The sandman companion by Hy Bender

At least 3 of us are reading this alongside the series so just in case we need to discuss anything from the book we can post it here?

I liked the first interview (as far as I've read so far) some of which I've heard Gaiman say before but some new stuff there too

May have to see if I can snag a copy of this as it would probably be a good way for me to follow along with the group.

It's interesting reading the interviews, but I tend to skip the summary part.

I did find the fact that Neil didn't really cement the plot ark until series continuation was confirmed (episode 8?) and you see that is more playful and less sure in the 1st Volume... Wait should that comment be in the other thread...

yeah the summary basically just tells you what you've just read I guess - the interviews and boxed text are of the most interest I think

The interviews are really interesting - the talk about how the series (not only this one but the others) come about in terms of discussions with the publisher, and how the artists are picked, etc. are quite informative. All the little inside information is quite fun to know as an outsider.

SPOILERWARNING:
I loved Gaiman's story of how Matthew was supposed to be killed, but the assistant editor (? - can't remember her title now) had just had a baby who she had named Matthew and she loved the character and begged Gaiman not to kill him. So he didn't! :)

having only read up to Preludes & Nocturnes chapter I'm going to skip over the spoiler in a "la la la I'm not listening" sort of way....

It's hard to "spoil" anything in a non-fiction book, but Gaiman obviously tells his own stories much, much better than I do, so I thought I should add it.

Wow it's weird how things impact the story. I am pretty sure there a part where he has to delay the main Hell story arch (due to DC events) and he is forced to come up with a filler that turns out to be quite wonderful.

He mentioned in the beginning that he would adapt the storyline, or add a character, to fit whichever artist had been picked too. I liked that. Gaiman is a great artist, but I'm glad that he truly saw it as a collaborative effort. This book is giving a lot of background I didn't know and/or think of before.

I am reading a chapter along with each volume so a bit late really but I love Alan Moore's story on pg60

Haha!! I'm not there yet in the book, but I did go read that particular part now - so funny!

I picked up this book from the library and read the introduction and notes for volume 1, as I was working through Preludes and Nocturnes. Being new to the Sandman series, I found this book to be extremely helpful.

I loved Alan Moore's favourite Neil Gaiman anecdote, I think I've heard Neil use it as well and as an inspiration for Neverwhere but could be mistaken...

I'm really appreciating having this volume nearby, though I will have to return it to the library soon. I read the section on Volume 2 soon after I finished Volume 2 itself and now I'll have to go back and look at all the things I'd missed! There was one part of an interview with Neil Gaiman that I found funny, in a sad way. He had to remove a certain sexual reference from the "Collectors" story because it was taboo, according to his editors. At the same time, all the violence described within the context of a serial killers' conference was considered OK. Really?? Strange world we live in ....

It's reflective of the assumptions about films and video games too - violence OK, sex not OK

interesting article here: http://motleyvision.org/ldscinema/2011/09/sexual-content-vs-violent-content-in-m...

That's a very interesting article. It's true that it's hard to compare levels of sex, violence and profanity and that depends on people's threshold levels. Personally speaking, though, I find I'm generally more disturbed by the violence in North American films than I am by the amount of sex or profanity, and that's usually in films with a 14A rating.

I think it also depends if it's "comedy" violence or violence that is "realistic" or not.

That example he mentions in the interview is just asinine. No masturbation but murder, torture, paedophilia, rape etc is fine. Sigh.

Well horror movies will push up that violence rating whereas porn movies probably aren't counted :) I don't know if its right but someone being shot in movies it's easier to downplay the reality and enjoy the action sequences.. But its harder to skip over with regards to sex. I get a bit bored usually with sex scenes.