Booknote: Neil Gaiman's Forbidden Brides

Neil Gaiman, with Shane Oakley (artist), Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-50670-140-0.

Genre: graphic novels and comics
Subgenre: Gothic fiction
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

I was not impressed by this comic. The story feels more like filler than anything substantial. The plot is about a Gothic writer in his castle who want to write "serious" literature in order to gain respect. Instead, to his chagrin, he writes Gothic literature about frail women, the undead, and other night mysteries. To complicate things, he gets interrupted by his raven and his butler among others.

The comic is supposed to be a satirical take on writers who take themselves too seriously. It does not really work. The plot seems like a mess. The one positive feature is Shane Oakley's art, which captures the Gothic atmosphere well.

I did some looking around after reading this volume. This comic, it turns out, is an adaptation of a short story in Gaiman's anthology Fragile Things. A few fans swear "the joke" works better in prose. I say if you need explain the joke or identify it as a joke, it does not work. This was a case of a short story adaptation to comics that was  not needed. I usually like Gaiman's work, but this is nowhere near his  best. It was OK. . . barely.

2 out of 5 stars (barely).

This book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges: