubical farm? So many of us are highly "deterministic" (there is a logical, objective soultion to any problem presented) but fail to realize how wide and unexplainable and unsolvable the world really is. It would be a double whammy theme!
What's the current status of Miracleman? When can those of us with human incomes actually get to read Miracleman? There's a huge market! Please, get those rights! Publish Miracleman!
I'm the best IRC client ever.
But that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking "Do you believe in weird shit?"
Like synchronity, magic, gods, ghosts, butterflies, things like that?
Do you believe that future for humans on this planet is likely to be negative or positive?
Neil,
As a designer, I love comics as a medium because they so intricately combine visual style and compelling storylines. Thank you for your efforts to brings comics to an adult audience! But does 'adult audience' necessarily mean kid-unfriendly? Your (wonderful) comics contain violence, nudity, etc. When writing, were these elements considered necessary to appeal to adults, or were they simply side-effects of the storyline?
Do you think that the connection between comics and children/teens is so strong that some kind of shock value must be added as a "this really is for adults" label? Do you think adults would react to comics with an adult-level story, that is kid-friendly as well?
Thanks, and don't stop working to get Good Omens on the big screen! (I vote for David Hyde Pierce as Aziraphale)
-david
Punctanym: alternate spelling of words using punctuation or numerals in place of some or all of its letters; see 'leet'
Comics can be hard to find. They're a lot harder to find in non-target countries -- countries where the primary language is something other than English. So are TV shows that I would love to watch, but can't receive and even if I could, only overdubbed. But that's straying from the point, that being, that there was only one way I could see Sandman or Neverwhere or Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters: downloading.
They were great. And I've since bought Neverwhere and Wyrd Sisters when I was able to. But I didn't buy them first, and I didn't have to. I could probably find The Wolves in the Walls on USENET and download it tomorrow if I were so inclined.
I won't use Amazon for privacy reasons and getting bookstores here to order English books can be a tortuous process. Had I not downloaded, I might never have known known the films even existed. I also couldn't have read Sandman.
Regardless of whether or not I later bought the works, did I steal from you when I downloaded the Neverwhere series? I'm interested in your answer, not your publishers', whose opinions are terribly clear.
Does it change anything if you know that I've bought an awful lot of your books, from Hitchhiker's Companion to Smoke & Mirrors? Does it change anything that I may have bought the works only after having seen them, making you somewhat a virtual busker?
Waiting until the end of time, if necessary, for a Neverwhere sequel,
What sort of challenges did you face when you wrote the script for the dub of Princess Mononoke?
I think your question is a bit too open-ended. I was wanting to ask a more specific question:
Mr. Gaiman, after the time, effort, and research you put into the dub of Princess Mononoke , were you disappointed by the film's performance at the US box office? Do you feel that the film was mishandled by Miramax, or were US audiences not quite ready to have their expectations of animation stretched that far?
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Ursula LeGuin posits that there is a "language of the night," a way of storytelling that creates a psychological landscape similar to dreamland, distinct from 'what if' of sci-fi or simple escapism of standard dragon-wizard fantasy.
When I read works you've written, I am immediately transported to this dreamland that is fantastic literature, that creates its own world in mind, but seems to use mythic archetypes.
My question: do your words just naturally flow from your mind into this kind of writing, or do you have to work at it? If it just flows, how would you say you view the world such that it just flows? If you have to work at it, what are tricks you use to get into this mindspace?
In ENDLESS NIGHTS, you make a reference to slashdot (the Destruction story. It's used as a threat. It's pretty funny for those of us who have been using this site for too long). That being said, you're aware of the tech/geek movement as you seem to get a great sum of cash from us. So you read slashdot. Cool. BUT what other sources of tech, science, etc do you read on a regular basis. Any cool magazines we don't know about? Any cool websites, links, etc, that Neil Gaiman checks to see where science is right now?
A large body of your work has focused on interpretations of traditional mythology. Does this reflect your own personal views of these myths? Are you just using them in the context of cultural archetypes? Or am I just an elitist academic who is over analyzing things.
Might want to try China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, it was up against American Gods for the Hugo award, very, very good book.
Have you ever heard of the indy-RPG Nobilis by Rebecca Sean Borgstrom? It's very heavily influenced by some of your works and in many ways seems to tap the same poetic themes of "Sandman," "American Gods," and "Harlequin Valentine." I'm curious to know what you think of it. What other works of fiction (conventional and otherwise) has your writing influenced?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
What exactly was your involvement with "Avalon" (movie by "Ghost in the Shell"-creator Mamoru Oshii)?
Several articles I've read have listed both you and Robert Heinlein as fans of James Branch Cabell. Since Mr. Heinlein is dead, I was wondering if you have my copy of "Beyond Life" and if so, could I have it back?
Seriously, what do you think of the current state of the language? Are we going to see nothing but Hemingway's curt, journalistic style for everything? Or is there still room in the lexicon for Cabell's florid shibboleths and six dimensional sentence structure?
[-- Trust the Monkey --]
Neil,
A friend of ours mentioned this to you at a book signing in California for "American Gods" when it came out but I doubt you'll remember.
I met my fiancee on a Yahoo Group about your work. So really I owe something very special to you. Expect your publicist to be forwarding you an invitation for our wedding next summer!
I just wanted to say thank you for writing some wonderful stuff that in its own twisted way brought two people together.
By the way, the new Sandman material is GREAT. It's good to get a little more "Destruction" in the mix. I'm sure the slashdot comment in his story was all a pretext to getting a coveted interview spot here.
"Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
You've done some rather startlingly good things in connection with other people, such as your work on Bablyon 5 ("Day of the Dead") based on your friendship with J. Michael Straczynski and your recent faux guidebook to "The Shambles" fictional neighbourhood of Chicago with that brilliant trickster, Gene Wolfe.
Of all such collaborations and work opportunites, which surprised you the most in terms of the work generated, and which one is still your favourite in terms of results?
Please read "The Sandman Companion," which covers this Frequently Asked Question very, very nicely. It's a wonderful book for anyone who loved the series, containing interviews with Neil Gaiman, the artists who drew the books, and several others along with very insightful essays on the meaning and symbolism behind many of the events in the series.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
This is a good add-on question to the parent poster's.
that J.K. Rowling basically stole the 'Books of Magic' story, took it from an urban dystopia into bloody Enid Blytonesque posh-kids land, made a bloody fortune and still hasn't included anyone as cool or edgy as John Constantine in any her books...???
great that nobody on /. has a clue what you are talking about - and its quite possibly the most annoying IP war in the history of copyrights.
Then again, these are Gaiman fans, not Moore fans.
somebody moderate the parent up, I'm fairly sure Neil has plenty to say on this topy.
Neil, Nevewhere was completely based on England. American Gods completely based on the U.S. Since you moved to the states, do you feel that your writing style has changed for better or worse by American culture?
_+_+__+_+_+_+_+_+_+++
when i moo u moo - just like that
Dear Neil.
I'm a great fan of your books.. at least some of them, but I feel that it's a pity that the world created in them is short-lived and ends right after the book ends - unlike what happens in Asimov's books, for example (I really would love to see more of the world in Neverwhere, for example). So would you create some sequels for me?
(People might refer me to Sandman, but they don't have this book in the library. Others might refer me to Pratchet's Discworld series.. but I tried reading it and couldn't continue past 4 books).
Oh, and another thing - could you fix me up with Tori Amos?
Thanks.
Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
Nave H. Weiss
What do you think of Thomas Pynchon?
Reading through "The Sandman" and "American Gods", I have been drawn to the underlying idea that the gods and myths of humanity are the children of our imagination. They can be loved, hated, comforted, or hurt, and they grow, change, and die off depending on how people believe in them. I know many others have actually adopted this perspective, and have gained a new love and respect for these "children" as a result of reading your works. Was the spread of this idea something you hoped/accounted for when writing them?
By reading this you acknowledge that you have read it.
Having won two Hugo awards (which you accepted in considerable style, especially the first!) do you think that they should be extended to include a specific category for graphic novels (or their constituent comics)?
PS. If I got the number wrong, I do so in the tradition of Spider Robinson!
Assuming you ever consented to a movie being produced from the Sandman series, would you see it being an animated film or a "live"-action like Spiderman?
Considering the following advice:
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought."
What did you seek?
Do you edit your writing so that it will be more easily penetrated by your audience? Do you have any opinions on your style in this regard? The style of other authors?
(Sorry, I'm a crappy interviewer, but I'm curious. Your writing is very approachable and leaves no one behind.)
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
The shelves of most science fiction sections are chockablock with fantasy novels (including your own). Almost no science fiction in the vein of Heinlein, Asimov, or Clarke is left. Is science fiction a dead genre?
As I udnerstand it, you were responsible for the english translation dialogue of Princess Mononoke. Now, at the risk of sounding like the cliche anime fan screaming "the sub was better" I wonder what made you make certain decisions. I watched an early fansub of the film that elected not to find translations for the names of the gods of the story - they were simply introduced as "a Tatagami" and "the Shishigiri". I found this a much more effective approach.
By contrast, your dub directly called them "a Demon God" and suchlike. When watching this version of the film with friends who hadn't seen the traditional dub, I was surprised at how confused they were by the film. The general problem seemed to be that terms like "Deer god" and "Demon god" created confusing concepts in their head, particularly in the religious folks. The idea that a god becomes a demon when consumed by hate was not intuitive in the story.
I wonder, did you consider the other approach? I found that, with simple untranslated names, there were no preconceptions to confuse the viewer.
Is there anything you might have done differently with that work?
Given your documented ability to cause your female fans to swoon, have you considered adding to your income by teaching men how to do so?
What is your stance on high fantasy versus the more modern fantasy, the sort that you've depicted intruding on everyday life? I have noticed that many of your current fantasy novels (Good Omens, Neverwhere, American Gods) fall under the latter category, and I was wondering if you would ever be interested in creating a completely fictional universe as a setting for a novel or series?
--- Bwah?
I'm the best IRC client ever.
I like the double-entendres and hidden puns.
Subject says it all really!
Dear Neil,
I noticed the mention of slashdot on Endless Nights and couldn't help but wonder what kind of online person you are. Is your online existence closely tied to your website or are you part of other communities and would one of them happen to be slashdot?
Additionally, I was wondering on what you think of the Internet as a means to present your work. Would you ever consider publishing your work over the internet, work obviously tailored to the nature of the network, instead of publishing it on paper? Would you think it may be possible that work presented online may have a different "edge" and effect on people, when compared to printed material?
On a totally different subject, it struck me as rather odd, that American Gods, having been titled from Galeano's Faces & Masks, featured far fewer "American" Gods than I would expect. Was this a conscious decision or was something that came naturally, being a European and having come in contact with more of the Old Continent's deities and legends?
As a final note, you must have noticed my nick. All I can say is that your book was the incentive to start reading books I had previously never considered of doing, even though I'd been following your work since roughly 1996.
Thanks for your work and the good times it gives us.
Best Regards,
Andreas
/. Where the truth
I've heard of a possible Death movie being made as far back as The High Cost of Living series, and I was wondering what the history of this was and if there's any possibility it's still happening?
Thnx for all your work, it's as interesting as it is inspirational.
Stephen King has hinted and in some cases outright said that many of his works are interconnected with his ongoing Dark Tower series, i.e., Rose Madder, Hearts in Atlantis, and about 40 million other references fans have picked up on. As a King fan (like you), I would have never picked up on them as I first read them, but now that King is beginning to draw things together, they're more visible. Does such interconnectedness exist between your tales, both inside and outside the Sandman mythos?
Are all of the characters in the Sandman mythos that you wrote ... both secondary and primary ... entirely D.C.'s? D.C. owns Daniel, yes, but if you cared to, would you be able to write something involving, say, Fiddler's Green, Wanda, or any of the other members of the rich mythos you created over the years without getting D.C.'s okay?
...
And if it all ended up going to D.C., how did that feel, during the actual process of creating and giving them life? Did you have any regrets knowing that these secondary characters you were dreaming up would be beyond your control? What are your thoughts on corporations owning and controlling your creations? This is perhaps even more interesting with you given the prolonged situations you went through with Todd McFarlane
I never had to take a Gaiman book and set fire to it in an extreme fit of rage because I couldn't tell what fuck the author was saying.
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
You said Dream "learns you must change or die". Delight changed to Delerium. I wondered when I first heard that quote if the personification of Dream was subject to that sort of fundamental change. Do you perceive a Morphing (pun intended)of 21st century imagination?
All right, my ammendment would ask for an elaboration on afforementioned beliefs/philosophy.
Although I realize after asking that I'm probably more interested in how he's arrived at them as much as what the specific beliefs are, and I realize fully that questions like this are often personal enough that they're not well discussed in a public discourse.
Libertarianism is rich wolves and poor sheep playing gambler's ruin for dinner.
...what about Elvis and Captain Kirk?
The 'American' gods of the book were pathetic rot. Gaiman should hang his head in shame.
Alot of people credit DC comics Vertigo line, and the Sandman series in particular for bringing a great deal of respect towards comics as a legitimate form of literature and for shedding the impression that most people get that comics are just for kids and only feature superheroes. My question is, how do you feel about the Vertigo line since Sandman ended and how the publics opinion of comics has changed since (if at all)? What do you think of the comics that have brought Vertigo even further since the Sandman, such as Preacher, 100 bullets, and Y the last man?
What advice would you give for new writers to the comic book field? Do you recommend trying to break into the more mainstream field and then carve out a niche once influence and a bibliography have been established? Or should a writer do the work he or she wants to do from the beginning at the risk of never having enough influence to get his or her work seen or even realized? Along the same lines, what, from your vantage, is the state of underground and alternative comics, and what kind of practices can be implemented by newcomers to move comics as a medium in a direction you'd like to see it go? (probable answer: be less longwinded)
Love your fiction and comics. Thanks.
happened alredy - Gainman sent a cease and desist letter to somebody who had scanned and posted the long out print Miracleman comics on the internet.
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read about it here
http://www.alanmoorefansite.com/news/aug2003.ht
Unbenownest to me - the full Alan Moore comic series of Miracleman scanned and posted to the web. These books i'm told are seminal, however they are out of print and due to legal wranglings I have never read them myself. Now here someone took the time, put them up there for all to see and what happens?
http://www.transmission3000.com/Miracleman/inde
I realize this is Neil Gainman, fine he's a good writer - I won't argue that - he isn't worth the salt off Alan Moores nuts, but he can write well enough compared to other writers. Now Mircleman is Alans truimph - he did the 16 issues that supposedly changed the industry. Alan pittied Neil and gave him legal rights and Neil went on to write 9 more issues. Now the whole legal thing is screwed up, the books are out print so people adapt and publish them themselves -
WHY the FUCK would this guy send a cease and desist letter - for something which isn't even his baby - for something that was given to him - why not just let the alan moore fans - read the books - appreciate the words - the pictures - isn't that what its about, instead of hanging on, hiding behind copyright laws and lawyers - c'mon!
Thats my question for Neil - Why this fuss over the posting of Mircalman stuff on the internet?
letter sent to the poster below.
- KENNETH F. LEVIN AND ASSOCIATES ATTORNEYS AT LAW
July 31, 2003
TO: captainATtransmission3000.com
Dear Captain,
Neil is on a whirlwind tour for his latest books (3!) both this month and next (1602, Endless Nights, and Wolves in the Wall); as you may know, I'm Neil's lawyer on the MiracleMan litigation, and he asked me if I could respond to your nice email. First, it needs saying that the passion of you and of so many others (including me) for the MiracleMan coda of material is the primary motivator for this litigation - as you know, Neil's avowed purpose is to get the material back before the public in beautiful format, and at an affordable price. And as you may also know, if Neil nets any money from this, it's all already promised to charity. When it comes to acting based on principle, just because it's, well, because it's just the right thing to do, Neil is one of our heroes. And deservedly so.
Now. Much as we appreciate the sentiments of your idea, it's a really bad idea, and would do much harm to the cause. First, much of the rights issue has already been decided: Alan Moore DOES have the copyrights to his work (the writing of Eclipse's MM 1-16), as does Neil for MM 17-24. Mark Buckingham owns the copyrights for the books he did with Neil, and various artists share copyrights on Alan's work. The question is now down to some trademark questions, and on that it is also now clear that Neil has at least 30%, and Gary Leach has most all of the rest (unless Eclipse really did have them, which I doubt, in which case Todd McFarlane may have an interest). But the point is that your publishing them on the web would do two things: (1) it dilutes the value of the copyrights for subsequent sales when they do get republished - and they will - which means charity will get hurt, and (2) it's a clear copyright violation, directly hurting the very people whose work you profess to admire, and flying in the face of the various artists' rights principles we're fighting so hard to protect. So I really need to ask you cease and desist now, with all due respect and appreciation for your good intentions. I realize that this means some people will have to wait a while for the stories to be in front of them in affordable form. But trust me, when they are, the wait will have been worth it.
Again, Captain, thanks for your support...
Best wishes,
-Ken F. Levin
CC: Neil Gaiman
Hey Neil . . . I just started reading your Sandman comics (I'm up to volume three) and today I got "Neverwhere" out of my school library. I'm always happy to get into a new author; I really admire your style. I first heard of you when I bought "Strange Little Girls", and I loved those single-paragraph stories that were really pure character development. This brings me to my question. I've never been on this website until just now so that I could ask you a question, so I don't know if this question is nerdy enough for you. As an avid writer and reader, I often take note of plot development versus character development. Which one of these do you prefer? I don't mean to make this a long post, but I really do love characters, and wouldn't mind at all if a book had no plot, as long as it had beleivable characters in it. Maybe you value both equally, but so far it seems to me that your expertise is with the characters. Thanks for looking at these questions; I wish you the best of luck in your future writing career. 3 Kacy Manahan
He was a great comic book artist and inker - worked on sandman, and in 1995 he killed himself - I never heard any explanation - what do you know about this tragedy?
Not so much a question, as an opening to talk about the Comic Book Leagal Defense Fund. Its obvously close to home for you, what can we do to help- esp. those of us without the monies to help with money?
Neil, judging from how all your work is so open to all walks of life and beliefs- have you ever been really aggressive confronted with with hostility over it, and how do you deal with it? I'd imagine you get a lot of the occasional satanic and deliquency flak that adheres to fantasy, comics, role-playing, and the sundry.
And what's your take on Alan Moore's magician status?
Hi Neil,
First off, about a year ago I happened across The Sandman books through the suggestion of a friend. After the first one (really the end and your portrayal of Death), I was hooked, and each month I'd buy myself a new one until I was done. Thanks for that -- I can't think of another author, recently, whose work was so engrossing that I had to own the entire set.
Between The Sandman and American Gods I noticed quite a few similarities (not in regards to your usage of the familiar mythic, but in other things) which has left me wondering: at the end of the day, how much of your writing is purely for the story, and how much of yourself creeps into your novels? The more I read The Sandman, the more I come to see the Endless not as seven distinct characters, but as seven facets of a single entity, not unlike how Frodo/Sam were one character in The Lord of the Rings. Were the Endless a window into your mind, into the facets of what you consider the core of yourself, or were they concocted purely for the story's sake?A corollary: how coincidental is it that Dream looks so much like you? (Or, maybe, that you look so much like Dream?) I think the same could be asked of you and Shadow, although Shadow's a big man and I honestly have no idea how tall you are.
- Charles Wardlaw
ministryofdoom.org/cloud
- Cloud
Hey Neil,
In Seasons of Mist, Lucifer closes hell and chooses to catch a few rays on a deck chair in Perth. An interesting endorsement for my home town, and being utterly biased, one I agree with - any particular reasons for selecting the West?
1) Don't answer any question with an etc in it. 2) Don't answer any question you've ever answered before. 3) Definitely respond to as many trolls as possible, on /. sometimes the trolls are the most insightful things on here in some perverse way.
4) Questions using the term genre are right out.
5) Consider responding to any comment with a misspelling that is also a valid english word with an eye towards answering the question the misspelling asks, not the intended comment.
6) Comment frequently on Anonymous Cowards questionable lifestyle choices if so inclined.
7) Definitely answer any question followed by a response that resembles "I will cry if this question gets asked." See the Gaiman vs Pratchett professional wrestling question for an excellent example.
8) Respond only cryptically to any question involving a serious social issue. Consult the I Ching for details.
9) Seriously consider avoiding questions that use the words impact or influence.
These are really helpful hints for anyone doing any kind of interview on /. actually. Kudos to me for coming up with them. I am a genius of Daliesque proportions.
And that reminded me of an all-out parody of Vertigo's comics (including, of course, the Endless), written by Steve Gerber in his latest Howard the Duck series.
So, I guess my question would be... what do you think of parodies of yourself and your characters? I'm aware that you'er friends with Dave Sim, who turned his Roach into the Sandman-esque Swoon in his "Mothers and Daughters" arc of Cerebus, but what about others? I'm asking about legitimate parody/homage, none of this Harry Potter conspiracy stuff...
Is there any hope that Miracle Man will ever continue beyond the first issue of "The Silver Age"?
I think Pixar could do an excellent job animating "Coraline", in Dave McKean's style.
Has Gaiman ever talked to Pixar about doing their first scary movie?
Of course they don't want someone posting MiracleMan on the internet, they're in the middle of a legal battle with Todd McFarlane to secure their rights (McFarlane tried to 'steal' the MiracleMan rights by filing for the copyright behind Moore's/Gaimain's/Etc's backs, which if left undisputed would have worked).
If you actually READ the letter from Ken Levin that you posted, you might actually be able to post an informed opinion in the future.
As an utterly stereotypical teenager, music plays a heavy role in my life. Does music have any influence in your work? Do you find it distracting or does it increase productivity?
~To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. -Yann Martel
So.. what do you think of Transhumanism/ists, and their/the extropians' theory of the Singularity, and the possibility of reaching this supposed 'Omega Point' within the next generation? And do you want it to happen, or not, and why?
;)
(no, really, I say this in all seriousness, stop moderating me 'funny', dammit!
Neil, Your book American Gods has several "newer gods", such as the internet and media, that seem rather cold, cruel and calculating. A few also seem to reflect how Americans (or people from all over the world for that matter), in this day and age, react to wonder and amazement, as in the example of Mr. Town from "The Spook Show" suggesting that strange phenomenon of all sorts could be "explained" while conversing with the book's main character, Shadow, at the center of America. Do you believe in this day and age there is a dying interest in what could be referred to as "wonder and amazement", or perhaps a sense of apathy, that drowns out our natural curiostiy, and if so were these "newer gods" reflections of this?
Did you ever have problems growing up because you have the last name that sounds like "gaymen". How did you deal with it? (I have a similar problem at school because my last name is "Azmonkees")
Yours truly,
Flocka
Given that the original Sandman seemed to shine before it hit the stratosphere (ie: to issue 30), and seemed to wane a fair bit since then:
1) Do you feel free'er with people not having the expectations of any comic series.
and, blatently not related:
2) Fancy doing Hellblazer for a bit. Strikes me as Constantines came across well in Sandman.
Mr. Gaiman,
Your older work - "Signal to Noise" and "Violent Cases" come to mind - was more grounded in reality. After "Sandman" everything you do has a massive dose of fantasy.
Why is it so? Aren't you intereste in "ordinary people in ordinary situations" anymore? Do you feel trapped by the "Sandman" success?
Also, are there any plans for a "Signal to Noise" reprint?
Thank you very much.
I can imagine how limiting that must feel as the writer, and the result, IMnvHO, was an efficient piece of craft that by necessity lacked the 'oomph' of Gaiman's usual artistry. I don't know how much room there could have been for his creative input, given the limitations.
It is noteworthy that he said he wouldn't take such an assignment again.
Neil,
Will Dave McKean be creating any of the art for the new Sandman series?
Jason (Calgary, Alberta Canada)
Mr. Gaiman, recently I've been reading about Banned and Challenged Books Week on your online journal. Have any of your novels, graphic or otherwise, been banned or challenged? By whom and why?
Beauty will lure a man into bed, but it won't bring him back a second time, unless he's awfully young or very stupid.
Having read the full Sandman collection, American Gods, most of Neverwhere and Smoke and Mirrors, I find a common philosophical/religious overtone among them: that human belief directly shapes reality. Specifically American Gods and Sandman share this, where gods and the like are empowered and enabled by those humans who worship them (and are weak and world-weary when they are forgotten). I wonder, what is the basis for this worldview? What literature have you consumed to develop this conception? Do you personally hold this concept to be true?
Can you change your last name guy? My side still hurts from laughing at it.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I like to go out dancin'
My baby loves a bunch of authors
My heart's so broke and bleedin'
Baby's just sittin' there doin' some readin'
~"My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors" Moxy Fruvous
I was the double amputee wearing the radial tires.
I haven't found the news anywhere. Can you provide some links or sources online?
If Im not mistaken, Neil wrote a short bit about simcity 2000 a few years ago
I did read it jerky - and the point is the legal wranglings have been going on for a decade since Eclipse went out of business - - I just want to read the stories and I don't think its beyond thought that they be put on the net to allow people to do that.