American Gods, Volume 1: Shadows (Graphic Novel)

by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton (Illustrator), Walt Simonson (Illustrator)

Overview

Neil Gaiman's acclaimed story now in comics!

This supernatural American road trip fantasy tells the story of a war between the ancient and modern gods. The Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, and Nebula award-winning novel and new Starz television series by Neil Gaiman is adapted as a graphic novel for the first time!

The first in a three-volume adaptation of Neil Gaiman's modern classic!

Shadow Moon gets out of jail only to discover his wife is dead. Defeated, broke, and uncertain where to go from here, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who employs him to serve as his bodyguard—thrusting Shadow into a deadly world where ghosts of the past come back from the dead, and a god war is imminent.

Collecting the first nine issues of the American Gods comic book series, along with art process features, high res scans of original art, layouts, character designs, and variant covers by BECKY CLOONAN, SKOTTIE YOUNG, FÁBIO MOON, DAVE MCKEAN, and MORE!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506703862
Publisher:	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	113,241
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the celebrated author of books, graphic novels, short stories, and films for readers of all ages.

Some of his most notable titles include the groundbreaking #1 New York Times bestselling Sandman comics series (which garnered nine Eisner Awards and the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story); The Graveyard Book (the first book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie medals); American Gods (which will soon be released as a television show in the US); and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the UK's National Book Award 2013 Book of the Year.

The film adaptation of How to Talk to Girls at Parties (directed by John Cameron Mitchell) will be in theaters in 2017.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

Editorial Reviews

02/05/2018
Russell (The Sandman: Dream Hunters), a frequent collaborator with Gaiman, does a bang-up job in adapting the bestselling, campy supernatural prose titles into the first of three graphic novel collections. Ex-con Shadow’s life is thrown into chaos when he’s hired by mysterious Mr. Wednesday—Odin of Norse myth—and drawn into a battle between gods of legend and those worshipped by modern America. Wednesday and Shadow’s cross-country road trip allies them with Anubis and Anansi (ancient gods hiding in plain sight under mundane and macabre identities) and pits them against contemporary deities Conspiracy and Media (figured as a hilariously profane Lucille Ball). The careful preservation of the voice of the original series will please Gaiman purists, and Hampton’s atmospheric artwork is outstanding, especially his skillful coloring. Muted shades dominate, but pastels appear when Shadow encounters the rare characters who are neither mythic or dead. Brilliant colors blaze out when it’s time for magic. A series of guest artists (including Colleen Doran, Glenn Fabry, David Mack, and Walter Simonson) illustrate flashbacks, vignettes, and re-told fables. This is a suitably epic treatment of a grand saga, with art that brings enough new life to the popular fiction for its many followers to add to their collections. Agent: Merilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

“The Holy Grail of Gaiman comics.”—SY FY WIRE

“An atmospheric, beautifully illustrated take on Gaiman’s story.”—AV CLUB

“If you’re excited for the show and want to know what to expect from what looks like it could be the Next Big Thing on TV, make sure to pick this up”—IGN

“Neil Gaiman’s multi-award winning novel finally gets the comic adaptation it deserves.”—BROKEN FRONTIER

“What better time than now to adapt American Gods into sequential art, and who better to do it than P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton, two masters of the craft known in part for their collaborations with Gaiman in the past?.”—PASTE MAGAZINE

"Russell’s lyrical layouts bring Gaiman’s visual, vivid prose to life like no other artist."—CBR

“This adaptation is perfect.”—GEEKS OF DOOM

“Dark Horse has another hit on its hands …. They’re going to have whole bunch of new readers falling in love with the story for the first time as well as OG fans finding a new way to love the story in a new and exciting way.”—GRAPHIC POLICY

“It’s a good year for Gaiman fans.”—FANGIRL NATION

“Dark Horse’s comic book adaption is an appropriate tribute to his long-form vision... Although both mediums are image-oriented and the source material is the same, adapting the novel to television versus comic books offers an entirely different set of circumstances and challenges, ones which should make both takes unique in their own right; giving fans of American Gods an entertaining fable set to unravels in two varied mediums.”—SCREEN RANT

“Utterly gorgeous.”—COMICS BEAT

“P. Craig Russell is the real star here.”—UPROXX

“I love the art.”—GEEK DAD 

“Visually striking… will appeal to new readers and those existing fans.”--BLEEDING COOL

“A gorgeous adaptation.”—FREAK SUGAR

“This can easily become your next favorite title.”—COMICS GRINDER

“Wonderful.”—IMPULSE GAMER

“I knew this would be good, but it was actually great.”—13TH DIMENSION 

"By staying true to its source material and retaining Gaiman's strong narrative voice, AMERICAN GODS #1 presents a stellar example of how to make an adaptation." -COMICVERSE

“A dream team.”—TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

“Neil Gaiman is one of those once in a millennia creators, much like Shakespeare, whose work is thought-provokingly complex yet interpretable on multiple levels. P. Craig Russell is one of those creators whose made an artform out of translating cherished works to the comic book medium.”—COMICS BEAT

From the Publisher

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