Did you see the movie Mirrormask when it came out in theaters? If not, I highly recommend grabbing a DVD copy, and possibly a copy of the soundtrack as well. It is a gorgeous piece of art masquerading as a film, with a whimsical, yet slightly twisted story. Just how I like it. Written by Neil Gaiman with the art done up by Dave McKean.
Now, McKean has produced 33 original Mirromask drawings, pulling from characters and scenes from the movie and its intriguing style. Seen here:
Both of these gentlemen are quite the cult icons for the art and storytelling. If you have yet to delve into their world, then you are in for a treat. Any story by Gaiman is worth the read, and McKean’s artistic flair seems eerily fitting for any and all of their partnerships throughout the years. Start checking their material out on the web and you might be amazed by what you find.
To start you off, recommended reading by Neil Gaiman is listed below:
Stardust (being made into a movie!)
and of course, his Sandman series of graphic novels.
I see that smile.
Hi. (I found you via Mir) I recently read Neverwhere and now I know why so many sing Neil Gaiman’s praises. I really liked it. I’ve checked out American Gods and Anansi Boys from the library so I’ll be getting to them, soon.
Good blog you’ve got going here.
Linda,
Glad you could make it by! Wonderful to hear you enjoyed Neverwhere, and I’ve no doubt you’ll enjoy the rest of his work, though I do know some of it runs into darker tastes at times. Takes all types, I suppose. And thank you kindly for the compliment. I’ve been enjoying this blogging experience and discovering everyone else who is creating their own online journey.
Josh
I really dug the music from MIRRORMASK. And I think McKean’s vision of the mirror world was amazing. A visual and aural feast.
But something was lacking in the story. I wasn’t really fully satisfied. The following is from my amazon review back from March:
If you’ve read the other reviews, you notice there’s a pattern in responses. It’s good to notice this pattern, because it’s a clue that will tell you where you may end up on the “love it” or “huh?” spectrum. Here’s the pattern: The five star gushfests, full of glowing delight at all things Mirrormasky versus the ones that say something is lacking in the story, but hey, cool for the eyes and ears.
I fall into the latter camp. Lacking, but cool.
I couldn’t ask for more delicious visuals. What artistry! The moodiness. The magic. The surrealistic feast of it. I can’t praise it highly enough.
The jazz music that weaves throughout is also exceptionally pleasing. Even the very strange–but oddly “right” and enjoyable-version of “Close to You” works. Kudos to whoever put the music together.
Of course, there are those imaginative moments in a queer dream world one comes to expect from the author of the SANDMAN comics and the down-the-sewer-hole quest of NEVERWHERE (Clearly, Mr. Gaiman is intrigued by dreamworlds and quests for keys and doorways.) Books fly off to the library when they feel rejected. Boulder creatures with a hint of Botero playfulness and roundness float about, and we can’t figure out why, but it makes a queer sort of sense that they do. Fairy tale and mythic elements make their appearance–the twin queens or dark and light, the sleeping beauty, the Shadows, the dark, the tower, the riddles from sphinxes, the masks. (Only these sphinxes and masks both manage to be amusing and threatening simultaneously, also something that seems a Gaiman trademark.) Playful, very British, bits of dialogue show up.
And yet I was not at all emotionally engaged about the conflict. I didn’t much care for the young heroine at a gut level. Aesthetically, yes. I was captured. I even laughed in various bits. (Gosh, I adored those albino ape-meets-silly-bird things called Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob,e tc, and Malcolm.) But I did’t really care if Helena got out of the Mirror World or not. I didn’t feel invested or touched where I should have been given her circumstance: in my heart.
If you can sit back and revel in a nifty jazzy score and chomp from a brimming cornucopia of visual yumyummies, then you really should see this(rented or purchased). Oh, yes. Sometimes, having two senses supremely satisfied will do, especially when so much out there doesn’t supply wonder and magic for one, single, yearning sense.
Mir
Hey Mir, good to see you again.
I can see how the movie did weigh in heavy on the wowza-yowza special effects scale and perhaps sacrificed elements of story to fill in those glitzy corners (although Valentine’s horror at the possibility of becoming a waiter–having been a waiter myself, I could totally relate).
Neverwhere was what got me hooked on Gaiman. Like you, I love those shivering peeks into the shadows, where you just get enough of a look to know you don’t want to step down those alleys too far.
Perhaps his next movie, an adaptation of Stardust, will provide that story that some think lacked from Mirrormask.