Neil Gaiman
| Neil Gaiman | |
 | |
| Name | Neil Gaiman |
| Race | Human |
| Age | b. 10th November 1960 CE |
| Occupation | Author |
| Physical appearance | |
| Residence | Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | Three |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Appearances | |
| Books | |
| Cameos | Good Omens (Radio Drama), Terry Pratchett: Back in Black, Brand New Baby Smell (Music Video), Good Omens (TV Series) |
Neil Richard Gaiman (/'geɪmən/) (born 10 November 1960 in Portchester, England) is the author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many comic books. As of 2005, he lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He collaborated with Terry Pratchett on the novel Good Omens, which is in contemporary setting in our world. His most famous work in his own right is the phenomenally successful Sandman series (see below). He is also one of those British writers who Terry had in mind when he coined the phrase H.P. Lovecraft Holiday Fun Club.
Notable Works
Neil has had a long career and has written many works including short stories, novels, comics and screenplays. Some of the notable works from his bibliography include:
Comics:
- Violent Cases 1987
- Black Orchid 1988
- Sandman 1989
- The Books of Magic 1990
Novels:
- Neverwhere 1996
- Stardust 1999
- American Gods 2001
- Coraline 2002
- Anansi Boys 2005
- The Graveyard Book 2009
Collected Short Fiction:
- Smoke and Mirrors 1998
- Fragile Things 2006
- Trigger Warning 2015
Good Omens
Neil is one of the co-authors of the novel Good Omens with Terry Pratchett and has regularly contributed to anything relating to the novel including some independent work. The concept Good Omens was originally thought up by Neil Gaiman with the working title of 'William the Antichrist.' Neil showed this concept to Terry Pratchett who then asked for Neil to either sell him the work or for the two to collaborate on the book; with Gaiman opting for the later choice. At a later date Neil and Terry discussed ideas for a sequel to Good Omens with the possible title of '668: The Neighbour of the Beast.'
In 2004 the book was reissued with some extra content by the two authors including a short essay by Neil: 'Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett' and one by Terry: 'Terry Pratchett on Neil Gaiman.'
Gaiman wrote a script based on a potential Good Omens film published in 2004 called A Screenplay. This book was published by Hill House and was not sold; 552 copies were given to subscribers of their 'Authors Preferred Series.'
Crowley & Aziraphale’s New Year’s Resolutions is some additional material relating to Good Omens that was released on the authors extra section on the HarperCollins website. This part of the website no longer exists but the material is now available on Neil's Tumblr page.
Made a brief cameo appearance, along with Terry Pratchett, in the Good Omens BBC radio adaptation.
Neil Gaiman is one of the producers and main writers of the Good Omens TV miniseries. The Blank Corporation, which handles the rights to Gaiman's multimedia works, is a partner in the adaptation along with Amazon, BBC and Narrativia. Gaiman started the TV series after Terry Pratchett's death as the project was something the two had wanted to happen for some time. He also wrote two companion books to the series The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion (with Matt Whyman and Rob Wilkins) and The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book.
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's estate approved the release of a new edition of Good Omens with revised text: The Definitive Good Omens.
Other Contributions To Terry Pratchett's Works
- 'Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett,' Good Omens 2004 reissue, reprinted in The Terry Pratchett Diary 2016.
- 'Terry Pratchett by Neil Gaiman,' foreword to A Slip of the Keyboard 2014, reprinted in Terry Pratchett's Memorial Folio 2016.
- Introduction to Mort 2019 reissue.
Articles about Neil Gaiman:
- 'Neil Gaiman: Amazing Master Conjurer,' programme book of Boskone 39 2002, reprinted in A Slip of the Keyboard 2014.
- 'Terry Pratchett on Neil Gaiman,' Good Omens 2004 reissue.
The Sandman Annotation
Due to Morphic resonance, many of the same themes that occur in TP's work are evident in Gaiman's. These include:
- "The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone" as the three Witches (although Shakespeare has a lot to answer for here, as do the Ancient Greeks)
- Crusty manservants for immortal characters (in this case, Death's younger brother Morpheus the King of Dreams)
- The Liber Paginarum Fulvarum (called the Liber Fulvarum Paginarum in Sandman)
- Death, Destiny, Desire, Despair &c as ageless beings - the Endless - just another set of your basic anthropomorphic personifications...
- The manipulations in human affairs by external agencies that end in mayhem
- Parallel dimensions, alternate realities, things on the other side
- Bickering daemons made of odds and ends (all long-leggity beasties with horses' heads and octopus tentacles)
References
This article contains material from Wikipedia, the editable online encyclopedia.
External Links
- Neil Gaiman on Wikipedia.
- Neil Gaiman's homepage including the author's blog
- Neil Gaiman's homepage (in German)
- Official Facebook Page
- Twitter Page
- Tumblr Page
- Crowley & Aziraphale’s New Year’s Resolutions
- Neil Gaiman-IMBD