Reference 05
The collaborations of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, from comics to books
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean met as unknowns in 1986, and four decades on, Gaiman and McKean remains the most durable writer-artist pairing British comics has produced, one that wandered off into picture books, novels and cinema without ever quite dissolving.
The collaborations of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, at a glance
The working method barely changed in four decades: Gaiman supplies story and a long leash, McKean supplies everything visual and a longer one back. The table lists the major collaborations; the Sandman covers get their own section here, as does the film work.
| Work | Year | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Cases | 1987 | Graphic novel | The debut, published by Escape; a child misremembers Al Capone's osteopath |
| Black Orchid | 1988 | Comics miniseries | Painted DC three-parter that got both hired for bigger things |
| Sandman covers | 1989–1996 | Series covers | All 75 issue covers of Gaiman's flagship series |
| Signal to Noise | 1989 / 1992 | Graphic novel | Serialised in The Face; a dying director's final, unmade film |
| The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch | 1994 | Graphic novel | Seaside memory-play; the collaboration at its darkest |
| The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish | 1997 | Picture book | First of the children's books, still in print |
| Coraline | 2002 | Illustrated novel | McKean's spidery chapter illustrations for the modern classic |
| The Wolves in the Walls | 2003 | Picture book | Collage wolves; later an opera and a VR piece |
| MirrorMask | 2005 | Feature film | Gaiman script, McKean design and direction, Jim Henson Company |
| The Graveyard Book (US edition) | 2008 | Illustrated novel | American edition illustrations; the UK went to Chris Riddell |
| Crazy Hair | 2009 | Picture book | A poem grown into a jungle of hair |
The comics years: Violent Cases to Mr. Punch
Violent Cases was made for almost no money and printed small in 1987, and it still reads like a manifesto: real memory is collage, so the pages are too. DC noticed, and Black Orchid followed in 1988, a painted eco-fable that gave a minor character an afterlife. Signal to Noise ran in The Face before its 1992 collection, and Mr. Punch closed the graphic-novel sequence in 1994 with puppets, piers and a family lie left deliberately unresolved.
Between those books sat the day job: Gaiman writing Sandman monthly, McKean covering it. Seventy-five issues of proximity did more for the partnership than any single project.
The books for children, and the Coraline illustrations
The second act of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean is domestic. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish arrived in 1997 as a picture book parents actually wanted to reread, The Wolves in the Walls followed in 2003, and Crazy Hair in 2009. The Coraline illustrations of 2002 belong to the same period, ink-thin, nervous drawings that set the visual tone for a book now firmly in the children's canon, and the US edition of The Graveyard Book extended the same approach in 2008.
A small irony: the artist known for some of the darkest covers in comics is, for a generation of readers, the person who drew their favourite bedtime books.
MirrorMask and the move into film
MirrorMask inverted the usual flow. The Jim Henson Company wanted a fantasy in the lineage of Labyrinth; McKean would direct and design, and Gaiman wrote the script to fit images his partner was already building. Released in 2005, it remains the strangest artefact of the collaboration, a children's film that looks like a McKean cover given ninety minutes and a walking soundtrack. The Wolves in the Walls later became an opera, which suggests neither of them recognises a lane.
Gaiman and McKean have both said in interviews that the other made their early work possible, and the evidence sides with them: neither career looks the same subtracted. Where the partnership goes next is an open question, and both keep leaving the door ajar.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean meet?
Through the mid-eighties London small-press scene around Escape Magazine, in 1986. Both were unknowns; editor Paul Gravett gave their first book, Violent Cases, its 1987 publication, and the partnership never really paused after that.
What books did Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean make together?
Four graphic novels (Violent Cases, Black Orchid, Signal to Noise, Mr. Punch), the Sandman covers, the picture books The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls and Crazy Hair, plus the illustrated editions of Coraline and The Graveyard Book. In book form alone the collaborations run from 1987 to 2009.
Did Dave McKean illustrate Coraline?
Yes. The Coraline illustrations, all scratchy pen-work and unsettling button eyes, appeared in the original 2002 editions and have accompanied most printings since. Chris Riddell and others have illustrated later special editions.
What is MirrorMask and who made it?
A 2005 fantasy feature produced with the Jim Henson Company: Neil Gaiman wrote the script from a story the two developed together, and Dave McKean designed and directed it. It began as a project meant to sit beside Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
Did Gaiman and McKean work on Sandman together?
Constantly, though at one remove: Gaiman wrote every issue, McKean created every cover and much of the series' design identity. The interiors belonged to a rotating cast of other artists.
Are the Gaiman and McKean picture books suitable for children?
Genuinely yes, though they run darker than the picture-book average. The Wolves in the Walls in particular trades on the fear of something living behind the wallpaper, and children tend to love it precisely for that.
Do Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean still collaborate?
The joint books have slowed as both careers widened, but Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have never formally closed the partnership, and Gaiman's prose editions keep drawing on McKean covers and design. Neither has ruled out another major project.
Which Gaiman and McKean book should I read first?
Violent Cases if you want the collaboration's DNA in forty pages; The Wolves in the Walls if there is a child in the room. Mr. Punch rewards knowing the earlier books, so save it for third.