Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days (Paperback)

Ultimately, this book can only be recommended to fans of Gaiman who are interested in seeing some of his earlier and more experimental work. Newcomers would be better off starting off with the 'Sandman' series and branching off thereafter.

In the first part, we see Neil struggling with the classic character that originated the Vertigo line - Alan Moore's revamped Swamp Thing - in three short stories from early stages of his career. Jack In The Green is apparently the second comics story Neil had ever written, and it remained a pictureless script until it was drawn especially for this collection. It's unique because it sees a reunion of the original Swamp Thing artistic team, who worked with Moore on the now classic first issues - Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and Tatjana Wood. Neil's writing is clearly in very early stages of its development, and the story is good, if nothing else, as a curiosity for loyal Gaiman fans. The other two stories, which were released as Swamp Thing Annual #5 in 1989, don't actually feature the Swamp Thing himself: Brothers is a story that could have just as easily been made into a Sandman issue, though it has quite a lot in common with the Prez story (I'm not quite sure what the story's name was or which Sandman volume it was on). It's a pretty good story, but not quite worthy of Neil's genius. The third, very short story, titled Shaggy God Stories, is easily the best in the bunch, and it deals with the Swamp Thing's great nemesis, Jason Woodrue AKA the Floronic Man. It's a beautiful story that shows Neil at his best.

The entire thing is well worth buying for the Hellblazer story - Hold Me - alone. It was originally published as Hellblazer #27 in 1995, several months before Garth Ennis took over the series and turned it upside down, and is now a rare and precious collectors' item for fans of Gaiman and/or Hellblazer. This beautiful, touching, chilling ghost story was drawn by none other than the great Dave McKean, who also worked with Neil on classics like Black Orchid, Mr. Punch, Coraline, The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish and Violent Cases. Dave's artwork is expressive and surreal and his portrayal of both the Ghost and John Constantine are incredible. This is, without doubt, one of the best Hellblazer stories ever written - in direct competition with the classics of the early Ennis period, Dangerous Habits and Fear & Loathing - and arguably one of Neil's finest writings.

The last story in this volume is the longest by far - too long by half. It's a rather predictable collaboration between Neil and Matt Wagner, which allows for the inevitable crossover between Neil's Sandman - Morpheus of the Endless - and Matt's Sandman, Man of Mystery Wesley Dodds (reincarnation of the DC hero from the 40s). More than that though it's a story about Dodds - please remember that Morpheus is well locked in a glass prison during the time of Dodds's stories (as you'd remember if you've read the first Sandman volume, Preludes & Nocturnes. The story does involve Morpheus, though to a lesser extent, and the events occurring in Preludes & Nocturnes). The story does have its flashes of genius though it's exceedingly and unjustifiably long, but it's salvaged by brilliant artwork by Teddy Kristiansen.

By the way, a story which is missing from this collection is the brilliant short A Black & White World, the Batman story which was published on Batman: Black & White. If you're a Gaiman completist, I recommend trying that one too.

Contained in this trade paperback, you get a collection of the few stories he wrote outside of the regular Sandman series. The biggest selling point for me are the 3 Swamp Thing stories. They fit well with Moore & Veitch's work on that series. The first incorporates the myth of the Green Man/Jack-o-the-Green. The second features the return of Brother Power, the Geek, showing that he and Swamp Thing have more in common than anyone thought. The third is the first part of the "Shaggy God Stories", which was to have done for the plant-related characters of the DCU what Books of Magic did for the mystics.

"Hold Me", from Hellblazer, is one of the best, if not THE best, stories of that series. Darkly drawn by Dave McKean, it is a simple ghost story that is far more effective than the myriad tales of demons and psychos that make up the bulk of John Constantine's adventures.

The final story involves a crossover of sorts between Sandman Mystery Theater and the Sandman of the Endless, titled "Sandman Midnight Theater", with art by Teddy Kristiansen. While it reinforces the relationship between Wesley Dodds and Morpheus, the story tends to drag, and I feel it's the weakest one here.