Neil Gaiman: Difference between revisions

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A contemporary British writer of stories. Of all known kinds.
A contemporary British writer of stories. Of all known kinds.


He's especially famous for his [[Urban Fantasy]] works, including the renowned ''[[The Sandman]]'' comic series, which was the first (and only) work in its medium to win a World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story <ref> To prevent it happening again, they changed the rules so that comic books had to be relegated to their own special category, and couldn't be judged alongside prose works</ref>. Two of his novels, ''[[Stardust (Literature)|Stardust]]'' and ''[[Coraline (Literature)|Coraline]],'' have been made into movies. He's also written scripts for other projects, such as ''[[Mirror Mask]]'' by [[Dave McKean]] and the ''[[Neverwhere]]'' TV series. In addition, he worked on the translated script of ''[[Princess Mononoke]]''. Most recently, his young adult work ''[[The Graveyard Book (Literature)|The Graveyard Book]]'' became the first book to win both the [[Newbery Medal]] and the [[Carnegie Medal]].
He's especially famous for his [[Urban Fantasy]] works, including the renowned ''[[The Sandman]]'' comic series, which was the first (and only) work in its medium to win a World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story <ref> To prevent it happening again, they changed the rules so that comic books had to be relegated to their own special category, and couldn't be judged alongside prose works</ref>. Two of his novels, ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'' and ''[[Coraline (novel)|Coraline]],'' have been made into movies. He's also written scripts for other projects, such as ''[[Mirror Mask]]'' by [[Dave McKean]] and the ''[[Neverwhere]]'' TV series. In addition, he worked on the translated script of ''[[Princess Mononoke]]''. Most recently, his young adult work ''[[The Graveyard Book]]'' became the first book to win both the [[Newbery Medal]] and the [[Carnegie Medal]].


A masterful storyteller, he excels at building believable, yet fantastic settings for his stories. His works are marked by extensive use of mythological references and symbolism, often times in "modern" settings. Also a notable [[One of Us]], and despite his work's breathtaking popularity, he has remained remarkably humble and personable, managing to remain faintly bemused every time he finds hundreds of people waiting for him to sign their books or whatnot. Also, he's a [http://media.whosay.com/6734/6734_la.jpg highly respectable marsh-wiggle] with a ''very'' [[Nice Hat]]. [[Adorkable]]? Quite.
A masterful storyteller, he excels at building believable, yet fantastic settings for his stories. His works are marked by extensive use of mythological references and symbolism, often times in "modern" settings. Also a notable [[One of Us]], and despite his work's breathtaking popularity, he has remained remarkably humble and personable, managing to remain faintly bemused every time he finds hundreds of people waiting for him to sign their books or whatnot. Also, he's a [http://media.whosay.com/6734/6734_la.jpg highly respectable marsh-wiggle] with a ''very'' [[Nice Hat]]. [[Adorkable]]? Quite.


Gaiman has some affection for [[Canon Defilement]]- and is living proof that this particularly negative [[Tropes Are Tools|trope isn't bad]]. He described ''[http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/stories/snow-glass-apples Snow, Glass, Apples],'' a [[Perspective Flip]] of "[[Snow White (Literature)|Snow White]]", as a mindvirus that he hoped would prevent the reader from ever experiencing the original innocently again. His [[External Retcon]] of ''[[Beowulf (Literature)|Beowulf]]'' pulls a similar trick. ''[http://shedletsky.com/blog/the-god-who-loves-you The Problem of Susan]'' is something of a meta-twist on the concept, riffing off of Susan's exile from [[The Chronicles of Narnia|Narnia]]: her embrace of adolescence means that, ''retroactively,'' she experienced the original adventure as a [[Darker and Edgier]] pagan allegory. He is also fairly preoccupied with, though not necessarily an apologist for, [[Muse Abuse]].
Gaiman has some affection for [[Canon Defilement]]- and is living proof that this particularly negative [[Tropes Are Tools|trope isn't bad]]. He described ''[http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/stories/snow-glass-apples Snow, Glass, Apples],'' a [[Perspective Flip]] of "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]", as a mindvirus that he hoped would prevent the reader from ever experiencing the original innocently again. His [[External Retcon]] of ''[[Beowulf]]'' pulls a similar trick. ''[http://shedletsky.com/blog/the-god-who-loves-you The Problem of Susan]'' is something of a meta-twist on the concept, riffing off of Susan's exile from [[The Chronicles of Narnia|Narnia]]: her embrace of adolescence means that, ''retroactively,'' she experienced the original adventure as a [[Darker and Edgier]] pagan allegory. He is also fairly preoccupied with, though not necessarily an apologist for, [[Muse Abuse]].


[[Stephen King]] thinks [[Neil Gaiman]] may well be the greatest storyteller alive today, and has said so publicly. Considering this is [[Stephen King]] talking, that's saying something.
[[Stephen King]] thinks [[Neil Gaiman]] may well be the greatest storyteller alive today, and has said so publicly. Considering this is [[Stephen King]] talking, that's saying something.
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He's married to [[Amanda Palmer]] of The Dresden Dolls. He has a [http://twitter.com/#!/neilhimself Twitter account] and a [http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/ Tumblr blog].
He's married to [[Amanda Palmer]] of The Dresden Dolls. He has a [http://twitter.com/#!/neilhimself Twitter account] and a [http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/ Tumblr blog].


Sung a song about Jeanne d'Arc with [[Ben Folds (Music)|Ben Folds]] on piano. [http://music.amandapalmer.net/track/the-problem-with-saints It is magnificent.]
Sung a song about Jeanne d'Arc with [[Ben Folds]] on piano. [http://music.amandapalmer.net/track/the-problem-with-saints It is magnificent.]


He once delivered [http://vimeo.com/42372767 an awe-inspiring (and quite hilarious) commencement speech] to the 2012 graduates of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
He once delivered [http://vimeo.com/42372767 an awe-inspiring (and quite hilarious) commencement speech] to the 2012 graduates of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
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* [[Deconstruction Crossover]]
* [[Deconstruction Crossover]]
* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]
* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]
* [[Did We Just Have Tea With Cthulhu?]]
* [[Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?]]
* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]
* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]
* [[Fairy Tale]]
* [[Fairy Tale]]
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== Comic Books ==
== Comic Books ==
* ''[[The Sandman]]'', ''Death: The High Cost of Living'', ''Death: The Time of Your Life'', ''Sandman: the Dream Hunters'' (a short story illustrated by [[Yoshitaka Amano]]), and ''The Sandman: Endless Nights''.
* ''[[The Sandman]]'', ''Death: The High Cost of Living'', ''Death: The Time of Your Life'', ''Sandman: the Dream Hunters'' (a short story illustrated by [[Yoshitaka Amano]]), and ''The Sandman: Endless Nights''.
* ''[[Black Orchid (Comic Book)|Black Orchid]]''
* ''[[Black Orchid]]''
* One issue of ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]''
* One issue of ''[[Hellblazer]]''
* ''Violent Cases''
* ''Violent Cases''
* ''Mr. Punch: The Tragical Comedy or the Comical Tragedy''
* ''Mr. Punch: The Tragical Comedy or the Comical Tragedy''
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* ''Signal to Noise''
* ''Signal to Noise''
* ''The Case in the Departure of Miss Finch'': Began as a short story.
* ''The Case in the Departure of Miss Finch'': Began as a short story.
* ''[[The Last Temptation (Comic Book)|The Last Temptation]]'': A collaboration with Alice Cooper.
* ''[[The Last Temptation]]'': A collaboration with Alice Cooper.
* ''Eternals''
* ''Eternals''
* ''[[Batman (Comic Book)|Batman]]: [[Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader?]]?''
* ''[[Batman]]: [[Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?]]?''
* ''[[Metamorpho (Comic Book)|Metamorpho The Element Man]]'' in ''[[Wednesday Comics]]''
* ''[[Metamorpho|Metamorpho The Element Man]]'' in ''[[Wednesday Comics]]''
* Gaiman also came up with the concept that Tekno Comix eventually turned into a small line of inter-linked titles. The original pitch differed from the end result in a number of respects, to Gaiman's displeasure.
* Gaiman also came up with the concept that Tekno Comix eventually turned into a small line of inter-linked titles. The original pitch differed from the end result in a number of respects, to Gaiman's displeasure.
* Wrote the story "Wordsworth" for the ''[[Clive Barker]]'s [[Hellraiser]]'' comic series; it was recently republished in the short stories collection ''Hellbound Hearts''.
* Wrote the story "Wordsworth" for the ''[[Clive Barker]]'s [[Hellraiser]]'' comic series; it was recently republished in the short stories collection ''Hellbound Hearts''.
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== Novels ==
== Novels ==
* ''[[Neverwhere]]''
* ''[[Neverwhere]]''
* ''[[Stardust (Literature)|Stardust]]''
* ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]''
* ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'', in collaboration with [[Terry Pratchett]]
* ''[[Good Omens]]'', in collaboration with [[Terry Pratchett]]
* ''[[Coraline (Literature)|Coraline]]''
* ''[[Coraline (novel)|Coraline]]''
* ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]''
* ''[[American Gods]]''
* ''[[Anansi Boys (Literature)|Anansi Boys]]''
* ''[[Anansi Boys]]''
* ''[[Interworld]]'', in collaboration with Michael Reaves
* ''[[Interworld]]'', in collaboration with Michael Reaves
* ''[[The Graveyard Book (Literature)|The Graveyard Book]]''
* ''[[The Graveyard Book]]''
* ''[[Literature/Odd And The Frost Giants|Odd And The Frost Giants]]''
* ''[[Literature/Odd And The Frost Giants|Odd And The Frost Giants]]''
* ''[[Mirror Mask]]'' - the novelization
* ''[[Mirror Mask]]'' - the novelization
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== Films ==
== Films ==
* ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' (he wrote the [[Woolseyism|Woolseyist]] script)
* ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' (he wrote the [[Woolseyism|Woolseyist]] script)
* ''[[Stardust (Film)|Stardust]]''
* ''[[Stardust (film)|Stardust]]''
* ''[[Beowulf (Film)|Beowulf]]'' (the 2007 film)
* ''[[Beowulf (film)|Beowulf]]'' (the 2007 film)
* ''[[Coraline (Film)|Coraline]]''
* ''[[Coraline (animation)|Coraline]]''
* ''[[Mirror Mask]]''
* ''[[Mirror Mask]]''
* ''Death: The High Cost of Living''. (In "[[Development Hell|development]]", but IMDb puts its release in 2013.
* ''Death: The High Cost of Living''. (In "[[Development Hell|development]]", but IMDb puts its release in 2013.
* ''[[Anansi Boys (Literature)|Anansi Boys]]'' (upcoming, no due date, but he has at least finished and handed in a rough draft of the script)
* ''[[Anansi Boys]]'' (upcoming, no due date, but he has at least finished and handed in a rough draft of the script)




== Live Action TV ==
== Live Action TV ==
* He has written an episode for the 2011 series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32 E4 The Doctors Wife|The Doctor's Wife]]".
* He has written an episode for the 2011 series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32 E4 The Doctors Wife|The Doctor's Wife]]".
* Wrote an episode for ''[[Babylon Five]]'': "Day of the Dead".
* Wrote an episode for ''[[Babylon 5]]'': "Day of the Dead".
** Especially notable as the ''only'' episode of the show not written by J. Michael Straczynski after season two.
** Especially notable as the ''only'' episode of the show not written by J. Michael Straczynski after season two.
** The Gaim, one of the alien races in ''Babylon Five'', is named for him. And just to hammer the homage further, they all strongly resemble [[The Sandman|Dream Of The Endless]].
** The Gaim, one of the alien races in ''Babylon Five'', is named for him. And just to hammer the homage further, they all strongly resemble [[The Sandman|Dream Of The Endless]].
* ''[[Neverwhere]]''.
* ''[[Neverwhere]]''.
* ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' upcoming in 2013 [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|from HBO as a miniseries.]]
* ''[[American Gods]]'' upcoming in 2013 [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|from HBO as a miniseries.]]


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 16:11, 8 April 2014

/wiki/Neil Gaimancreator
Neil "Scary Trousers" Gaiman, master of modern horror[1]
Everybody has a secret world inside of them. I mean everybody. All of the people in the whole world — no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds… Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.
—The Sandman

A contemporary British writer of stories. Of all known kinds.

He's especially famous for his Urban Fantasy works, including the renowned The Sandman comic series, which was the first (and only) work in its medium to win a World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story [2]. Two of his novels, Stardust and Coraline, have been made into movies. He's also written scripts for other projects, such as Mirror Mask by Dave McKean and the Neverwhere TV series. In addition, he worked on the translated script of Princess Mononoke. Most recently, his young adult work The Graveyard Book became the first book to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal.

A masterful storyteller, he excels at building believable, yet fantastic settings for his stories. His works are marked by extensive use of mythological references and symbolism, often times in "modern" settings. Also a notable One of Us, and despite his work's breathtaking popularity, he has remained remarkably humble and personable, managing to remain faintly bemused every time he finds hundreds of people waiting for him to sign their books or whatnot. Also, he's a highly respectable marsh-wiggle with a very Nice Hat. Adorkable? Quite.

Gaiman has some affection for Canon Defilement- and is living proof that this particularly negative trope isn't bad. He described Snow, Glass, Apples, a Perspective Flip of "Snow White", as a mindvirus that he hoped would prevent the reader from ever experiencing the original innocently again. His External Retcon of Beowulf pulls a similar trick. The Problem of Susan is something of a meta-twist on the concept, riffing off of Susan's exile from Narnia: her embrace of adolescence means that, retroactively, she experienced the original adventure as a Darker and Edgier pagan allegory. He is also fairly preoccupied with, though not necessarily an apologist for, Muse Abuse.

Stephen King thinks Neil Gaiman may well be the greatest storyteller alive today, and has said so publicly. Considering this is Stephen King talking, that's saying something.

He's married to Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls. He has a Twitter account and a Tumblr blog.

Sung a song about Jeanne d'Arc with Ben Folds on piano. It is magnificent.

He once delivered an awe-inspiring (and quite hilarious) commencement speech to the 2012 graduates of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Tropes of which Neil Gaiman is an example:

Tropes common in his work:

His works include:

Comic Books


Novels


Short story anthologies

  • Smoke & Mirrors
  • Angels & Visitations
  • Fragile Things
  • M is for Magic
  • How to Talk to Girls at Parties


Picture books

  • The Wolves in the Walls
  • The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
  • Blueberry Girl
  • The Dangerous Alphabet
  • Crazy Hair
  • Instructions


Films


Live Action TV

  1. ↑ epithet and nickname given by Alan Moore
  2. ↑ To prevent it happening again, they changed the rules so that comic books had to be relegated to their own special category, and couldn't be judged alongside prose works
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman?oldid=900539"