Creatures of the Night (Second Edition)

Neil Gaiman

Nov 2016 · Sold by Dark Horse Comics

About this ebook

Two of literary comics modern masters present a pair of magical and disturbing stories of strange creatures who are not quite what they seem! In The Price, a mysterious feline engages in a nightly conflict with an unseen, vicious foe. The Daughter of Owls recounts an eerie tale of a beautiful orphan girl who was found clutching an owl pellet--and how those who would do her wrong would face bizarre, unforeseen consequences.

Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, American Gods) delivers his award-winning magic and mystery, realized in Michael Zulli's lavish paintings, newly re-designed in a beautiful new edition!

Ratings and reviews

Creatures of the Night collects two short stories - The Price and The Daughter of Owls. The artwork in this graphic novel is certainly the highlight - it is detailed, and the coloring is more elaborate than the flat color scheme we are used to. But it is also a very short book - 50 pages with both stories, so I think it was easier to go into so much detail when it came to artwork. The Price is the story about a man who adopts stray cats left near his house. One such cat, the Black Cat seems to be always hurt or wounded in some way. Day after day, the cat seems worse in the morning. But when the cat is kept inside and not allowed to go out, terrible things happen to the people of the house. When the man tries to find out where the cat goes at night, he learns how thankful he needs to be to the cat. It is heartbreaking, the story, and something that subverts the superstition around black cats; I loved it for that part. The next, The Daughter of Owls was probably too simplistic in storyline to really grab my attention. An orphan girl, with an owl pellet in her hand, is ostracized by the members of her village and is placed in the care of a retired nun. Later on, she grows to be an inhumanly beautiful girl who is in danger because of her beauty. The story was too linear and lacked the twist like The Price, which is why I was not so invested in it. Overall, it is a beautiful bit of artwork to see, as well as a quick read.

About the author

Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States near Minneapolis. As a child he discovered his love of books, reading, and stories, devouring the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, and G.K. Chesterton. A self-described "feral child who was raised in libraries," Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a life-long love of reading: "I wouldn't be who I am without libraries. I was the sort of kid who devoured books, and my happiest times as a boy were when I persuaded my parents to drop me off in the local library on their way to work, and I spent the day there. I discovered that librarians actually want to help you: they taught me about interlibrary loans."

Neil Gaiman's work has been honoured with many awards internationally, including the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. His books and stories have also been honoured with four Hugos, two Nebulas, one World Fantasy Award, four Bram Stoker Awards, six Locus Awards, two British SF Awards, one British Fantasy Award, three Geffens, one International Horror Guild Award, and two Mythopoeic Awards.