If you're looking for a comprehensive source of interviews about Neil Gaiman, this is probably the best book out there. It focuses on his collaborations with other artists, writers, and musicians, but these conversations give a good viewpoint into the working life of Gaiman himself. As a trivia sourcebook, it is also filled with all kinds of witty anecdotes and little known facts, so any fan of Gaiman and his collaborators is sure to learn a lot. ( )

See my blog post on it:

http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/10/booknote-hanging-out-with-dream-king.... ( )

Joseph McCabe’s Hanging Out with the Dream King: Conversations with Neil Gaiman and His Collaborators features interviews that McCabe did with Gaiman, artist Dave McKean, DC/Vertigo editor Karen Berger, Sandman artists Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, and Colleen Doran, muscians Tori Amos and Alice Cooper, and author Terry Pratchett, among many others. The interviews primarily focus on the creation and production of the Sandman series, but also examine other elements of Gaiman’s oeuvre up to that point, including Stardust and Good Omens. McCabe includes examples of artists’ work with the relevant interviews to show how each approached Gaiman’s characters. Some of the art and photographs were unpublished prior to this volume. This, coupled with the insight these interviews offer into the late-1980s/early-1990s comics scene make this a must-read for fans of Gaiman and comic book historians alike. ( )

I would recommend this volume strictly to all-time fans of The Sandman.

If you're looking for insight information or interesting anecdotes on Gaiman's novels, this is not your book.

My favourite passage: The interview with Mark Dringenberg, in which he reveals what inspired him to create the image of Death as we know her.

My least favourite passage: The many passages in which the collaborators recall in detail telephone conversations with each other, arguments, clashes... ( )

This book is a set of interviews to all the collaborators to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and also to other works. If The Sandman Companion was focused on the details, motivations and cross references inside it, this one being an interviews book has its focus on the creative process of each one of the people involved in it.

It is an enjoyable and curious reading for Gaiman's hardcore admirers.

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