twitchy witchy

oh - my
twitchy witchy girl
i think you are so nice,
i give you bowls of porridge
and i give you bowls of ice
cream.
i give
you lots of kisses,
and i give you lots of hugs,
but i never give you sandwiches
with bugs
in.

oh, i love neil gaiman. i think it's pretty hard not to these days. i couldn't get through American Gods, i will grant you, but the Sandman Series is the reason i love graphic novels, and Stardust was magnificent, albeit too short (not to mention that the movie was even pretty good, which is more than i can say for most of the recent fantasy epics). and the above was a gem hidden in the new Coraline which, when i have tiny neices, i am determined to set to music and sing every chance i get.

what? a new Coraline?! that's right! a graphic novel adaptation no less. can our joy know any bounds? i think not! that being said, i've never read Coraline. i had a vague notion of the plot though, and so when i saw the arc for the graphic novel adaptation come in (due out late June), i snatched it up. not too hard to manage, when you're the only graphic novel enthusiast in the store, but still!

and believe you me, this does not disappoint. at first i wasn't sure i liked the style -- the art is very well done, but it's also very straight-forward, and i have been known to prefer a more stylistic approach. however, P. Craig Russell's genius was soon revealed. his straight-forward style makes the scary horrific, and the good heroic. the story, by turns funny, nostalgic, and absolutely terrifying, is brought to vivid life. fans of the original will, i think, be pleased, and those in my shoes will be yearning to read the book.