Ratings2
Average rating3.5
Novelist, comics writer, scriptwriter, poet, occasional artist - a master of several genres and inadvertent leader of many cults - there are few creative avenues Neil Gaiman hasn't ventured down. From unforgettable books like The Ocean at the End of the Lane and American Gods to ground-breaking comics and graphic novels like The Sandman and Violent Cases; from big screen fantasies like Coraline to small screen epics like Doctor Who; and from short stories to songwriting, stage plays to radio plays, journalism to filmmaking, and all points in-between, The Art of Neil Gaiman is the first comprehensive, full-colour examination of Gaiman's work to date. Author Hayley Campbell, a close friend of Neil's since she was a small child, spent many months rummaging through Neil's attic to source the never-before-seen manuscripts, notes, cartoons, drawings and personal photographs for this book; these are complemented by artwork and sketches from all of his major works and his own intimate recollections. Each project is examined in turn, from genesis to fruition, and positioned in the wider narrative of Gaiman's creative life, affording unparalleled access to the inner workings of the writer's mind. Utterly comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, The Art of Neil Gaiman is the fully authorised account of the life and work of one of the greatest storytellers of all time.
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For a writer to have a book written about his work titled the “art of” and the “visual story” would seem on the surface to be contradictory. He isnt that sort of “artist” though he does occasionally “sketch” seemingly for fun. Doodling perhaps.
But much of his work , his output of words, have inspired or found life in and on art in the form of Graphic novels or if we are being less pretentious: comics.
This then is a novel sort of autobiography of his published work and an insight into his creativity. It succeeds in informing and entertaining and itself is a visual delight.