Murder Mysteries
Murder Mysteries | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Midnight Graffiti, Dark Horse |
Format | Short story, Graphic novel |
Publication date | 1992 |
Creative team | |
Created by | Neil Gaiman |
Written by | Neil Gaiman |
Artist(s) | P. Craig Russell |
"Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman first published in the 1992 anthology Midnight Graffiti and later collected in his collections Angels and Visitations and Smoke and Mirrors.
Plot
The narrator, a young Englishman, visits Los Angeles for the first time, and has an upsetting encounter with an ex-girlfriend, Tink, and her child, that ends ambiguously. Rattled from the meeting, he sits on a park bench next to a man claiming to be the angel Raguel, once the very first detective, who was called upon to solve a mystery in the Silver City— another angel has been murdered and he has to find the killer, who ultimately turns out to have been the Creator himself, through influencing another angel. The murdered angel was the designer of love, and his co-worker fell in love with him, only to be scorned when the pair moved on to designing death. This sequence of events angers Raguel's by-the-book superior, Lucifer, ultimately prompting his doubt and subsequent fall. Raguel has since fallen himself, and become something akin to a grizzled noir detective. In discussion with Raguel, the narrator learns he likely murdered Tink and her child, and so Raguel uses the remnants of his angelic powers to wipe the atrocity away from his mind, setting him on a path towards a stable happy life. On his flight home to England, he reflects on the imagery in Raguel's story.
Adaptations
Murder Mysteries was adapted by the author into an audio drama, which was produced by Seeing Ear Theater in 2000, starring Brian Dennehy and narrated by Michael Emerson. Gaiman and Seeing Ear Theatre went on to collaborate on an adaptation of another story, "Snow, Glass, Apples", and the two adaptations have been released together on CD under the title Two Plays for Voices.[1]
Hollywood scriptwriter David S. Goyer wrote a script for a potential film. Although it was never made, according to him, Gaiman himself still refers to it as being one of the best adaptations of his work.[2]
In 2002, it was adapted into a comic book by P. Craig Russell, and published by Dark Horse Books.[3]
Reception
Reception to the various incarnations of the story have been positive,[4] with Publishers Weekly saying that the graphic novel's "crisp" and "vividly rendered" drawings capture the haunting sense of loss and isolation in the mythic tale of love and jealousy.[5] Valentinelli of FlamesRising.com praised the casting for the audio drama, but considered the plot "too vague".[6]
Connection to other works
The angels and their city are also depicted in Gaiman's earlier Sandman series. S. T. Joshi suggests the events of this story provide a rationale for Lucifer's eventual revolt against the Presence.[7] At the end of the story Lucifer leaves, dissatisfied with the justice of the conclusion.
References
- ^ Neil Gaiman- Interview Biting Dog Press
- ^ [1] Archived 2018-01-13 at the Wayback Machine Crave
- ^ Alverson, Brigid (31 December 2013). "P. Craig Russell on the new edition of 'Murder Mysteries'". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions Publishers Weekly]
- ^ MURDER MYSTERIES Publishers Weekly
- ^ Neil Gaiman's "Two Plays for Voices" Audiobook Review FlamesRising.com
- ^ Joshi, S. T. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural. Greenwood Press, 2007, p. 184
- v
- t
- e
- Good Omens
- Neverwhere
- Stardust
- The Sandman: The Dream Hunters
- American Gods
- Coraline
- Anansi Boys
- InterWorld
- Odd and the Frost Giants
- The Graveyard Book
- The Silver Dream
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane
- Eternity's Wheel
collections
- Angels and Visitations
- Smoke and Mirrors
- Fragile Things
- M Is for Magic
- A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff
- Trigger Warning
- "Murder Mysteries"
- "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale"
- "Snow, Glass, Apples"
- "How to Talk to Girls at Parties"
- "A Study in Emerald"
- "I, Cthulhu"
graphic novels
- Violent Cases
- Black Orchid
- character
- The Sandman
- Signal to Noise
- Marvelman
- The Books of Magic
- The Last Temptation
- Angela
- Death: The High Cost of Living
- The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch
- Sandman Midnight Theatre
- Lady Justice
- Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man
- Death: The Time of Your Life
- Midnight Days
- "Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame"
- The Sandman: Endless Nights
- Marvel 1602
- Eternals
- "Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?"
adaptations
- Neverwhere
- Babylon 5
- "Day of the Dead"
- A Short Film About John Bolton
- MirrorMask
- Stardust
- Beowulf
- Coraline
- Doctor Who
- Lucifer (TV series)
- American Gods (TV series)
- How to Talk to Girls at Parties
- Good Omens (TV series)
- The Sandman (TV series)
- Anansi Boys (TV series)
- Dead Boy Detectives (TV series)
- Ghastly Beyond Belief
- Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion
- The Sandman: Book of Dreams
- A Walking Tour of the Shambles
- Two Plays for Voices
- Kirby: King of Comics (introduction)
- Neverwhere (radio play)
- 8in8 (lyrics)
- Where's Neil When You Need Him?
- InterWorld series
- Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously
- Norse Mythology
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