Yeah, I think it was a mistake to try and binge read these books. After the heady experience of The Doll’s House, I should have just taken a break. But I wanted more! Desire would know what I’m talking about.
The stories in this book were just okay for me. Calliope and The Dream of a Thousand Cats had some zip and Kelley Jones (The Hammer!!!) does some nice work, especially in The Dream of a Thousand Cats. The Calliope story had a haunting quality that was appropriately creepy. As a cat servant, I naturally found The Dream of a Thousand Cats of particular use. I knew there was something going on in their furry diabolical brains. But honestly the other stories were either meh (Facade) or an all out chore (I’m looking at you, Will Shekespear). The work by the different artists was interesting, though. The joyful characterizations by Charles Vess were quite fine and reminded me of the old Prince Valiant comics waaay back in the day, only snazzier.
The book ends with the script for Calliope, with notes by Gaiman and Kelley Jones. That was rather entertaining look into the minds of the writer and (to a lesser extent) the artist and the interplay between them. But overall, this just felt like a rest stop on the way to bigger and better things. At least I hope so.
