Hanging Out… Review – Library Journal

From the July 1st Library Journal:

McCabe, Joseph. Hanging Out with the Dream King: Conversations with Neil Gaiman and His Collaborators, Fantagraphics. 2005. 300p. ISBN 1-56097-617-9. pap. $17.95. GRAPHIC ARTS

Hy Bender’s The Sandman Companion (1999) featured extensive interviews with writer Neil Gaiman on the creation of his acclaimed Sandman series, along with commentary from Caiman’s collaborators on the work. This new volume reverses that balance-bookended by two interviews with Gaiman, it is made up mainly of interviews with others who have worked with Gaiman over the years, including much of Sandman’s creative staff. Through them, the reader gets a window into the other side of the creative struggles and joys that brought Sandman to life. McCabe also covers more recent Sandman work (interviewing Yoshitaka Amano, artist of Sandman: The Dream Hunters) and goes beyond Sandman, talking with other Gaiman collaborators like Terry Pratchett (Good Omens),Andy Kubert (1602),Alice Cooper (The Last Temptation), and Tori Amos (whom Gaiman helped conceptualize the album Strange Little Girls). The interviews focus on working with Gaiman but touch on other aspects of the subjects’ careers as well. An interesting, even entertaining, look at one of comics’ best-loved writers, this is recommended for all libraries.
–Steve Raiteri