Harlequin Valentine [Hardcover]

Told in the first person by Harlequin himself, he leads us through the giving of his heart, literally, to his beloved Columbine. Dancing across the pages, flitting through the city as he follows Missy, meeting up with his modern day cast of characters: Columbine, Peirrot, the Doctor, Pulcinella, Pantaloon, and others.

Gaimen has a particular talent with Graphic Novellas in that he manages to tell a rich, lush tale with only a few words. Harlequin Valentine is one of his better works, with artist John Bolton bringing Gaimen's story to life, animating it with sharp photographic quality characters cavorting in stark relief against fuzzy and uncertain backgrounds. This style of art work really brought Harlequin and Missy and the others directly to the center of our attention, keeping the focus on the characters despite the few words, and smoothing the flow of the tale to read like silken thoughts of love.

At the end of the story, Gaimen adds a short piece with a terrific explanation and glossary of the Harlequinade and its characters; which for those like me who are uneducated in older forms of theatrical art is a real bonus to the book. Also added as a tasty treat is a little tale called "Drawn in Darkness" that Gaimen added about artist John Bolton.

If you like Graphic Novels that have a softer, more playful side, you will love this particular Gaimen. Enjoy!

A lot of the other reviewers have covered the basic premise of the plot already so I won't repeat what's been said.

The artwork itself is beautiful, detailed painterly quality pictures by John Bolton. You won't be disappointed in that aspect. The color palete is cold (his Valentine is painted as a pale, waifish figure) but warm at the same time due to the splashes of red from the Harlequin's outfit and yes, his heart...

Personally, I found the story to be a little short, thus making it a bit unsatisfying for me. The beginning is promising with Harlequin pinning his heart to her door and Valentine's indifference as she removes the pin to take it down. She travels around town trying to find the owner of the heart but without explanation, knows who it is at the end by devouring it. Why would she devour it, this woman who had been clueless before?

All in all, this would have been better if Neil had fleshed the story out more. The characters seem to be 2-dimentional, at the precipice of being 3-dimentional had a bit more effort been made to do so. Great for diehard to midhard Gaiman fans, but not particularly impressive if it's your first Gaiman read.

In short, the art is lovely, the story entertainingly bizarre, and Gaiman has once again created a beautiful story with one foot planted firmly in the annals of cultural history and the other in the wry, tongue-in-cheek modern world.