Last Temptation (Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Zulli (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A spooky collaboration between novelist and comics writer Gaiman (Sandman; and see review of American Gods, above) and creepy shock rocker Cooper, this is the story of Steven, a boy with many fears: girls, ghost stories and growing up among them. On a dare, he steps into an odd theater and meets a mysterious, top-hatted showman, an Alice Cooper-like figure (complete with dark eye-circles) who offers him a way to avoid his fears by simply giving up his "potential" and staying forever in a dreamy netherworld of spirits and wraiths. And after encountering Mercy, a beautiful ticket-taker in the ghostly theater, Steven gives the offer serious consideration. Cooper is the inspiration for the Grand Guignol of this demonic theater, a chilling metaphor for the seductive allure of complacency and indolence. Gaiman's story is a whimsical horror tale about confronting the fears within, and Zulli's black-and-white illustrations have a dark, emotive line, presented in a brownish, bloodlike hue that makes even a mundane, autumnal street scene seem eerie and foreboding.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Steven is afraid. Afraid of ghost stories, afraid of growing up ... just afraid. That is, until he meets the mysterious Showman and his Theatre of the Real. Steven takes a ticket and watches the show on a dare, but getting out of the performance will be harder than he ever imagined. And Steven learns what it is to be truly afraid. Neil Gaiman, internationally acclaimed writer of both prose fiction (Neverwhere, Stardust) and graphic novels (The Sandman, Signal to Noise) and artist Michael Zulli (The Sandman, The Dreaming) team up to create this dark and brooding morality tale. Originally published as part of the short-lived Marvel Music line of the early `90s, this stunning trade paperback features sepia-colored ink on cream paper to better showcase the lush beauty of Zulli`s duoshade artwork in an affordable 6x9 format.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156971455X
• ISBN-13: 978-1569714553
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #858,255 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Last Temptation, as viewed by a fan., August 13, 2002

By	Outlaw (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

As of right now, there are 8 reviews for this item ahead of me. Very mixed reviews. With that being said, let us continue.

Having been a Neil Gaiman fan for several years, being weened on The Sandman and Stardust, I had fairly high hopes for this graphic novel. Upon purchase, I sat down and read the dark tale in a matter of about 30 minutes. I was impressed by the fine artwork and twisted story, but overall I felt a little let down.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great read, but if you're expecting Sandman caliber work in Last Temptation then you should just press the back button now. The story was rather predictable and, I felt, was rushed into a mere three parts, or "acts," as they're called in this novel.

Overall, a fun read and a must have for Gaiman fans, but don't expect too much.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best work of Gaiman, May 21, 2001

By	Bryan Wright (South Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a HUGE fan of Neil Gaiman's work. I have been following his work since the early days of The Sandman. With that said, it is hard to be honest about this work. When it was first released I refused to give it a chance, due to the Alice Cooper tie-in. However, I recently decided not to be so close-minded and read this story for the first time. This story is a lackluster tale, full of allousions to the Alice Cooper album. The story itself is a Tales from the Crypt retelling of the "Faust" story. There is very little that is original or inspired. The effort to work in Cooper's lyrics holds back the plot and dialogue in more than a few places. The ending is horribly cryptic and vague. I would recommend this story only to diehard Gaiman fans.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ALICE COOPER; THE SHOWMAN OF THE GRAND GUIGNOL!, December 10, 2002

By A Customer

Neil Gaiman is one of the most inventive, respected and popular writers of fantastic fiction for many years now. His run on Sandman for DC Comic's Vertigo has put him in the league of other comic book greats like Alan Moore & Frank Miller...Alice Cooper is a rock legend, forgotten by many, but still... in the world of rock n roll. Alice paved the way for just about every popular "shocker" in the last thirty years.. He is the original showman, an Alice Cooper concert is a trip into a nightmare of violent acts and brutal punishments of torture, usually inflicted on Alice himself... But when Alice Cooper had an idea for a new concept album, he summond the talents of Mr. Gaiman to pen a story to bring his album to life... The story is about a young boy named Steven (a character first met in Alice's greatest solo album "Welcome to My Nightmare") who is the [brunt] of everyone's jokes...he's a scardy cat, and on a few days before Halloween, the boys come across a hidden theatre in the city and encounter a strange man in a top hat with creepy face paint (obviously Alice). The man offers one of the boys a ticket to his show...Steven is chosen and he steps through the doors alone into a nightmarish world where all of his fears will attack him and the mysterious showman will try to steal his soul.

This book is a must for Alice Cooper fans...