Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples Kindle & comiXology

I’ve started reading some Neil Gaiman stuff recently and thus read the collaboration of Gaiman/Doran in the book Troll Bridge. Colleen Doran is an incredibly talented artist and I checked out her web site and saw she was illustrating another Gaiman story, this one, and her posting of the cover was enough to get me to preorder. I currently have both the physical book and the E-Books edition and recommend both highly as this 5 star review would indicate.Based on a few negative comments I’ve seen here, let me say this: if all you want is the Gaiman story it is easily available elsewhere. It is a short story, included with the aforementioned Troll Bridge and a couple of dozen other short stories in a book titled “Smoke and Mirrors (and available here on Amazon). It has also been released as a “radio play” which you can find on the internet for free. The “radio play” version stars Bebe Neuwirth, the actress who played Lilith, Frazier’s wife on Cheers. It is quite good and I recommend seeking it out.So the reason to purchase this book is Colleen Doran’s art. Ms Doran says her inspiration for the art style in which she illustrated this story is a book illustrator and stained glass artist named Harry Clarke, a man who worked in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. If you Google the name you will see that this is no doubt so, though I have to say that when I first saw her cover for this book my immediate thought was “Kay Nielsen”, another artist of that period who illustrated in (to me) a similar style. (Nielsen also worked for Walt Disney as an inspirational artist and is responsible for much of the look and feel of The Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Fantasia.). In any event, were this another time, I think Ms Doran would easily fit in with Clarke, Nielsen, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and the other great “children’s book” illustrators. Note that while Ms Doran was inspired by Clarke the art here is her own, original and superlative in every way.We are warned that this is not a “children’s book”, and indeed this is not something I would want to read to my 6 and 4 year old grandkids. On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t want to read the original version of Snow White to them either. As you might know in that original version the evil Queen eats what she thinks are Snow White’s liver and lungs and in the end of the story she is killed at the the Prince’s orders, by torture. So, while this story isn’t suitable for pre-teens it’s not really so far in spirit from the original. When I was young I loved comic books. As I grew older I found that I still loved the form but I found the content somewhat childish. I longed for illustrated stories that I could read as an adult without feeling like I was reading a story meant for pre-teen boys. In short, I wanted the comics to grow up with me. I must not have been the only one, and during the 80’s there was a revolution in comics. Odd that nowadays it’s difficult to find, except in reprints, comics of the type I remember from my childhood. This is the type of story and art I wished for in those days. Based on this and Troll Bridge I hope there will be other Neil Gaiman stories illustrated by Colleen Doran.

I'd forgotten how really creepy Snow White is. This was a really good reminder and way creepier than Disney. However, the queen isn't evil and the little princess isn't good. In fact, she's a vampire.The illustrations are gorgeous but a bit more graphic than I'm comfortable with.

This is why illustrated literature is fast becoming mainstream literature. The total far exceeds the sum of its written and drawn parts.The story itself inverts "Snow White" neatly around the good-guy/bad-guy axis, and adds elements that barely fit within the classic constraints. That's been done before, often almost as well.But here, more than many I can think of, the visual and verbal make different and complementary contributions. The imagery reminds us that fairy tales were originally for grownups, in lovingly sensuous loving. The words carry dark detail, often farther than I could have expected. It's treasure of today's visual storytelling.-- wiredweird

This was the best horror-fairytale ever

This is Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran's adult (NOT for kids!) take on the 'Snow White' legend, sinisterly retold in a MOST surprising way as only Neil could, and jaw-droppingly illustrated as only Colleen could. Gorgeous hardcover book that is worth every penny, Neil has an amazing talent with the written word and Colleen's many, many illustrations are richly saturated with color and highly detailed. As a bonus there are 5 pages of notes in the back of the book by Colleen with oodles of pencil sketches, detailing her art process.NOW--All that said--BEWARE OF AMAZON'S CRAPTACULAR LACK OF INNER PACKAGING. My 1st edition copy was RUINED in shipping because they simply slid this art book into a too-large flatpack (so if nothing else it could slide around and get bumped corners/cover wear) and shipped it, NO bubble wrap or even some measly paper wrapping to protect it. UPS, as usual, did *their* part by crunching the packaging and badly denting the front & back covers on the bottom (see pictures). Going to try and get another 1st edition in exchange & hope IT survives UPS, but doubt it. Criminal way to ship ANY book, but with art books doubly so. Do better, Amazon! UPDATE: The replacement copy arrived promptly...also damaged! Shipped in a bubble wrap envelope, dented top cover at the bottom and pretty substantial scuffing to the cover front and back, could have happened in warehouse or in shipping. Third time is the charm, let's see if it is possible to just get a copy of a book that isn't beat to death...

I ordered this for my 14 year old granddaughter and quickly realized that it was not a book for someone her age. I returned it.

A spellbinding read. Just wish I had read it during the daytime! Can't wait to get to the next book in the series...

I enjoyed this version of snow white. The artwork was beautifully detailed and dark. I 1st saw this at a local bookstore but couldn't purchase that time. This is not a book for children.

The other reviews attached to this appear to be of Gaiman’s short story which is a retelling of Snow White from the Queens perspective. This is a graphic novel adaptation of the short story by Colleen Doran. Please note this is not one for kids given the mixture of horror and eroticism.As to the graphic novel itself Colleen Doran has outdone herself. The art, inspired by Irish artist Harry Clarke, is beautiful. You could spend hours studying the images and appreciating each page, or double page, as a work of art in its own right. Despite it being highly stylised it is also eminently readable. This work shows comics at its best and I’d recommend it to all who appreciate fine art.

This is a wonderful, beautifully illustrated version of a short story by Neil Gaiman. I read a lot of reviews who gave 1 star because a) it's for adults and has adult content and b) it's an illustrated short story, not a novel, I feel like that's unfair. It's not the author or the illustrator's fault that people didn't know what they were buying. What you are paying for here are Doran's beautiful illustrations inspired by the amazing Harry Clarke and they are entirely worth the money if you are a fan of illustration or of Clarke, Doran, or Gaiman. The short story is good (though these things are subjective) but the illustrations elevate it into something else. It's violent and sexually explicit. Like much of Gaiman's work. Not for kids! I mean, she's holding a heart in her hands on the cover, that should be a clue!

This is not a graphic novel in the conventional sense. There's no dialogue between characters or even page panels. It is simply narrated by the queen. But it is a beautiful illustration of the story. The writing is Neil Gaiman and so vivid, magical and haunting in tone as well as having a dramatic tale to tell.Visually, it is like Harry Clarke's Eve of Saint Agnes window. This was the story from the poem by Keats told in picture form made for the owner of Jacob's Crackers's house. There are pages/panels and each illustrates part of the story. Clarke was mainly a stained glass window maker and the vividness of the colours in his work have to be seen in the various churches around Dublin to really get the full impact of their beauty: ruby reds, sapphire blues and amber yellows.It also reminded me of Jim Fitzpatrick and Angela Mills. So it has an Irish Folklore feel.Just open it and look. It is a work of art. Enjoy it!

The graphic novel was a tad more graphic than I had intended! I had not researched the book properly, so totally my fault.I purchased the item to use as an example of how traditional fairytales can be adapted/ written from a different perspective. However, a Snow White tale that involves sex scenes, incest and necrophilia would have gone down well with my year 7 students - less so with their parents! Note to self: research books more thoroughly before ordering.Other than that, the graphic novel was beautifully illustrated and the plot was certainly engaging!

This beautiful book is a graphic interpretation by Colleen Doran of Neil Gaimans short story. Both story and art have the feeling of the original fairy tales, which had all sorts of bloody endings, so probably not best for young children. The art is glorious and so in keeping with the tale. The attention to detail and ethereal style are really wonderful, it will be going on the shelf next to the 'Sleeper and the Spindle' which also has stunning artistic work. Definately recommend!