Neil--Wil Wheaton has been singing praises of all things Sandman and he has a very touching story about his first encounter with Dream and the other Endless up here:
http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2006/10/dream_country.html
I have to say, his experience is rather similar to my own. Sandman really opened my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities, comic-wise. Your novels had the same impression on me and... Well, I suppose Wil Wheaton's entry has made me realize I've never actually thanked you.So, thank you Neil. Thank you for creating magical worlds in which your readers can explore and get lost in, if even for a few hours.Also, I thought your blog readers who may not necessarily read Wil's blog as religiously as I might enjoy the read.
Thank you again. KaasDawson, Minnesota
That really is a touching story. I knew Wil liked Sandman, I didn't know that it had mattered to him like that.
Wil's Suicide Girls review of Absolute Sandman is now up at http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/18801/ (Do I need to warn anyone that there are pictures of ladies not wearing very much at the Suicide Girls site? The last time I linked to a Suicide Girls article I had people writing in to ask me to put NSFW warnings up. So.)
(The bookslut review, with Jessa's reaction oddly enough very similar to Wil's, is at http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2006_10.php#010119)
Meanwhile, from the Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i9mMlg9kPyExGMcYiFzCKlw==) I learn that BEOWULF is also going to be widely released in 3D next year (and that it's now being released on Nov 16th 2007). (It'll be released in 2D as well, of course.)
I like the description of it as a "digitally enhanced live-action film" too.
A reminder that I'll be talking and reading in Conway, Arkansas on November the 14th http://www.uca.edu/cfac/wrsp/speaker_series.html and then, on November the 16th I'll be doing the same sort of thing at San Jose http://sanjose.org/visitors/events/dates.php?id=15292 .
Finally, if you're in the Minneapolis area tomorrow, Friday the 27th, it's Mike Ford's memorial and a Wake -- details at http://community.livejournal.com/nemesis_draco/ and I'm not sure that I've posted anything here about the John M Ford Book Endowment Fund at the Minneapolis Public Library -- http://elisem.livejournal.com/907925.html -- but it certainly bears repeating...
"For every $500 dollars deposited in the endowment funds, the Friends
purchase a book for the library system annually with the interest
earned on the endowment. This really is the gift that keeps on giving.
You can specify what genre or library location/branch the books are
intended for. Some people just specify "where most needed". We prepare
bookplates and have them inserted in each book before they are
shelved. Patrons will see Mike's name each time the book is opened! I
think it is important for people to know that these funds are
'permanently restricted' to the annual purchase of books. The money
will never be diverted to other use."
And as Tom Galloway reminded me,
In addition, John Scalzi and Jo Walton have each auctioned off a
galley or sold unpublished stories for the benefit of the fund.
Currently, Lois McMaster Bujold is auctioning off the galleys of her
upcoming novel The Sharing Knife: Legacy, which otherwise won't be
available until next spring. Auction closes 11:59:59 pm Central,
Friday, October 27 and is taking place at
http://carbonel.livejournal.com/47830.html