Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England) is an English Jewish author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many comic books. As of 2005, he lives touching Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Biography

As a infant & a stripling, Gaiman grew higher reading the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and G.K. Chesterton. He late became the fan of science fiction, reading the works of authors when diverse as Samuel R. Delany, Roger Zelazny and Harlan Ellison.

Although Jewish, he was schooled at the school redo per Church of England. There he exposed two standard school topics besides when religion classes. At a equivalent instance, he trained to be Bar Mitzvah with an Orthodox Jewish cantor. This expert instruction gave him the wide background inside two Jewish & Christian theology, which he incorporates heavy into his works, possibly virtually all notably within Sandman.

Fallowing existence rejected numerous days by publishers, Gaiman pursued journalism as a means to learn just about the world & produce modems that he hoped would late help him within sustaining promulgated, conducting interviews and writing book reviews. In the period of this period he wrote his 1st book, the okay, sought-fallowing throwaway life of the band Duran Duran, and the prominent total of articles for Knave magazine. In the late 1980s he wrote ''Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion in what he calls a "classic English humorist" style; in his opinion the book is what led to his collaboration with Terry Pratchett on the comic novel Good Omens, about an impending apocalypse. [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue345/interview.html]

When forming the friendly relationship by having notable comic book scribe Alan Moore, Gaiman started writing comedian. He wrote deuce British graphic novels sustaining his favourite collaborator & long instance friend Dave McKean: Violent Cases and Signal to Noise. Later, he landed the job using DC Comics, which resulted in the limited series Black Orchid.

He has written the people of comedian for many publishers, however his right-known function is the comedian series The Sandman, which chronicles the risky venture of Morpheus, the personification of Dream. (Look at The Endless). the series began the little ethnic sensation, gathering a devout ensuing & making comedian books respectable to several newly audiences. A series began around 1988 and ended in 1996 when Gaiman simply announced that a story he began in the 1st issue experienced start its natural course. A lot 75 issues of the regular series keep close at h& been collected into Tenner volumes that come however within print and selling swell.

Inside 1991, Gaiman published The Books of Magic'', the 4-a share mini-series that provided a tour of the mythologic & wizard area of the DC Universe through the frame story all about an English stripling world health organization discovers that he hwhen a destiny as the world's greatest wizard. A miniseries was popular, & spun off an on-going series, likewise known as A Books of Magic, written by John Ney Reiber. Numbers of humans keep close at h& noted similarities between series protagonist Tim Hunter & a in the future and further celebrated Harry Potter; when on to this similarity, Gaihuman indicates that a young man when magician has precedent around literature.

Gaiman too writes songs, verse form & novels, & wrote a BBC dark fantasy television series Neverwhere, which he later adapted into the novel. He besides wrote a screenplay for the moving picture MirrorMask with his old friend Dave McKean. Additionally, he wrote a English language script to the anime movie Princess Mononoke.

Gaiman occurs as Board Member likewise as an active supporter of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and he regularly participates around fundraisers for a class action including creating materials like the original Snow, Glass, Apples (a CBLDF owns the copyright).

When Gaiman was writing American Gods, his publishers set up the promotional website featuring the weblog (some period prior to it became when popular when it is nowadays) where Gaiman described a daily-to-day run of writing (and so revising, publishing, promoting) a novel. When the novel wwhen published, a webPlaces evolved into a other general Official Neil Gaiman Web Site, & as of 2005 Gaiman still regularly builds on a weblog, describing a daily-to-day run of existence Neil Gaiman & writing, revising, publishing, or even promoting whatever a todays task is. Area of the web log were extracted for publication in the New England Science Fiction Association Press collection of Gaiman miscellany, Adventures in the Dream Trade.

Gaiman received the Globe Fantasy Award for short fiction around 1991 for the Sandman issue, ''A Midsummer Nighttime's Dream (view Dream Country). (Due to the subsequent system vary disqualifying comedian for that category, Gaiman is the exclusively writer to win that award for the comedian script.) He received a 2002 Hugo Award for outstanding novel for American Gods, which also won a 2002 Nebula Award. Within 2003 Coraline'' won the better novelette award. Inside 2004, his short story "[http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/StudyinEmerald.asp A Study in Emerald]" won an additional Hugo (within the ceremony andy skinner presided all over himself, getting volunteered for the job prior to his story was nominated). Additionally, he has won 13 Eisner Awards for his comics function.

Gaiman has as well written at least trinity drafts of the screenplay adaptation of Nicholson Baker's novel The Fermata for director Robert Zemeckis, although the task remains stalled within "development hell".

Gaiman forged an incapacitating friendly relationship by owning singer Tori Amos in the early nineties. Prior to she met stardom, she sent him the demonstration tape of her album Little Earthquakes, and it became convenient friends. When such, he is constantly mentioned (typically like enigmatically) within at least one of her songs in both of her albums. He likewise wrote a prolusion to many of her tour computer software also when short stories to accompany her album Strange Little Girls. (Selection appeared in the album folder.) A select few of her lyrical mentions: "If you need me, me and Neil'll be hangin' out with the dream king/Neil said hi, by the way" ("Tear In Your Hand," 1992) "Where's Neil when you need him?" ("Space Dog," 1994) "Will you find me if Neil makes me a tree?" ("Horses," 1996)—Gaiman depending the character of the talking tree in Amos "Where are the Velvets?" ("Hotel," 1998)—the Velvets existence vampire-such as characters from either Gaiman's novel Neverwhere "Get me Neil on the line,.../have him read Snow, Glass, Apples" ("Carbon," 2002)

Gaiman is likewise the friend of science fiction & comic book writer J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the television series Babylon 5. When such there is a mintage of aliens on it series known as a Gaim; their heads closely resemble a helmet worn by Gaiman's Sandman character. Nevertheless Straczynski has stated a aliens' appearance was depending additional in flatulency masks than on the King of Dreams' helm (itself inspired per barking spiders mask worn per original World-War-2-era Sandman), and that a title come fallowing a resemblance was noted. Gaiman is as well a single writer otherwise Straczynski to keep close at hand contributed to the series' final ternion seasons; he wrote a year Cinque episode "Day of the Dead".

Within 2002, Neil Gaiman filed and won the causa against Todd McFarlane involving three supporting Spawn characters: Cogliostro, Medieval Spawn, and Angela. McFarlane asked Gaiman (likewise when more recognized authors rather Frank Miller and Dave Sim) to write one issue of his Spawn series. When doing soh, Gaiman introduced a tierce previously-mentioned characters. McFarlane experienced agreed that Gaiman's creations would become Gaiman's, however he notwithstanding however utilized a iii characters inside farther plots (Cogliostro potentially appears in the Spawn picture show).

As of 2005 he has completed a freshly novel, highborn Anansi Boys which had the worldwide coincident release. Neil explains that when his publishers can tell you that this is due to recent changes in a publication industry from either either the Harry Potter series these are in point of fact because of an Australian law that allows importation of books from more markets. A book deals sustaining Anansi ('Mr. Nancy'), the character from either American Gods, who dies at a beginning of the novel. Specifically it traces a relationship of his 2 sons, of these semi-divine & a more an unaware Englishman, when it choose their most common heritage. It hit a New York Times bestseller list at first[http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2005/09/theres-first-time-for-everything.asp].

Robert Zemeckis intends to make the film of Beowulf, based on the script by Gaiman & Roger Avary.

Bibliography
Comics & graphic novels
Violent Cases (1987) - * Black Orchid #1-3 (1988) - *Light Brigade-Trident Comics-(1988) The Sandman #1-75 (1991-1997) - Ten-volume collection: * Miracleman #17-24 - Reprinted when: * Books of Magic #1-4 (1991) - Reprinted when: * Existence an Account of the Life & Dying of the Emperor Heliogabolus (1991) (the self-illustrated 14-web page 24-hour comic published in Cerebus #147) - Also republished within * Signal to Noise (Dark Horse Comics, 1992) - * Death: The High Cost of Living #1-3 (using Chris Bachalo) - * The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch - * The Last Temptation - ** plot line according to Alice Cooper's album The Endure Temptation, co-plotted & written by Mr Gaiman & Alice Cooper Angela #1-3 - * Death: The Time Of Your Life #1-3 (by owning Chris Bachalo) - * Stardust (Being A Romance Within The Realm of Faerie) #1-4 - * ''Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days (collection of early work with various artists) - * Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame (previously unpublished script sustaining various creative person) - * Harlequin Valentine - * Murder Mysteries - * 1602 #1-8 - * Endless Nights -

Prose
(includes works consisting of illustrated text when opposed to comic-book form) Duran Duran: The Book - * Ghastly Beyond Belief: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of Quotations - * Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion'' (A guide to Douglas Adams' 'trilogy') - * Good Omens - * Angels and Visitations (a collection of short stories) - * Now we are Sick - ** Anthology of Foul Verse using verse form by Alan Moore, Ramsey Campbell, Gene Wolfe, R.A. Lafferty, Terry Pratchett, Brian Aldiss, Kim Newman, Diana Wynne Jones, etc. SimCity 2000 (1995). Gaiman wrote a text under a description of a library under the button "Ruminate". (A basic idea come through in the number one story in ''The Sandman: Worlds' End.) Neverwhere (1996, 1997 US) - U.s. edition: * On Cats and Dogs: Two Tales (1997) (chapbook containing two short stories) Smoke And Mirrors (a collection of short stories) - * The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish'' (a tikes's book) - * Stardust - * Sandman: The Dream Hunters - * American Gods - * Murder Mysteries: A Play for Voices (Biting Dog Click) (2001) (Limited edition script for the voice play by owning illustrations by George Walker) Adventures in the Dream Trade (a miscellany) - * Snow, Glass, Apples: A Play for Voices (Biting Dog Click) (2002) (Limited edition script for the voice play sustaining illustrations by George Walker) A Walking Tour of the Shambles - * Coraline (2002) - * The Wolves in the Walls - Illustrated tykes's book. Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night (with Gahan Wilson), compilation of stories by various writers and creative person, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly) - * Anansi Boys - a novel featuring the boy of the spider god Anansi, who merely finds out just about his father's confessedly nature and severity when a latter's demise. Furthermore, non merely is the protagonist quite chagrined to locate out he didn't inherit of his father's powers, however his hitherto unknown brother did. Tangentially related American Gods. This novel debuted at First on the New York Times hardback fiction bestseller list.

Audio
Warning Contains Language (stories read by Gaiman, music by McKean) - * Signal to Noise (2000) (audio drama with fully cast & music) American Gods (read by George Guidall) - * Coraline (2002) (US ed. scan by Gaiman, UK ed. by Dawn French) - American edition: * Two Plays for Voices (Snow, Glass, Apples and Execution Mysteries sustaining to the full cast & music) - ** Featuring a voices of Bebe Neuwirth, Martin Carey, Brian Dennehy, and Anne Bobby. Telling Tales (2003) (Neil tells us stories: The Writer's Prayer; Harlequin Valentine; Boys & Girls Together; A Wedding Present, & In The Prevent. Percussion by Robin Adnan Anders) Speaking in Tongues (2005) (contains "Daughter of Owls," "Instructions," "The Price," "The Sea Change," & "The Case in the Case of the Disappearance of Miss Finch."

Mr Gaiman's song-writing & collaboratiin is likewise featured on: Alice Cooper's The Survive Temptation The Flash Girls' The Go to of Pansy Smith & Violet Jones, Maurice & I and Play Each Morning Wild Queen Folk UnderGround's Buried Things & ''Become Y'er Paws Off Us Booty!'' One Ring Zero's When Smart As We Are Gaiman has likewise been mentioned around albums by Tori Amos

(Citation facts taken from either WorldCat.)