Neil Gaiman
The Books of Magic
In
this review, I am referring to the limited series of the Books of Magic,
now available in book form.
This series, as with most of Gaiman's work, is an excellent blend of
interesting characters, fantastic images, and absorbing storylines. In
it, we follow a boy named Tim as he is led on a journey by four of the
DC/Vertigo universe's foremost experts on magic: The Phantom Stranger,
Doctor Occult, Mr. E ("Did you think of that yourself?"), and, of course,
John Constantine.
In general, the characters in this book are vivid and interesting,
and the story, as seen from Tim's perspective, is enrapturing (I don't
know if that is a word but hey - it is now...). In general, this series
is excellent. Plus, it features the single greatest John Constantine scene
of all time. Read it - I guarantee you'll know which one I'm talking about...
The Sandman
(Available in single issues or trade paperback collections...)
Well,
the Sandman series has finally drawn to a close with issue 75 last month.
With its passing, I feel that what very well may be the single greatest
comic book series of all time has come to an end.
The Sandman series is beautifully drawn, excellently written, and,
in general, wonderful reading. The "Midsummer Night's Dream" issue won
the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story several years ago (whereupon
those wankers changed the rules so no comic book could win it ever again.
They were afraid. With good reason...). There are many amazing issues,
from the beginning to the end of the series, and all of them are, at the
very worst, very very good.
Neil Gaiman will always have my undying respect for creating a comic
book as powerful, funny, poigniant, introspective, and interesting as the
Sandman. He single-handedly changed the way people look at comics, and
very much for the better.
These books are, in my opinion, among the best works on this page.
I could not recommend them more highly.