Clippings

From the March 14 <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com"Publishers Weekly:

Melinda
Neil Gaiman and Dagmara Matuszak
Hill House (491 Illington Rd., Ossining, N.Y. 10562), $90 (64p) ISBN 0-931-771-04-8

The heroine of the latest book by Gaiman (Sandman, American Gods) is a jaded young girl, playing in a ruined urban landscape populated by rats, crows and sinister-looking pike. Gaiman approaches the story as if he were writing a children’s book, using rhythm and rhyme to move readers from page to page. Fortunately, he knows that the best children’s stories – like Grimm’s fairy tales – are appealing in no small part because they’re dark. The tale is really more of a mood piece than a full-fledged story, but that atmosphere shows off newcomer Matuszak’s art to great advantage. Matuszak combines b&w ink illustrations with color plate inserts to create the effect of an illuminated manuscript. Her linework has a sketchy quality that nicely conveys the story’s gritty, urban surroundings, and the washed, muted colors of the inserts. Hill House has done a superlative job presenting the book, making it an art object in its own right. Heavy, flecked paper showcases the b&w illustrations, and watercolor inserts bring the most memorable elements into stark relief. The price tag for such a slim volume is hefty, but the book includes a plate signed by Gaiman, so Gaiman completists with deep pocketbooks will find it worth the asking price. (Mar.)

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From the March 14th Macleans:

Chris Landreth, 43, the Toronto animator who won an Oscar
for Ryan — his short about Ryan Larkin, a former Oscar
nominee who now panhandles in Montreal — told us about his
favourite adult comics.

1. Watchmen, by Alan Moore.
“A precursor to The Incredibles — albeit darkly comic.
It’s about superheroes who work for the government but are
forced by litigation to blend into society and get regular
jobs. That is, until they’re called back into action.”

2. The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman.
“This 2,000-pager is based on seven siblings called the
Endless (Death, Delirium, Destruction, Despair, Dream,
Destiny and Desire), representing all of what humanity
experiences or awaits. Death is a cheerful, sensible goth
woman.”

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From the March 13th Edmonton Journal:

…As in any segment of the publishing world, many works are
mediocre, but there are more and more gems to be discovered
in the burgeoning racks of graphic novels, many of which
have found a place in mainline bookstores.

The following roundup presents a handful of the exceptional
graphic novels released over the past four months:

…Also in the must-read category, but in a much lighter
vein, is Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli’s Creatures of the
Night (Dark House Comics, 48 pp., $16.50), a dreamy book
rendered in fine romantic style and boasting a
straightforward interpretation of two classic Gaiman
horror-tinged short stories….
–Gilbert A. Bouchard