The Last Temptation (1994)

The Last Temptation (1994)

Author: Neil Gaiman | Illustrator:  Michael Zulli | Page Count: 102

"I'll take away the uncertainty, Steven. I'll take away the fear. I'll take away the boredom and the pain. You want more than that?"

The result of a creative partnership between writer Neil Gaiman and rock musician extraordinaire Alice Cooper. It's not Alice's first foray into the world of comics, he's been involved before, but not in such a notable way.

It's a coming of age story, much like Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This way Comes (1962), which it reminded me of more than once. If the Showman of The Last Temptation isn't based on Bradbury's carnival leader Mr Dark, then I’ll eat my oldest hat.

The story explores the pitfalls that a frightened kid must negotiate when forced to take control of his destiny for the first time in his life. He meets a host of freaks that tempt him with promises of new experiences. The Showman reveals his Theatre of the Real, the Grandest Guignol, and offers Steven something that I'm sure many of us have wished in our lives.

It's a morality tale with theatrical trappings, telling the same story as Alice's concept album of the same name. Alice had the power and energy of music to help tell it. Gaiman has the skills of illustrator Mike Zulli, who does a wonderful job with the macabre, sinister themes. There are times when the frame is too busy, but mostly Zulli gets it just right, for my tastes, anyhow.

It's all done in the blackest of ink with no colour, which, sadly can be said for the story, too. Everything is black and white: good and bad is clearly defined. There's little room for emotional ambiguity. While the narrative is restricted by the source material, Gaiman still manages to play around a little; e.g., one of the kids is dressed like Morpheus from Sandman for Hallowe'en. [1]

If you know the album's story, you'll know how the book ends. If you're reading it as a Gaiman fan without prior knowledge of the album concept, it'll probably entertain, but not as much as his regular day job would. I'm such a nerd that I've sat and read the book while listening to the music. It didn't enrich either experience very much, but it was a fun experiment, nevertheless.

[1] The 20th Anniversary Edition (2014) added colour and is best avoided for that reason.