Book - American Gods? Gaiman is God of All Men

Steve Taylor-Bryant waxes lyrical and gets very fanboy as he briefly discusses Neil Gaiman...

Every religion has Icons, Gods or whatever you want to title them, and genres are no different. Horror has Clive Barker and Stephen King, Comics have Alan Moore and films have thousands. But there is one man who transcends all forms of media and mediums, a modern day entertainment Icon, a writing God if you will...Neil Gaiman.

A journalist in the early 1980's, Gaiman would review stories, interview people and write the best book about Duran Duran I have ever read, before taking a moral stance and leaving journalism behind him due to the constant publishing of untruths as fact by the print media. This point changed the course of history and made our universe a better place as Gaiman, now a friend of Alan Moore, became a comic book writer and novelist. After many collaborations and shorts, Gaiman was asked to reinvent The Sandman for DC's Vertigo arm and this well and truly laid the foundations for all his future successes.

Neil Gaiman's novels are all huge titles, game changing stories that carry superb characterisations and constant clever plot twists. Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, Neverwhere, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Stardust brought Gaiman a whole new audience and, whilst he was now commercially accessible, Gaiman kept his own style managing to please cult fans and new readers alike.

I first discovered Neil Gaiman through audio and visual mediums. The radio version of Neverwhere with Benedict Cumberbatch has still to be bettered in my opinion and Stardust showed the beauty of Gaiman's mind and his ability to produce a tale that can make an all-star cast perform to a higher standard than the heights they normally produce, Michelle Pfieffer in particular seemed to 'get' Gaiman. But it was the first of two Doctor Who episodes, The Doctor's Wife, that remains my favourite of all Neil Gaiman penned adventures. A dark and witty tale that not only entertained me (It is still my favourite episode of Doctor Who - EVER) but introduced my children to the mind of Neil Gaiman also, although No 3 son still thinks he his Tim Burton, and I witnessed the birth of a new generation of Gaiman fans, sitting excitedly expectant for the next project to be released.

Neil Gaiman has won numerous awards. A multi Eisner Award winner, The Hugo's many times, The Bram Stoker on more than one occasion, and yet keeps any ego in check and devotes his spare time to creator's rights and comic writers legal battles for copyright privileges of their own work. He really is too good.

American Gods? I'll take my God from Hampshire any day.

Image - IMDb.