For fans of the author Neil Gaiman, the idea of needing a beginner’s guide may sound ridiculous: he’s been a cult hero for decades. His novels, short stories, and comic books have won all kinds of awards and prizes. But, in the manner of other genre icons who amassed a specific group of fans prior to mainstream success, his omnipresence might seem sudden to many others.
He has several books coming out over the next few weeks — Unnatural Creatures: Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman (which came out earlier this week, on April 23), Make Good Art (May 14), How to Talk to Girls at Parties (May 18) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (June 18). A BBC radio-play adaptation of his novel Neverwhere premiered in March. And there’s more coming.
So, to clear up any confusion about this prolific author, TIME provided this starter guide for Neil Gaiman.
When I was in college Chad (some guy I knew) kept mentioning the Sandman series to me, but it really wasn’t my kind of comic (so I ignored him). But one day in the comic shop ran into Chad and he picked up the latest issue of Sandman (which was the start of the “Brief Lives” storyline) and stuck it into my pile. I’ve reread the Sandman series several times and I still feel that was the best place for me to start reading it 🙂
I read some Neil Gaiman stuff before that and liked it (Books of Magic, Black Orchid) but hadn’t made the connection it was the same author. I’ve read most of his stuff now, gone to see him speak (and met him) and can’t believe I almost missed out on that by not reading Sandman.
Gary, I am a huge Sandman fan, if you liked that series you will love Locke and Key by Joe Hill, give it a try.