Good Is Dead.

Hey, all you Neil Gaiman fans! A little mini-contest: I have been tapped to interview Mr. G on stage by the 92 Street Y fall lecture series here in NYC, on Sunday, November 9, at 7:30pm. It’s in honor of the 20th anniversary of his astonishing, legendary The Sandman comics series. If any of you read this and have a question you’d like me to ask him about the series, write to me here in the comments and let me know. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance (for me, anyway), to ask Neil something you always wanted to know about Dream, Death, Delirium, Destiny, Despair, Desire, and Destruction.

And don’t forget to preorder your tickets to Neil Gaiman in Conversation with Chip Kidd: The Sandman 20th Anniversary Celebration at the 92Y website.

“What’s up with the Dr. Strange movie?”

“Will American Gods see the silver screen?”

“Favorite Hanna Barbera cartoon?”

“Boxers or briefs?”

Will Delirium ever be Delight again?

Ask any question that will get him to do his Harlan Ellison or William Shatner impressions.  They’re priceless.

Or “Are you still directing “Death: The High Cost of Living” and when?”

Or “favorite Jackie Chan movie?”

How do you feel Sandman would be greeted by readers were it just being published for the first time today? And what elements do you think would be added or taken away from the overall story given your current influences?

Seconding Kate’s question.

Checking the publication dates for the individual, numbered issues of Sandman, I find that they were released in strict numerical order. What statement were you trying to make with this affectation?

Damn, somebody took boxers or briefs…how about:

Did you inhale?

Want to move to Portland, OR?  Love to have you. It’s weird and wonderful.

What are your favorite movies?

Do you have any suggestions for learning how to write novels? Resources?

Are you interested in acting professionally?  In playing the tambourine, perhaps?  Or writing a story about a writer who acts and plays the tambourine?

What hobbies or interests do you have besides bee keeping?

What is the most fun thing you’ve ever done?

What is the most interesting/awkward/unusual moment you have had at a book reading (your own)?

Colbert Report or The Daily Show with John Stewart?

Did you catch Sherman Alexie on the Colbert Report? Your thoughts if any?

Poets/poems that you like?

Here’s a start.

I’ll third Kate’s question.
Plus:
Have you met any Fiends that didn’t start out as Thingies?

How has the RoboPanda improved your life?

What is your greatest joy?

What happens with the black phoenix egg?

I believe, though I may be misremembering, that it was said that Delirium would change into someone else again.  What/who?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever gotten from a fan?

How did Delirium become Delight?

Do you regret “killing off” Morpheus, or was it inevitable?
Would Sandman have been as successful had it been a book series instead?
Will you write more stories about girls? Or at least female books…
Do you mind having so many stories about people going into other worlds/alternate realities?
Am I boring/annoying anyone? :P
Will you tell the “Scary Trousers” story again?

Kate’s is good, what I want to know is related to this topic:

What is Delirium becoming at the end of Endless Nights? When is he going to tell us the story?

Also: obligatory Doctor Who comment is obligatory at this point.

Please tell us what happens in one of the alternate Americas in which Boss Smiley makes Sarah Palin President.

How did Delirium become Delight, and is she becoming something else entirely?  will we ever get to read the story?

“If you had to change one thing about the series, what would it be?”

If he hems and haws, tell him someone’s going to pore a bowl of snake venom on his face if he can’t pick something.

(Also, an aside: Chip, I bought “Book One” recently. Loved it. Thought you might like to know.)

In the years since finishing Sandman, have you realized that you may have overlooked additional Endless family members?  (Disturbed? Dementia? Dysphoria?)  If so, who?

I second the question, asked elsewhere, what is delirium becoming next??

Do you often remember the smell of your dreams? Or the language you were dreaming in? How many ideas for the series were actually taken from dreams?

How did the first Despair die and what was Desire’s reaction?

If you had to choose another of the endless to “die” and be replaced by another aspect, who would you pick?

What was “childhood” like for the Endless Siblings?

Are there currently any plans for you to do a mini-series or graphic novel on any of the endless characters?

Favourite Batman villain?

How would Sandman be different if you worked with the same art team throughout the series?

Sophia

Will you ever reveal to us how the first Despair died?

How is Daniel doing as the new Dream?

You wear black most of the time, and have all white house pets.  How come you are not fuzzy all the time, and will you consider black furred pets in future?

Could you perhaps ask how he dealt with peoples attitudes and prejudices toward comic books whilst working on The Sandman? Also, how much does he think that attitude have changed towards comics as a result of The Sandman in the past twenty years?
That would be grand. I’ve emailed him this question myself, but since he seems to be a particularly busy bunny these days; I’m not holding my breath for a response.

Does he still get to read out loud or make up bedtime stories for his kids, now that they are mostly all grown up?

Ditto on Despair questions.

Why did we need a new Despair?

Will there be more fairy tales?

Question on “Death: The High Cost of Living”—are you going to go through with adapting it to “Death’s Day” and will you direct it and will Shia Labeouf play Sexton? Please say yes!

1) How long is the lecture? I need to plan my return trip.

2) You make references to things early in the series that happen later. Did you the full story in mind at the time or did you figure it out later. For example: Barbie has a dream in The Doll’s House about Martin Tenbones and the Porpentine that later show up in a Game of You. Did you have the Game of You story planned out at the time of The Doll’s House? Or was the dream something you looked at later and said “I can use this?”

I was wondering how many of the inter-woven real myths (i know that’s an oxymoron but i’m tired!) that occur throughout Sandman Neil already knew and was familiar with, or if he in fact had to research for something appropriate to fit his story lines? And how much did he know about bezoars before he started the Calliope story?

I know that Sandman came out of the revamping of an older comic series—but I wonder what Neil would think his storylines would loose if they had been written in a form other than the comic form?

Having only recently begun reading the series, I am amazed that it ever got made, let alone ran as long as it did - a comic series in which the main character hardly appears for a good portion of the first 8 issue arc?  Highly daring storytelling that expects much from its readers, both with its visuals and its narrative.

Would a comic company be willing to take the same risk on Sandman today?  Or would it quickly get canceled and replaced with a more commercial property?

Neil has said all his novels ‘join up at the back end’ or something similar, as in they’re really all set in the same ‘world’.  And it’s arguable that Delirium and Barnabas make an appearance in American Gods.  Was this just a bit of fun, or does Sandman (in Neil’s head) join up with the others as well?  Leaving legality aside as the characters are owned by DC, but I’d like to think that the Lady on the Grey from the Graveyard Book is just our friend Death in a different outfit.

What ever happened to the tooth fairy story for Sandman?

1. Are you Dream/Morpheus—if so, when you die, what do you turn into?
2. Will there be novel adaptation of some stories of Sandman (like A Game of You)?  If so, will you turn that into audio books?
3. What is your true heart’s delight—in producing and in perceiving: novels, short stories, children’s picture books, children’s fiction, graphic novels, audio books, movies?
4. If there is an 8th sibling, what will he/she be?

Have you ever written a story based on one of your dreams?

What are the favorite and least favorite words for each of The Endless?

Are there any stories you DIDN’T get to tell in Sandman?

Did you ever think of starting the names of the Endless with a letter other than “D?”

Did you have a favorite joke in the story? A jest or bit of irony that still brings a smile to your face.

Was it intimidating to tell a story about how Shakespeare wrote his plays?

Break a leg Chip, sounds like a fun evening.

Oh, definitely seconding Christina: How did the first Despair die?

If Morpheus is traveling on a dream train going East at 86mph and he is going from his palace to the Library and needs to be there at a quarter past moon rise and Death is traveling on a separate dream train going North from the outer lands to the Library and she needs to speak with Lucian before Dream arrives. Death’s train is traveling at half the speed of thought. At what time does she need to leave to make sure that Lucian still has time to bake Morpheus a cake?

Why did you choose to bring the world of Sandman to us all?

What is your favorite single issue from the series?

What is your favorite storyline?

I will be at this talk, which I cannot wait for. Good Luck.

what is the story of Despair as the “Grand Lady”? How did she become as she is now?

What will Delirium become next?

Why does love get such a short shrift in the series…the dominion of desire??  It seems more like the way I think of love is represented best by the character death…why is this??

Are myths as important as dreams?

Is it true that there are plans for a film?  And any casting or directorial ideas?

Re-reading Sandman, I’ve noticed GLBT oriented characters seem to be more prevalent in that series that in Mr. Gaiman’s work since (Of course, there could be examples that aren’t occurring to me at the moment.)
I was wondering what inspired some of those characters in Sandman, and if that prevalence was thematic or inspired by people in his life at the time.
Another question I had that is, I fear, off topic: in 1602, there are places that feel like Mr. Gaiman ran up against time (and perhaps format) constraints, and I was wondering if any of the ideas, plots, or characters glimpsed through those seams were being developed elsewhere.

I know the answer is problably “no”, but: is it intentional that all those creatures seem to walk into Dream’s crotch, at the end of A Game of You?

p.s.: I do love Sandman and take it very seriously. Sorry, but this is was the only question I could think of that probably hadn’t been answered in one of millions of interviews and specials.

As a character, and of all the endless, Death seems to have the most compassion and empathy for the living. Yet, at best,most people experience and view “death” as dispassionate and cold, or, at worst, as cruel and merciless. How did you come to create Death as she is—is it the view of “death” that you have? Or the view that you wish you had?

What about a tribute Michael Crichton? You did wonderful covers for hime

I totally enjoyed meeting you and attending this event. See my blog entry: http://claudiacarlson.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-happy-joy-joy-neil-gaiman-chip.html

Chip you did a great job tonight. That was a totally enjoyable event. I look forward to you doing more interviews!

Will the interview be available anywhere??  Did I miss an obvious link to it?

Does anyone remember what issue Neil said would have foreshadowed Daniel but didn’t because of a coloring error?

An I would like to second the idea of making the lecture available.

the only foreshadowing i’m aware of is in Chapter 7 of Brief Lives and the 1994 printing of the graphic novel i have shows a Dream with White hair and White robe, but maybe the original printing had him with Black hair?

I just found the scene you’re talking about, Dementia. I don’t think that’s it though. I believe Mr. Gaiman said that it was a scene of Dream making his ruby at the beginning of time.

How did Delight become Delirium? George Bush is not an acceptable answer.