Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere [Paperback]

Mike Carey (Author), Glenn Fabry (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 14, 2007

NEIL GAIMAN'S NEVERWHERE TP Written by Mike Carey Art and cover by Glenn Fabry The comics adaptation of New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's acclaimed novel is now available complete in one 224-page trade paperback! Collecting all nine issues of the Vertigo maxiseries, this volume follows the adventures of an ordinary Londoner who stops to help an enigmatic girl and is drawn into a battle to save the strange underworld kingdom of London Below from destruction. Advance-solivited; on sale October 4 - 224 pg, FC, $19.99 US - MATURE READERS

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the bestselling creator of Sandman, and a novelist and director. Mike Carey is the writer of Titan's Inferno - a version of Dr. Faustus - and is the scribe of My Faith in Frankie, the smash-hit Lucifer series, Fantastic Four and Elektra. His most recent work is the novel The Devil You Know. Glenn Fabry is the fan-favourite penciller of 2000 AD's Slaine, The Authority: Kev, and the covers artist of Preacher. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo; 1St Edition edition (February 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401210074
• ISBN-13: 978-1401210076
• Product Dimensions: 0.4 x 6.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Carey got into writing through comic books, where his horror/fantasy series Lucifer garnered numerous international awards and was nominated for five Eisners. From there he moved into novels and screenplays, while still maintaining a presence in the comics world (he is currently writing two of Marvel's flagship titles, X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four). His movie Frost Flowers, an erotic ghost story, is currently in production with Hadaly/Bluestar Pictures. He lives in London, England, about as far as you can get from the centre of the city and still have access to the London Underground train network. His wife, Linda, writes fantasy for young readers under the pseudonym A.J. Lake. They have three children and an implausibly beautiful cat.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A Failed attempt to improve on the book August 24, 2009

By James I. Hales

Format:Paperback

I tried to read the publication, but couldn't stomach it. It takes the story out of order, removes chapters, and adds dialogue and detail that contradicts the original Novel; it's worse than anything Hollywood could have done to it. Read the original novel. Also, the BBC miniseries isn't bad.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A victim of 'superhero-itis' July 24, 2010

By Byron

Format:Paperback

As far as the narrative is concerned, this adaptation is fine. The visual interpretation, on the other hand, is so far off Gaiman's descriptions that it's impossible to enjoy. Just seeing how the character of Door is portrayed demonstrates the problem. Gaiman describes her as being small and pixieish, dressed in layers of clothes as well as an oversized leather jacket to 'disappear' into when she is feeling vulnerable. This highly-sexualized version of Door looks more like a refugee from the X-Men by way of Mad Max with her bustier, garterbelt, large breasts and bare midriff on display. The concealing leather jacket has turned into a Matrix-like leather trenchcoat which constantly flaps out behind her. Just because it's fantasy subject matter told in graphic novel form doesn't mean it has to use the visual guidebook of superhero titles where characters are all buff and either wear skintight outfits or show as much skin as possible. I haven't even mentioned the tattoo of a keyhole over her eye. Very subtle. This isn't just a matter of slightly different interpretations. The way the characters are described by Gaiman are part of what defines them and their actions. Very disappointing

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Dead & Dying of London Below! August 21, 2010

By comics_tiger VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I've never read Neil Gaiman's original novel, but its graphic novel adaptation is an interesting fantasy as told from the viewpoint of a mousy man from London. Richard is a working man, pushed around by his boss, led by the neck from Jessica, his hard-as-nails fiancé. After working 11 hour days he spends his nights eating TV dinners and watching TV.

One day he finds a woman on the streets of London. She's just jumped through a dimensional portal you know, being chased by hit men Croup and Vandemar. He takes her in over the objections of Jessica and nurses Door (yes, that's her name) to health.

In doing so, he becomes an un-person, no one knows he's there. His only hope is to follow Door and hope that he can get his life back, as mundane as it is.

I enjoyed the art by Glenn Fabry very much. The large monster panels of the Beast of London, the large Angel Islington and the realistic blood and the decadent Floating Market are drawn in great detail.

The only thing I did not like was the slow pace of plot. There were not a lot of fight scenes, and not a lot of explanation of the characters and who they were, except for Door. We do learn of Door's family, their power to create doors to anywhere, the ritual slaughter of her family and she, as the survivor, out for vengeance.

The "employer" who hired Croup and Vandemar to kill off Door and her family was revealed mid-novel. And the surprise ending was not all that surprising. The innocence of Richard Mayhew (the story is told from his point of view) does get a bit annoying at times.

Overall, a decent read. I will probably read the original novel and compare to the graphic novel.... Writer Mike Carey makes a good point that the graphic novel was never made to be a substitution of the original but to stand on its own as its own story. I can agree to that.

Recommended!

Other Graphic Novels from Neil Gaiman:

Coraline: The Graphic Novel
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Coraline Graphic Novel Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good version of a wonderful story July 14, 2009

By photondancer

Format:Paperback

I haven't seen the BBC series of Neverwhere so can't comment on how that vision of Gaiman's marvellous story differs from Fabry's but I do like Fabry's vision very much. The way his characters look has largely replaced whatever mental images I formed when first reading the novel. He does make an awful lot of minor changes to the novel though, in both dialog and narrative. Even little things like giving Angelus wings when Gaiman specifically said he didn't have wings grate because it is just unnecessary. I do love Fabry's version of Down street though, it's even better than the original.

19 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Is THAT how they're supposed to look? March 21, 2007

By Tom Knapp VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

As any avid book-lover will tell you, concrete images of the characters invariably form in the reader's imagination as a story unfolds. Defined by the author only by adjectives and actions in stark black-and-white, their appearances will still become solid reality that, in some cases, cannot be jarred.

My wife is pretty unshakeable on the subject. Once she gets a picture in her head, she doesn't want any casting director or comic-book illustrator to muck about with her imagined view. So she approached the new comic-book adaptation of "Neverwhere" -- her fourth favorite Neil Gaiman novel, she told me, but the one she's read most often -- with extreme reluctance. She put it down a few pages in, disheartened by unavoidable differences in perspective.

I know how she feels, but I'm a little more fluid in my view. For me, Simon Jones and David Dixon made the perfect Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect in BBC's 1981 adaptation of Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and yet I was still able to enjoy the very different look in the 2005 Hollywood version starring Martin Freeman and Mos Def in the roles. Similarly, Gary Bakewell and Laura Fraser, while they didn't match my preconceived view of "Neverwhere" characters Richard Mayhew and Door, were perfectly acceptable in the roles in that BBC miniseries. And I'm equally comfortable with artist Glenn Fabry's interpretation in the new comic-book collection.

Call me wishy-washy if you must, but I'm adaptable. Take the thuggish Croup and Vandemar, the truly evil pair that dogs Door's heels for much of the story. The BBC series and Fabry's artistic rendering couldn't be more dissimilar, and yet they're both right, in the greater context of the story. Both versions seem to suit Gaiman's vision, if not my own....

And for me, that's what matters. I don't care if they match my view of the characters, but I do care how well the story is told. And this story, adapted from Gaiman's original novel by Mike Carey and illustrated by Fabry, is told well.

Hell, it's great. Carey successfully boiled the novel down to its most necessary elements, retaining the flavor and flow of the story with far fewer pages to work with. A lot has been lost, sure, but he's retained the essence of Gaiman's narrative -- and the novel is still out there for anyone who wants to read the full work.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor Read more ›