Everyone loves comic book trivia, but with 75 years of superhero comics behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in comics in our continuing video series. You think you know comics? Well, here’s a few things you might not know!

This week we're taking a look at every college freshman's favorite comics writer, Neil Gaiman. Although he might be better known now as a writer of novels for adults and nightmare fuel for children, at one time Gaiman's name was held up as one of the best of the best in comics, and even before that he wrote a story explaining Poison Ivy's secret origin. Check out this video to learn about his early influences and inspirations, his accomplishments and awards, and where his secret second middle name came from.

Show notes:

  • If, by some chance, you were not a sad person in the 1990s, it is possible you have not read Sandman. In that case, you can read it, starting here.
  • Or maybe you did read Sandman back in the '90s. Did you know there is a new Sandman graphic novel with an all-new story and art by JH Williams III? It's true.
  • The Death spinoff miniseries are collected here.
  • Gaiman's children's novel The Graveyard Book was adapted into two graphic novels by excellent artists such as P Craig Russell, Kevin Nowlan, and Jill Thompson. You can get volume one here and volume two here.
  • This is a comics site, so I'm trying to focus on linking to comics stuff, but just in case, here's American Gods, Anansi Boys, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Good Omens, and Stardust, just for a sampling of his prose work.

Watch more installments of You Think You Know Comics? below and let us know what comic book characters we should cover next.

 

 

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