Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days (1999)

Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days (1999)

Author: Neil Gaiman | Illustrators: Stephen R. Bissette / John Totleben / Dave McKean / Teddy Kristiansen / Sergio Aragones / Mike Mignola / Richard Piers Rayner / Mike Hoffman / Kim DeMulder | Page Count: 176

'In her dreams her fingers had become tiny snakes. When she awoke she could not feel her hands; but she could hear her fingers, slithering over the sheets and away from her in the darkness.'

Midnight Days collects together some of Gaiman's earliest works for DC. It's not of his usual comic book standard, and it's certainly not the place to start if you've not read any of his works before. He admits in the introduction that he was still finding his feet.

But it's not all bad news. Some parts of it are worthy of praise. A short piece featuring the wonderful John Constantine is creepy and unnerving, and is without a doubt the highlight of the whole endeavour.

The collection contains six stories in all, one of which came from an unused Swamp Thing script; it was illustrated specifically for the book. It's interesting.

Each story has its own full page introduction detailing the creation or the inspiration behind its genesis. I enjoyed those insights, sometimes more than the story itself.

Perhaps the biggest draw, from a completist point of view, is the lengthy noirish Sandman Midnight Theatre, which has the first and only meeting between The Golden Age Sandman (Wesley Dodds) and Gaiman's own Sandman of the Endless.

After being hard to find for many years, it was reprinted as a 'Deluxe Edition' (2012) with an embossed hardcover, which means the publisher can charge more for what's essentially the same content. It's much too expensive for the small amount given; even the most ardent fan may feel a little empty in the pocket. If you opt for the softcover edition, it could be worth picking up.

The book collects together Swamp Thing Annual 5, Sandman Midnight Theatre, Hellblazer issue 27, and Welcome Back to the House of Mystery issue 1.