Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (2007) AMZN
from Vertigo, 221 Pages
by MIKE CAREY (Author), GLENN FABRY (Author), Glenn Fabry (Illustrator, Artist)
This is a comic book version of Neil Gaiman’s novel. I must say that having read this fantasy story that deals with so many colorful characters and interesting places, it makes for a perfect comic adaption. Sure, we can get into the age old discussion of how the book is better than the movie or vice versa, but in this case the illustrations of the world (Neverwhere, or London below) and it’s people make up for any narrative that is lost from the book. After all, taking 400 written pages down to 221 and adding pictures you are bound to lose some of the story.
As far as that story goes, well it is a wonderful quest story that takes place between the London Above that we all know and love (do we all love it?- I’m a big fan) and a magical city called Neverwhere that is below London. The main characters are Door, who can open all types of doors to anywhere, and from London above, Richard Mayhew who I can best describe as a completely ordinary guy. And then, one day, his life will never be the same. And we get a quest that includes needing to navigate a maze to reach their final destination. But as is the case in many mazes/labyrinths it is guarded by a beast, which may or may not be a minotaur ? What do you think ? Whatever it is, this is not something I would want to meet.
This is an excellent story. Read it. 8.5/10 !
This story was also made into a television mini-series in 1996 that received ok reviews (7.2 on IMDB) split into six 30 minute episodes. I think it would be a perfect story for an update in the age of streaming. You can currently find the entire series streaming on YouTube. Here is episode 1 to get you started.
Other blog posts you might like:
The 12 Best Maze and Labyrinth Movies Of All Time