Customer Reviews

The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch

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The world of Neil Gaiman looks pretty normal -- until you see the dark, eerie, bizarre things that swim just under the surface.

So expect nothing less from the primly-titled "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch," a graphic novel adaptation of Gaiman's short story. Michael Zulli's matter-of-fact artwork serves as a solid complement to Gaiman's eerie story of an ordinary, innocent outing for three friends and one biogeologist -- and the strange disappearance that came from it.

The narrator and his pals Jonathan and Jane are planning to go out for sushi and a circus, but are "lumbered" with a prissy, stuffy acquaintance named Miss Finch. While Miss Finch tortures the others with descriptions of the parasites in sushi, the little group arrives at the circus. But this is no child-friendly funfest -- instead they're taken into an underground labyrinth by a vampiress.

Devils, freaks, monsters and an Alice Cooper ringmaster are all down there, but the four visitors are very unimpressed. Then a strange apelike creature offers to give someone in the audience a wish, and pulls Miss Finch into the darkness. And when the remaining three friends venture into the next room, what they find is not what they expected of Miss Finch...

"The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch" sounds like a Victorian-era mystery, perhaps something by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in which a spinster is kidnapped or murdered. In the hands of most authors, it wouldn't be much more than that, even if it were a fantasy story. But in the hands of Neil Gaiman, that story becomes something much more.

Instead this story dips down into a darker area, and gives readers a glimpse into a strange world that defies the everyday, where you're not sure what is illusion and what is supernatural. In fact, the Theatre of Night's Dreaming is the real star, as Gaiman devotes plenty of time to showing us the perverse, the weird, and the outright ghastly -- and the climactic encounter with Miss Finch ("which, as I have mentioned, was not her name") is a silent masterpiece of graceful intensity.

With, of course, tongue in cheek, such as the ringmaster's warnings ("... on pain of DOOM, bodily injury, and the loss of your immortal soul! Also I must stress that the use of flash photography or of any recording devices is strictly forbidden"), Miss Finch's ghastly fluke conversation, or the wry observations of the three writers.

Michael Zalli's artwork has graced other Gaiman works, such as "Sandman." So it's not surprising that his slightly faded, striking artwork is an excellent complement to Gaiman's detailed prose. And he's excellent at the subtle stuff, such as the close-ups of Miss Finch's face that show how pretty she is... right before a wide shot that makes her look like a frumpy spinster.

Despite its dull name, "The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch" is an eerie little nugget brought to colorful life, and it's definitely one of Gaiman's more intriguing short stories.

This is the story, as the title suggests, about the disappearance of a woman. It's not a mystery; the characters aren't trying to find her. It's simply the facts. The journey towards that end has a lot of interesting scenery, and the end is interesting. Nothing is explained, of course, and the reader and the characters both are left confused. But it's a good kind of confused.

Interesting story--but since it's adapted from a short story by Neil Gaiman, that's to be expected. Also since it's Neil Gaiman, I wonder if reading the short story isn't better than seeing it. I think I'll prefer the prose form.

I didn't like the art, aesthetically. That was my first thought when I opened the book--I felt that the beautiful cover was a cruel tease. After reading the book, however, I admit that the art sort of suited the setting of the circus--although it was strange that where the narration said that the costumes were bad, the art depicted them as looking pretty amazing.

Well, I don't know why, but Neil Gaiman always surprises me. I know he is a genius, and I love his work, and everytime I read something of his I am surprised by his witicism and inteligence. All I can say is that this book was no exception! I really loved it, an amazingly well told story of a woman who gets her wishes fulfilled in a most peculiar way. Really escellent and I highly recommend it.

I have been a fan of Mr. Gaiman's work for years and I love that he continues to provide me entertainment across the media spectrum in Prose Books, Film, TV shows, Illustrated Stories and of course, comics. While he has certainly branched out quite a bit since Sandman, he still shows us the love in the occasional comic gem. I first read The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch in his Fragile Things collection of short stories. It was a great little story that was very fun to read. I really felt that it was a story told by a close friend over for dinner, who always spins a great yarn. (I have no pretenses that Mr. Gaiman knows me, or I him, from a hole in the wall (are there wolves in there??), but the writing really draws me in) When I saw that he and Michael Zulli were adapting this for Dark Horse, I was thrilled. His other adaptations with Craig P. Russell (Murder Mysteries and Coraline) are also not to be missed. The story really suits the small hardcover format Dark Horse has been beginning to use. Miss Finch was beautifully scripted and rendered by this duo and really is a delight to read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! A+

The book arrived quickly in mint condition.Looked brand new and was shipped packed nicely. I'm 100% pleased with this purchase.

This is an interesting book. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's perfectly on par with Gaiman's brand of whimsy and dark humor.

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.

Nicely done, as usual, but in a theme well noted by Neil Gaiman in the past. An interesting color palette is used by Michael Zulli that feels like water color but yet doesn't really look like water color. The quality of paper is worthy of a hardback.

Miss Finch makes for a good read, an odd duck woman set up for a blind date with the "author" of the story and the weird undergound London antics that follow, which Neil has identified as "Mostly True". It has a dark appeal, but unlike many of Gaiman's other works it is very much a one-shot no need to revisit kind of tale that you recognize instantly and predict with ease. For Miss Finch its more about the getting there than the there itself. Gaiman tells great stories, and this is told well, based off a short story he wrote in Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions. But the familiarity of the story keeps it from rising to Neil's best. Worthy read if you can get it for under $10. Otherwise, there are better Gaiman works to spend your money on.

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF THE DEPARTURE OF MISS FINCH BY NEIL GAIMAN AND MICHAEL ZULLI: In this original story from Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli, who have collaborated before on graphic novels, with see the story of Miss Finch and her enigmatic disappearance as recounted through the eyes and memories of those who witnessed it.

The tale begins with the narrator and his two friends, a couple, who wish him to join them and Miss Finch on a fun night out. The man grudging agrees and is surprised when he meets Miss Finch, who is a strange and unique looking woman, giving nothing of herself away except for her mysterious attire. They decide to go to this circus they've heard about, which is unlike anything ever done before. With a total of fifty people, they enter into the main room after finding the front door to the basement of a run down building. They are soon greeted to an introductory show of many strange creatures in many colors and looks. Everyone assumes them to be people in costumes, but they do look uncannily realistic.

They are then greeted by the man in charge who bears more than a striking resemblance to Alice Cooper, who guides them to the first of many rooms where bizarre events are taking place. There is the breathtaking knife throwing act; the Frankenstein-like creature with incredible strength; the room of black light creatures that again seem too real; and the room with the strange guillotine act. After taking a break at what seems like the end, the four members find themselves alone and enter into another room where they are greeted by darkness and then wild animals and a wild woman who looks familiar. Thinking they are about to die, the room turns to black and they leave the room only to find Miss Finch is no longer with them.

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch is a strange story that makes one question what one is actually seeing, what is supposed reality and what is not. Through the skilful writing of Gaiman and the haunting artistic style of Zulli, it is a book that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.


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