Well this thread have been around for a while but never thought of posting my own discovery of Neil Gaiman but since this is the 100th post and the thing happen almost exactely 10 years ago I thought it was time to celebrate that moment. I owe my dicovery of Neil Gaiman to my good friend Isabella (aka Ifa, where are you?) who lend me an italian version of #16,17,18 of sandman

#16 beeing the end of a doll's house story arc that has references to the previous story arc master of dream, didn't quite meant that much to me

#17 Calliope, beeing based on quite delicate issue like rape and me beeing 19 and still pretty naive, honestly shocked me in a very bad way, almost drop reading further but I chose to give the comic an other chance

#18 Dream of 1000 cat's, it deeply touched me, I was hooked to the serie, to comics and to Neil's special brand of writing and creativity!!

That summer I started buying the comic myself various other comics, manga mainly and than I found all the previous italian publication but unfortunatly the following year the company that was publishing Sandman in Italian bankrupted, so no more sandman .
I starved for more sandman stories for almost a year and then I decided it was time to learn english!! I started buy the english issues but when the serie was almost at the end and than started digging in each possible comic shop I found for the previous ones. Few trips in England help dig for more, eventually partially in Italian partially in Eglish I got to read the entire series. But of course I wanted to have all the story in 1 format which is the english issue original serie and started dig all the comic book shop I could possibly find around the wolrd for them. In 1996 I believe Gaiman came to Italy for a comic convention I was there with a bunch of other people, I was so excited I could barely speak a single world and he signed my copy of Calliope (although it was a reprint). In 2000 I came to live in USA for a short period and found that meanwhile Gaiman had writen a bunch of prose which greatly enjoyed and Dream hunters. Then I came to live in NY and discover THE BLOG and e-bay, so I could get some of the last issues missing. Last summer after 4 years of witing an other sandman's present: Endless nights and for the second time in my life I met Neil Gaiman and got my copy of signed and than I had to share that moment with someone so I started posting here. Finally this spring almost 10 years after reading the first comic I received the last missing number of the serie that is: sandman #18 dream of a 1000 cats, full circle. This june I met Neil a third time at the Harvey awards and he signed it for me!!

Isn't that a good reason to celebrate?

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When I figured out who hirde Loki and the clues led from there leading to the grand suicide. It was then I became amazed on how he connected every volume into one.

I - This volume was to imply Dream's fragility
II - This volume was to show that Desire meddles with the elders' affairs and that s/he promised that it would ensure Dream will spill family blood.
III - This was the volume that explains about dreams' connection with reality, and also explains about mytical creatures (ie. later referring to the Fates)
IV - This was a very important volume because once Lucifer makes his lecture about responsibilities, duties and his reaction... This will get Dream thinking, plus the fact that Dream is still recovering from the incident in I.
V - Minor volume. Introducing Thessaly and the Dreaming's dire connection with reality.
VI - Introducing the problem between father and son. Very important volume.
VII - Probably the second most important volume to The Kindly Ones. This is when Destruction lectures Dream on responsibilities and duties. Almost the same lecture Morningstar gave, but has much more impact and detail. You also learn that when an Endless abandons their responsibilities and doesn't pass on their sigil; they're area of responsibility is much more uncontrolled. This will impact Dream much more and this is probably the time Dream devises his great plan. Hence, he starts it off by spilling the blood of his son.
VIII - Nevermind the first few stories, what really matters is that it confirms that the Endless can die, and someone was going to die due to the foreshadowing in the end of the book. Some people assumed that was teh first Despair. Also shows how powerful Destiny really is.
IX - The most important volume that strings together ALL the volumes.
X - Ties up loose ends. But some ends are meant to be loose and to be discussed about.

I'v ejust got my net connection back at home so to celebrate I am having a long night on the net.

Since I rarely post outside WE I thought I'd take a trip round the other fora and, since I rarely actually discuss Neil, thought I ought to share my origin story.

Having said that it's quite mundane - Good Omens. In the eighties I was introduced to the work of Terry Pratchett by my friend Glen. I think we read The Colour of Magic pretty much as soon as it came out and from then on were hooked. That led to Good Omens, and then Temps so when I read an absolutely glowing review of one of the last issues of Sandman in an early issue of SFX I knew the name. I went to the library and found A Dolls House and that was that.

i got introduced to the Endless by my sister. she filched a copy of the Kindly Ones from her brother in law. I, in turn, filched it from her. haha. Since then, I got hooked. THis was about six years ago.

soon, the other books came. It was unstoppable. **like the books of "Granma" (Stephen King) hehehehe.

My mom periodically unloads a bunch of books on me (believe me, I dont mind!) and American Gods was in the stack a few months ago. I had never heard of Gaiman, and judging from the sticker of the front, "Guaranteed better than Stephen King or your money back!" and the blurb, I wasn't too impressed. However, on one of those days when you just need something mindless, I picked it up and started reading. I was immediately sucked in. It was one of those books where you tell your friend the whole plot and every event, even though you know they don't give a shit. Light years better than Stephen King? Gaiman was done an injustice in the comparison.

Anyway, I have since began to explore his other work. I've been slowly picking up the Sandman graphic novels when I have the money to spare. Comics have always interested me, but when I was younger I never had the money to begin exploring the genre. Around the second half of the second graphic novel, I could tell Sandman was special. From the beautiful art to the engrossing storyline, it is unlike anything I've read before. It only gets better from what I have heard.

I love finding active message boards of authors that I like because the people are generally intelligent and creative, so that's how I ended up over here at the World's End.

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I picked up Neverwhere because my "cool older brother" was reading it. Since then he's read maybe one or two more Neil books, with lukewarm feelings--my love of Neil, however, has increased exponentially since then.

Hmm.. This is my first post on this site, so I found it fitting to begin in this thread.

I first discovered Mr. Neil Gaiman back when World's End was originally being released. The absolute strangeness of those Dave Mckean covers kept attracting my young eyes. I decided to buy an issue to see what they were about (luckily the comic-book store clerk ignored the Mature Readers suggestion)and was floored. I had suddenly discovered the wonderful thing called VERTIGO, and I don't think I ever bought another Uncanny X-men comic since that day lol. I remember when I bought that first issue the clerk told me to make sure to read the comic on a stormy night for the proper mood, and I looked at her funny. Needless to say, been a Gaiman fan ever since, and have read practically all his work through the years.

Ibzan,
You could put an introductary thread in the "worlds end" section, if you plan to stick around.
The board will probably give you balloons.
For me the real breakthrough was "Mr Punch". I adored it.

Good Omens - Although now I can't actually remember when I first read it somewhere between the age of 14 and 17, its been my favourite book ever since.
Then I found a copy when I was staying at a friends who was house sitting and 'borrowed it' I really meant to return it but then one thing lead to another and I ended up not speaking to that friend..
And I then lent it to all my friends that were interested and one of them didn't return it and the cycle continues..

I had a flatemate who did graphic's bring home The day I swapped my dad for Two goldfish and recognised the author so I thought I'd do a library search to see what else he wrote.

Anyway useless babelling, I started checking out the books and reserving them (miracleman is still on reserve since jan this year) and thats the only one I haven't read yet.

Nevewhere-i went to this book festival and found myself straight in the fantasy and sci-fi boot. I didn't know what to pick so i asked the women who was working there and she handed this book to me, "it's brilliant, take it" that's all she said and after i read it it took me 2-3 weeks to read anything else. The first thing i said when i finished this book was "wow...", and I almost never react like that about books
Anyway, after Neverwher i can bearly read anything but Gaiman.

I guess I knew about Gaiman ever since my pseudo-goth days in high school, when everyone looked like a cross between Robert Smith and Dream or Souxie and the Banshees and Death. I also knew vaguely that the Neil that Tori Amos referred to was the guy who wrote the Sandman comics, which I always intended to read but never did.

Then I picked up The Sandman: Dream Hunters at a Barnes and Noble because I liked the pretty pictures. This was just after I had graduated grad school and had written a huge thesis on myth and folklore and performance, and had read Understanding Comics and continually ran across Neil Gaiman references, and though "I really should read The Sandman some day..."

But I didn't truly realize the GENIUS of Gaiman until I read the Diner episode in Preludes and Nocturnes...y'know the one I'm talkin about. I still get the willies. Thats when I realized that this guy can not only write a story, but that he can write several stories within one story, and that is the sign of a true Storyteller.

Picked up Season of Mists after reading something in Wizard. Then American Gods, and I was hooked from there.

well i knew the "neil" in the tori songs was a writer of some sort, of something i had never read.

and then there was this kid in school, who we always kind of gently teased about his obsession with comic books. One day i decided to actually "talk" about it, which lead to me making the declaration that there was nothing that i as a young woman and feminist could ever find redeeming in comic books, which were just all about showing overly sexualized women... which he strongly argued. but i easily just pointed to the ones he had on his desk... finally i said "ok, what would you recommend i read" and the next day he came back and said "i think you would like neil gaiman's sandman" and i said "ok describe" and he did (but i no longer remember it). And i thought it actually sounded passable.

about a month later, i had the lightbulb moment that the neil he had recommended was the same neil from the tori songs. HOORAY.

so the next time i was at the mall, i bravely marched into the comic book store and asked for help in securing "err, i think it was called 'sandman'". the very helpful clerk proceeded in showing me at least 15 different possible purchases, none of which were completed with "you start here, with this one." so i mumbled something about asking for em for my birthday or something, and quickly marched right back out of the store. THERE WAS A WHOLE NEW LITERARY/ART WORLD THAT I KNEW NOTHING OF. and sadly had no clue where to start exploring. (yes im that easily discouraged) so i resolved myself to the fact that i was never gonna know this neil gaiman guy.

then about 2 or 3 years later, there was this cool looking book in the new arrivals section of my library, and it had a cool title "neverwhere." and then i picked it up, and the author was neil gaiman... I KNOW THAT NAME! i swear i nearly did cartwheels right there in the middle of the library. so i nearly skipped home (hard in a car) and devoured the book. loved it.

for a while i figured that was the lone book. never thought there were others, just, neverwhere and the comic books.

well after stardust came out, i did get curious about others. and have read most everything in my library system (well im just now venturing into the comic books).

the moment i realized how much i truly loved his writing, enough to say he is my all-time favorite author, was when i was reading "adventures in the dream trade" and i was mesmerized by his words while reading introductions to books i have never read, and about authors that i hadnt heard of. (but i have since taken that book as a study guide )

the world is a happier place because neil chooses to share his imagination with us.

(sorry it got long)

--**FS

Hello all good peoples of this Gaiman board.

I had heard of Sandman but never read it. One instance was an interview with Fairuza Balk(whom I was crushing on at that time...and now if truth be told)where she said she liked Sandman and was interested in playing Death in a movie version. Still I didn't read it, though.

Jump ahead a short bit and I find myself standing at the Sci-Fi/Fantasy shelf at Borders in downtown Seattle. I saw a book called 'Neverwhere' and grabbed it...just because really. I had no idea who Gaiman was and didn't even notice that he wrote Sandman until later. Anyway I read it and flipped. It's still my favorite of Gaiman's works on the basis of the emotional attachment to that first read.

Then I started getting and reading other Gaiman stuff...namely Stardust and I loved that as well. Still no Sandman. If I tell the truth I didn't pick up a Sandman until 2001 when I purchased and read through the entire series on trade paperback. Again I flipped.

That's when he claimed a permanent spot on my favorite author's list.

I discovered it anew when I got to read Signal to Noise.

IMHO it's the toughest one to digest. It's more like one big graphic essay on art. Like Portraits of Despair in Endless Nights

My 1st exposure was Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, a long, long time ago.

So long ago that the only thing I really remember from the story was the cassette deck in the car that would turn any tape into Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

And I laughed aloud a lot...

hiya
well i discovered sandman when i was in a libery one day looking at the comics books because i was too poor to bye my own (being a student and all) and my hand went over a peculiar looking book with funky graphics, i flicked through it and from then on i eat, breathe and live on sandman!!!!!!

Thank you so much Neil, your a GOD!!!!!!!!!

Good Omens. I'd read just about every other Pratchett book, read that, then recognised the name in the library next day.

The first thing I read of Neil's was a DC Comic -- Secret Origins of Batman's foes -- it had a cool Brian Bolland cover. Neil wrote the framing sequence, and one of the story segments. I thought then, "this guy writes almost as well as Alan Moore". I think that was around '89, and I was in my last year of high school.

I missed the beginning of Sandman because there were no comics shops in the town I lived, though the news-stand carried The Comic Book Buyer's Guide, which had cool adds for The Sandman, Black Orchid and a bunch of other comics I thought I'd never get to read.

A year or so later, I found a town not too far away had a comics/used book shop. I was hoping to find Alan Moore's Big Numbers, but they didn't have it, so I browsed, finding the last issue of The Dolls House story.

The shop didn't order Sandman regularly, but I bugged the owner until she finally ordered the book, starting with the end of A Game of You, and the Sandman Special: Orpheus.

Unlike many here, I was into comics waaayy before I discovered Neil.

I always hoped I'd break into the comics biz before Sandman ended, hoping I might even get to draw a story -- but my first publication, which was a very short story in a small independent comics company's anthology book, drawing from a script I didn't particularly like, happened just as Sandman was ending.

The Art of Michael L. Peters
http://mlpeters.com

The Kindly Ones, and the Wake, I knew what was going to happen, I just didn't think it would hit me the way it did.