The Last Temptation (1994)

A black and white comic that is very well drawn by Michael Zulli to Neil Gaiman's words. ( )

Gaiman's homage to Something Wicked This Way Comes and Creepshow. I understand he collaborated with Alice Cooper on this one. There's a nice little story to start the book off with how that came about. I'd like to listen to the companion album sometime. It was a fun, short read. ( )

It was an okay read but lacked the usual depth of Neil Gaiman. Having said that, he does say in the introduction that it's not a story he would have written by himself. The artwork is very good, as one can expect from Mr. Zulli. ( )

Gaiman meets rock star Alice Cooper in this Halloween tale that originally appeared in the early 1990s. It adapts a story from Cooper's album "Lost in America", to which Gaiman contributed story and lyrics.

Gaiman manages to elevate the most frequent scene in literature -- that of evil tempting innocence and offering fantasies come true, all in exchange for the poor sap's soul -- into something quite unique.

However, this work fell short of my expectation. I really didn't care what happens to Steven; I never got a sense of his personality, any feeling that he was real or realistic. As a lead character, he's a bit dull.

Fortunately, Michael Zulli is magnificently spot-on with his depiction of Alice Cooper. And who else but Alice is perfect in a role as the ultimate showman (a cross of his stage self and Dahl's Willy Wonka)? I think Zulli's black and white illustrations fit perfectly with Gaiman's story. The art is evocative and well done, bringing out the eeriness of the theme. I've heard there's a colored version of this graphic novel but I'm pretty much satisfied with this copy.

The effort to work in Cooper's lyrics holds back the plot and dialogue in more than a few places. It's a growing-up story of a boy, but with a final insight that whispers rather than shouting. The ending results in being a tad cryptic and vague.

Book Details:

Title The Last Temptation
Author Neil Gaiman & Michael Zulli
Reviewed By Purplycookie ( )

A beautiful positive message about overcoming fears. ( )