History Creator / NeilGaiman

* ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'': The original four-issue volume only. Basically an encyclopedia of all of DC's magic-based characters, with [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt gorgeous painted art]] by by John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, and Paul Johnson.

* ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'': Picked up right where Creator/AlanMoore left off... and [[LeftHanging promptly dropped off after eight issues]] on account of Eclipse going bankrupt. After many thrilling legal adventures, the rights are now with Creator/MarvelComics, who have [[DevelopmentHell repeatedly promised]] that it'll be finished any day now.

* ''Literature/ICthulhu'' (1987): A humorous memoir of the life of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]]. One of his earliest stories, and [https://www.neilgaiman.com/Cool_Stuff/Short_Stories/I_Cthulhu available for free on his website].[[/index]]

** ''Literature/TheManWhoForgotRayBradbury'

* ''Literature/ICthulhu'': A humorous memoir of the life of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]].[[/index]]

* AuthorAppeal: AllMythsAreTrue, but the one Gaiman finds the most interesting is Myth/NorseMythology. Loki and Odin are major characters in both ''American Gods'' and ''The Sandman''.

Gaiman is married to Music/AmandaPalmer of The Dresden Dolls. (They had a rough patch in 2020, but have since [[https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300204981/uk-author-neil-gaiman-reunites-with-his-son-and-amanda-palmer-in-havelock-north reunited in New Zealand and are working on their relationship]].) He is also a part-time professor at Bard College.

He has a [[http://twitter.com/#!/neilhimself Twitter account]] and a [[http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/ Tumblr blog]], as well as a [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/ more traditional blog]] (it was originally created to document his promotion tour for ''Literature/AmericanGods'' back in 2001, and it took off from there). He's also been known to dispense writing advice to fans (often via Website/{{Tumblr}}).

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: He really likes sushi, as shown by "About the Author" blurbs.

** ''Death: The Time of Your Life''[[/index]]
** ''Sandman: the Dream Hunters'' (a prose novella illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano)[[index]]

* ''With Great Responsibility'', a story in ''Amazing Fantasy #1000'', a MilestoneCelebration of ComicBook/SpiderMan.

** ''[[Literature/DownToASunlessSea2013 Down To A Sunless Sea]]''

* ''[[ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} Metamorpho The Element Man]]'' in ''ComicBook/WednesdayComics''.

* ''Series/{{American Gods|2017}}'': Airing in 2016 on Starz and created by Creator/BryanFuller.

* ''Creatures of the Night''.

* ''Signal to Noise''.

* ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''. (1996)
* ''Literature/{{Stardust}}''. (1999)
* ''Literature/AmericanGods''. (2000)
* ''Literature/{{Coraline}}''. (2002)
* ''Literature/AnansiBoys''. (2005)

* ''Literature/OddAndTheFrostGiants''.

** ''Literature/HowToTalkToGirlsAtParties''.[[/index]]

* ''Literature/HowTheMarquisGotHisCoatBack''. Follow-up to ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', originally published in Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's 2014 anthology ''Rogues''. Later printed as a standalone novella in 2015.[[/index]]

* ''Series/{{Neverwhere}}''.
* ''Series/{{American Gods|2017}}''. Airing in 2016 on Starz and created by Creator/BryanFuller.
* ''Series/GoodOmens''. Full-on showrunner and appointed guardian of Creator/TerryPratchett's legacy, a role which swallowed up most of his time (and stamina) from 2017 to early 2019.[[/index]]

* ''Literature/ICthulhu'': A humorous memoir of the life of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]].

* ''Norse Mythology'' (2017): A retelling of Myth/NorseMythology.

** ''Death: The Time of Your Life''
** ''Sandman: the Dream Hunters'' (a prose novella illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano)

** ''ComicBook/TheSandmanOverture''.

* A handful of ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' stories (the Creator/AlanMoore run on ''Swamp Thing'' being a premier influence on his love of comics) and one issue of ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}''. All collected in the volume ''Midnight Days''.
* A handful of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' stories -- most famously the MindScrew Riddler origin "When is a Door" and ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' -- which can all be found in just about any collection of the latter.

* A handful of ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' stories, as a show of creator's-rights solidarity with Creator/ToddMcfarlane and Creator/ImageComics. Ironically produced the first big legal kerfuffle of his career, as he and [=McFarlane=] constantly butted heads over who had the rights to BreakoutCharacter Angela.
* ''Violent Cases''.
* ''[[ComicBook/MrPunchTheTragicalComedyOrTheComicalTragedy Mr. Punch: The Tragical Comedy or the Comical Tragedy]]''.

* Gaiman also came up with the concept that Tekno Comix eventually turned into a small line of inter-linked titles. The original pitch differed from the end result in a number of respects, to Gaiman's displeasure.

* ''Goliath'', a ''[[Film/TheMatrix Matrix]]'' comic.

* ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook''. (2008)

* ''Film/MirrorMask'' - The novelization.
* ''Literature/TheOceanAtTheEndOfTheLane''. (2013)

* ''Angels & Visitations'' (1993): His first solo anthology. Contains such fan favorites as ''Literature/{{Chivalry}}'', ''Literature/TheGoldfishPoolAndOtherStories'', ''Literature/TheWeddingPresent'', ''Literature/MurderMysteries'', and ''Literature/WeCanGetThemForYouWholesale''.
* ''Smoke & Mirrors'' (1998): Reprints ten works from ''Angels & Visitations'' and a whole lot of new ones, most notably the FracturedFairyTale ''[[Literature/SnowGlassApples Snow, Glass, Apples]]''.
* ''Fragile Things'' (2006): First collection for the new millennium, with such luminaries as ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald'', ''Literature/BitterGrounds'', ''Literature/OctoberInTheChair'', ''Literature/TheProblemOfSusan'', and ''Literature/HowToTalkToGirlsAtParties''.

* ''Stories'' (2010): Co-edited with Al Sarrantonio.
* ''Literature/HowTheMarquisGotHisCoatBack''. Follow-up to ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', originally published in Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's 2014 anthology ''Rogues''. Later printed as a standalone novella in 2015.
* ''Trigger Warning'' (2015): First collection for TheNewTens, featuring - among others - ''[[Literature/DownToASunlessSea2013 Down To A Sunless Sea]]'', ''Literature/TheTruthIsACaveInTheBlackMountains'', ''Literature/TheCaseOfDeathAndHoney'', ''Literature/TheThingAboutCassandra'', ''Literature/NothingOClock'', ''Literature/TheManWhoForgotRayBradbury'', ''Literature/FeminineEndings'' and ''Literature/TheSleeperAndTheSpindle''.

* ''The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish'', illustrated by Creator/DaveMckean. (1997)

* ''Chu's Day'', illustrated by Adam Rex. (2013)

* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' (he wrote the [[{{Woolseyism}} Woolseyist]] script).
* ''Film/{{Stardust}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Beowulf|2007}}'' (the 2007 film, written with friend/cult director Creator/RogerAvary).
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}''.
* ''Film/MirrorMask''.
* ''Death: The High Cost of Living''. (In "DevelopmentHell")

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Wrote the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episodes "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare In Silver]]". He’s disowned the final version of the latter, which went through ExecutiveMeddling that left some plot holes and left him feeling the soul of what he wrote was gone. In 2020, he wrote a Doctor Who minisode featuring Rory Williams, with Arthur Darville reprising his role.
* Wrote an episode for ''Series/BabylonFive'': "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS05E08DayOfTheDead Day of the Dead]]". Especially notable as the ''only'' episode of the show not written by Creator/JMichaelStraczynski after season two. The Gaim, one of the alien races in ''Babylon 5'', is named for him. And just to hammer the homage further, they all strongly resemble [[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 Dream Of The Endless]].

* ''Literature/AmericanGods''. Airing in 2016 on Starz and created by Creator/BryanFuller.
* ''Series/GoodOmens''. Full-on showrunner and appointed guardian of Creator/TerryPratchett's legacy, a role which swallowed up most of his time (and stamina) from 2017 to early 2019.
* Had a brief CreatorCameo as the voice of God in the last episode of Season 3 of ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}'', a loose adaptation of [[ComicBook/{{Lucifer}} Lucifer Morningstar]], which he co-created along with Creator/MikeCarey.

* Wrote an episode for ''Series/BabylonFive'': "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS05E08DayOfTheDead Day of the Dead]]". Especially notable as the ''only'' episode of the show not written by Creator/JMichaelStraczynski after season two. The Gaim, one of the alien races in ''Babylon 5'', is named for him. And just to hammer the homage further, they all strongly resemble [[ComicBook/TheSandman Dream Of The Endless]].

Neil Richard Mackinnon Gaiman (born 10 November 1960) is a contemporary British writer of stories.

He is famous for his UrbanFantasy works, including the renowned ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' comic series for Creator/DCComics under their [[Creator/VertigoComics Vertigo]] imprint, which was the only work in its medium to win a UsefulNotes/WorldFantasyAward for Best Short Story. (To prevent it happening again, [[ObviousRulePatch they changed the rules]] so that comic books had to be relegated to their own special category, and couldn't be judged alongside prose works.) His novels ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'' and ''Literature/{{Coraline}},'' have been made into movies, and ''Literature/{{American Gods}}'' and ''Literature/{{Good Omens}}'' have been made into streaming miniseries. He's also written scripts for other projects, such as ''Film/MirrorMask'' by Creator/DaveMcKean and the ''Series/{{Neverwhere}}'' TV series. In addition, he worked on the translated script of ''Anime/PrincessMononoke''. His young adult work ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'' became the first book to win both the UsefulNotes/NewberyMedal and the UsefulNotes/CarnegieMedal. He also wrote two episodes for ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]" in Series 6 and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]" in Series 7.

His works are marked by extensive use of mythological references and symbolism, often times in "modern" settings. Creator/StephenKing thinks Neil may well be the greatest storyteller alive today.

He is married to Music/AmandaPalmer of The Dresden Dolls. (They had a rough patch in 2020, but have since [[https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300204981/uk-author-neil-gaiman-reunites-with-his-son-and-amanda-palmer-in-havelock-north reunited in New Zealand and are working on their relationship]].) He has a [[http://twitter.com/#!/neilhimself Twitter account]] and a [[http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/ Tumblr blog]], as well as a [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/ more traditional blog]] (it was originally created to document his promotion tour for ''Literature/AmericanGods'' back in 2001, and it took off from there). He's also been known to dispense writing advice to fans (often via Website/{{Tumblr}}).

He is also a part-time professor at Bard College.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad:

He is famous for his UrbanFantasy works, including the renowned ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' comic series for Creator/DCComics under their [[Creator/VertigoComics Vertigo]] imprint, which was the only work in its medium to win a UsefulNotes/WorldFantasyAward for Best Short Story. (To prevent it happening again, [[ObviousRulePatch they changed the rules]] so that comic books had to be relegated to their own special category, and couldn't be judged alongside prose works.) His novels ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'' and ''Literature/{{Coraline}},'' have been made into movies, and ''Literature/{{American Gods}}'' and ''Literature/{{Good Omens}}'' have been made into streaming miniseries. He's also written scripts for other projects, such as ''Film/MirrorMask'' by Creator/DaveMcKean and the ''Series/{{Neverwhere}}'' TV series. In addition, he worked on the translated script of ''Anime/PrincessMononoke''. His young adult work ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'' became the first book to win both the UsefulNotes/NewberyMedal and the UsefulNotes/CarnegieMedal. He also wrote two episodes for ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]" in Series 6 and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]" in Series 7.

* ''Comicbook/BlackOrchid'': His premiere work for Creator/DCComics, with art by Creator/DaveMcKean. Legend has it that when Gaiman floated the idea, he had to explain to DC's representatives who the character ''was''.
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': His BreakthroughHit, and arguably the reason DC was able to launch its [[Creator/VertigoComics Vertigo wing]] at all. Featured - by design - an ever-rotating cast of interior artists, but almost always with covers by [=Dave McKean=]. Spin-offs were innumerable, but the ones Gaiman directly wrote include:

* A handful of ComicBook/SwampThing stories (the Creator/AlanMoore run on ''Swamp Thing'' being a premier influence on his love of comics) and one issue of ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}''. All collected in the volume ''Midnight Days''.
* A handful of ComicBook/{{Batman}} stories - most famously the MindScrew Riddler origin "When Is A Door" and ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' - which can all be found in just about any collection of the latter.
* ''Comicbook/{{Miracleman}}'': Picked up right where Creator/AlanMoore left off... and [[LeftHanging promptly dropped off after eight issues]] on account of Eclipse going bankrupt. After many thrilling legal adventures, the rights are now with Creator/MarvelComics, who have [[DevelopmentHell repeatedly promised]] it'll be finished any day now.

* ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}'': For all intents and purposes, his Creator/MarvelComics premiere - a MarvelUniverse {{Elseworld}}, transposing many familiar characters to the year 1602.
* ''ComicBook/Eternals2006'': A {{Retool}} of the Creator/JackKirby characters and their Marvel Universe mythology.

* CanonDefilement: Gaiman hoped ''[[https://thedreaming.moteofdust.com/1999/10/10/snow-glass-apples/ Snow, Glass, Apples]]'' (a PerspectiveFlip of "Literature/SnowWhite") would prevent the reader from ever experiencing the original innocently again. His ExternalRetcon of ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' pulls a similar trick. ''Literature/TheProblemOfSusan'' riffs off of Susan's exile from [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]]: her embrace of adolescence means that, ''retroactively'', she experienced the original adventure as a DarkerAndEdgier pagan allegory.

* ContemptibleCover: ''Ghastly Beyond Belief'' certainly has [[https://flic.kr/p/87WX8q a lurid cover]]. However, the book was something of an AffectionateParody, so this may be what the authors were hoping for.

* ''The Sleeper and the Spindle'', illustrated by Chris Riddell. (2014)

* FracturedFairyTale: Several of his stories and novels play with fairy tales and tropes and fracture them to pieces. "Snow, Glass, Apples" is a dark take on Snow White in which Snow White is a vampire. Meanwhile "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" mashes up several nursery rhymes into a PrivateEyeMonologue as HardboiledDetective Jack Horner tries to solve the murder of Humpty Dumpty. "The Sleeper and the Spindle" features Queen Snow White investigating the familiar curse of ''Sleeping Beauty'', only to discover that [[spoiler: the old woman looking after the girl was the ''princess'', who was cursed to stay ''awake'', and the evil sorceress was the one asleep, restoring her youth and power.]]

* "Literature/MurderMysteries": Began as a short story.