Signal to Noise

Originally serialized in The Face, Signal to Noise is the story of a film director dying of cancer. His life's crowning achievement, his greatest film, would have told the story of a European village as the last hour of 999 A.D. approached -- the midnight that the villagers were convinced would bring with it Armageddon. Now that story will never be told. But he's still working it out in his head, making a film that no one will ever see. No one but us.

Signal to Noise is a poignant story, rich in humanity, depth, and communications theory. A beautifully designed and printed book, showcasing McKean's stunning artwork and Gaiman's story, Signal to Noise will make you re-evaluate your thinking about the potential of the medium and a book you will be proud to share with your friends. They will thank you for it!

Dark Horse, paperback, published October 1992

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Writer: Neil Gaiman | Artist: Dave McKean | Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: £7.49

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Reviews:

Gaiman's writing and McKean's (who created each single, enchanting, magical cover for the Sandman series) wonderful mixed-media artwork combine in a beautifully sad tale. It is utterly gorgeous, deeply moving, a quite unforgettable tale of art, life and mortality.

Our central character is a respected film director who is told he is dying. Shattered he leaves the doctors and eventually beings to plan his next and final film; a film he will not live to see but the reader can share as he visualizes it. Its about the End of Days in the closing stages of the first millennium AD, as people are convinced the end of their sinful world is coming in much the same way hysterics feared the coming of the year 2000.

The emotions seep through Neil's text like poetry, striking the empathic response of the reader while Dave's stunning (and extremely innovative, especially given the time period) mixed-media artworks wouldn't look out of place on a gallery wall. It's the end of the world, but it isn't science fiction; it's a fictional end of the world mirroring the personal, individual mortality of the protagonist; it's the sad, haunting beauty of a requiem by Bach or Mozart.

Review by Joe Gordon