Customer Reviews

Creatures Of The Night

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've never read Neil Gaiman before, this is not the place to start. These are illustrated adaptations of two of his stories collected in Smoke and Mirrors. If you're more interested in his comic work, read Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes. If you like novels, start with American Gods.

If you just read Gaiman but aren't a collector, as I've said, these are in Smoke and Mirrors. On the other hand, if you love the beautiful art of Michael Zulli (whom I've loved since the days of Puma Blues) and want to see him adapt two of Gaiman's stories, you won't be disappointed.

To see more adaptations of Gaiman's stories, check out Murder Mysteries and Harlequin Valentine.

Able to spin great tales from the endless realms of
human dream and natural wonder, Neil Gaiman is among
the very finest of writers around today. Touching
the bonds between the mundane and the marvelous, with
a flair for language and character which can touch
gently and brusquely arouse, often at the same time,
Gaiman's scope unflinchingly draws our particpation
in some of the most illustrious tales ever told.
Those who've experienced his gripping work in novels
such as AMERICAN GODS, haunting teleplays such as
BABYLON 5's "Day Of The Dead", or Sequential landmarks
such as THE SANDMAN and the playfully-beckoning 1602,
know full well what a Grandmaster of Literature Neil
Gaiman is.

Yet, an area which Gaiman is drawing renewed attention
is the area of the illustrated narrative. Fresh ground
was broken when Gaiman and the superb illustrator Charles
Vess redefined Faerie lore with the award-winning STARDUST.
Now, with the visual depth and engraver's genius of
illustrator Michael Zulli, Gaiman strikes deep with Dark
Horse Comics' CREATURES OF THE NIGHT.

The handsome hardcover offers a pair of tantalizing
vignettes which unveil elusive tableaus of what we cannot
see, or often refuse to face. With word balloons absent
from all but two strategially-placed pages, the result
is a daring read for the attentive spirit, and curious soul.
In "The Price", a black cat's steadfast ordeal is the
window into a deeper mystery as old as Time itself. "The
Daughter Of Owls" peers vividly into essential places
where the wayward and lustful dare not go. Each tale
is delivered with a seamless intimacy which belies
the looming, often terrifying issues at stake.

An artist whose work spans across entire idioms, Neil
Gaiman is a cunning storyteller with much to tell. Those
who think Gaiman's gifts are fit only for any one title,
or should be limited to any one field, do the author -and
themselves- a grave injustice.

Enter evening, reading slowly, mindful of all paths......

Granted this book is short (note: 48 pages) and consists only of two stories. But they are new and they are good stories. Gaiman does what he does so well- weaves a tale so well that you're captivated until the end (no matter how long or short the story is).

If you're an avid reader of his online journal, you may recognize the black cat in the first story- which has a shocker near the end. I had a, "Whoaaa... No way, man" moment. And the second reads a lot like an old Grimm fairy tale- the kind that doesn't necessarily end "happily ever after" for everyone. And Zulli's artwork is wonderful in both stories.

I collect all of Gaiman's work, so this was a no brainer purchase for me. If you're new to his work, maybe try Murder Mysteries or Stardust or definitely the Sandman series first. You'll get hooked, I promise. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars strictly because it was so short. I wouldn't have minded waiting for a hardcover with at least five stories of the same length as these two. Because then the book would have lasted longer than half an hour!

I bought this for my Girlfriend who is a huge Neil Gaiman fan and she loves it, great story and the book arrived quickly and in excellent condition. All in all, I am pleased with this purchase and would buy from here again.

"Creatures of the NIght" takes two short stories Gaiman wrote for his collection "Smoke and Mirrors" and reconstitutes them into comic book form by artist Michael Zulli. "The Price" is about a black cat that protects a family from the Devil night after night without the family realising and "The Daughter of Owls" is about a beautiful girl locked away who defends herself one night against possible rapists, using magic means.

I've read "Smoke and Mirrors" and, though I remember them, they weren't the strongest ones in the collection and so they make average comic book stories. Illustrated nicely by Zulli using canvas and oils, it's an alright read but seems more of a cashcow for Gaiman, double dipping old stories into new books.

To be honest the stories inside this book are a nice reading, also the illustrations are pretty good too.

But they aren't as good as other Gaiman's works.

They are nice REALLY light reading, but don't expect a novel-like book.

...so I don't really know anything about the book, but my niece had it on her Wish List and all I know is that she really likes it.

I am a big fan of Gaiman's novels and have never read the Sandman series. This is the first graphic novel I have ever read and was only moderately intrigued. "The Price" was an interesting short story and the graphics helped, however, "The Daughter of Owls" was less impressive and I didn't care for he illustrations. This made me long for another Gaiman novel, the shortness of this was too disappointing. Not a bad thing to pickup at the library but if you are more of a novel person, don't buy it.