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243rd out of 1,499 books
—
3,017 voters
Signal to Noise
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author),
Dave McKean
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean present their masterpiece in a completely remastered and redesigned edition overflowing with bonus material!
Somewhere in London, a film director is 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 con...more
Somewhere in London, a film director is 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 con...more
Paperback, 80 pages
Published
March 1st 1993
by Dark Horse Comics
(first published 1992)
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My store received a copy of this new hardcover edition of "Signal to Noise" just the other day, and before shelving it, I decided to read it. We were slow, and it's short, so I figured I could get through it in an hour or so. I'd read the story once before, though as an internet download of scanned pages rather than in an actual bound edition. At the time, I didn't really get it, and I hoped that reading it in this new edition might make it easier for me to understand. Boy, did it. The second ti...more
I'm a pretty hard-core advocate for drinking the Gaiman Kool-Aid. Basically, if you've met me, I've recommended Gaiman to you. I just don't meet people without in some way referencing what a supremely wonderful author he is.
That said, "Signal to Noise" is much more a Dave McKean piece than a Neil piece, reading more like "Cages" than say "Sandman" or "Murder Mysteries." There isn't really a hint of the fantastic anywhere in the story. A man learns he is dying and tries to cope with the end of th...more
That said, "Signal to Noise" is much more a Dave McKean piece than a Neil piece, reading more like "Cages" than say "Sandman" or "Murder Mysteries." There isn't really a hint of the fantastic anywhere in the story. A man learns he is dying and tries to cope with the end of th...more
Feb 13, 2013
Paul
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels,
reviewed
Jesus, 999 A.D., Nostradamus, Jonestown, Y2K, the Mayan Calendar, December twenty-one 2012...
Somewhere, somewhen, somehow, somebody's world is ending.
I couldn't help but think of all the recent hooplah concerning the 12-21-12 hype and how so many intelligent people that had never wanted to admit it, had a sigh of relief once midnight came and went.
So, the world didn't end on 12-21-12... or did it?
I can only imagine someone dying on that fateful day, at that fateful time and what their last thoug...more
Somewhere, somewhen, somehow, somebody's world is ending.
I couldn't help but think of all the recent hooplah concerning the 12-21-12 hype and how so many intelligent people that had never wanted to admit it, had a sigh of relief once midnight came and went.
So, the world didn't end on 12-21-12... or did it?
I can only imagine someone dying on that fateful day, at that fateful time and what their last thoug...more
Thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the graphics. If they're in competition then I have to hand the gold to the graphics, but if they're complimentary, and interdependent, as I think they should be, then I have to place this work near the top of the mountain. It doesn't produce that overwhelming 'boom' moment that a graphic novel at its best should; nor does it really blow one away thematically - a heavy influence of past work pillar the archways and the halls display the common cultural trends....more
Oct 12, 2012
Andrew Adams
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels,
reviewed
I always think of Neil Gaiman as a reliable author whom I relate to...though I'm not sure why, because I never love his books. I think "it was ok" is how I've rated everything--AMERICAN GODS, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, the one volume of SANDMAN that I read... Yet I remain a fan because I think he has good ideas. I'm a fan of mythological and literary retellings, which he has a propensity for. Also, his film adaptations--BEOWULF, STARDUST, CORALINE--are better than the books I've read.
As for David McKea...more
As for David McKea...more
This is the first graphic novel I've read. I had to give it a try, but I think I prefer regular novels, despite being both an artist and a reader.
I liked the story, but you have to use your imagination even more than you do for usual books, because there are only a few lines of text to tell you what's happening.
The plot is intriguingly deep -- the title refers to determining which things in our lives are important (the signal), and which are noise. The main character of the story is dying, and k...more
I liked the story, but you have to use your imagination even more than you do for usual books, because there are only a few lines of text to tell you what's happening.
The plot is intriguingly deep -- the title refers to determining which things in our lives are important (the signal), and which are noise. The main character of the story is dying, and k...more
1 like · like · see review
Check my books on Good Reads and you'll probably realise that Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite authors of all time. The Sandman managed to redefine the comic book, and his novels have been consistently imaginitive, witty and original (even when deliberately using familiar tropes/characters, etc.)
Back in 1989 when The Sandman was just getting started, and hadn't yet become the opus that it would do eventually, he and long-time collaborator Dave McKean released this graphic novel.
Signal To Noise...more
Back in 1989 when The Sandman was just getting started, and hadn't yet become the opus that it would do eventually, he and long-time collaborator Dave McKean released this graphic novel.
Signal To Noise...more
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean present their masterpiece in a completely remastered and redesigned edition overflowing with bonus material! Serialized in "The Face" in 1989, expanded and revised into a graphic novel in 1992, and adapted for radio in 2000, "Signal to Noise" has never stopped evolving.
Somewhere in London, a film director is 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...more
Somewhere in London, a film director is 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...more
"People need to read the inside of noise."
Secondo gioiellino prodotto dalla fantasmagorica coppia Gaiman-McKean.
Sul finire del ventesimo secolo un premiato ed affermato regista affronta la fine della propria vita, a causa di una malattia terminale, e la fine del secolo, scrivendo un film che non verrà mai girato sulla fine del primo millennio d.C., tra paure e superstizioni altomedioevali.
Nel progressivo abbandono della vita, il regista si lascia sprofondare nelle sue visioni, splendidamente re...more
Secondo gioiellino prodotto dalla fantasmagorica coppia Gaiman-McKean.
Sul finire del ventesimo secolo un premiato ed affermato regista affronta la fine della propria vita, a causa di una malattia terminale, e la fine del secolo, scrivendo un film che non verrà mai girato sulla fine del primo millennio d.C., tra paure e superstizioni altomedioevali.
Nel progressivo abbandono della vita, il regista si lascia sprofondare nelle sue visioni, splendidamente re...more
So, how to write a review of this graphic novel. When someone writes a book about someone dying, it could take many forms of how the character reacts to death. The way the character here is interesting. When reading it you get into his mindset towards it. From this aspect, it is well written and keeps you interested.
For the graphics of the story, I was not too keen on. People who design graphic novels will do things how they want to. For Signal to Noise, it was not my favorite, but it was not to...more
For the graphics of the story, I was not too keen on. People who design graphic novels will do things how they want to. For Signal to Noise, it was not my favorite, but it was not to...more
A big thanks to https://www.humblebundle.com/ for offering this book, and 7 others, in electronic format free of any digital restrictions, at a price to suit one's pocket. (Offer closes 23rd October 2012).
Signal to Noise is offered as a 55MB "HD" PDF, and I strongly recommend a screen at least 1600x1200 or 1920x1080 in colour to be able to read Neil Gaiman's text and appreciate Dave McKean's art. The story is about a reclusive, revered, film writer approaching the end of his life in the last dec...more
Signal to Noise is offered as a 55MB "HD" PDF, and I strongly recommend a screen at least 1600x1200 or 1920x1080 in colour to be able to read Neil Gaiman's text and appreciate Dave McKean's art. The story is about a reclusive, revered, film writer approaching the end of his life in the last dec...more
“The world is always ending, for someone”, he says.
She is trying to quieten the baby, and does not hear him. I doubt that it would matter if she did.”
A tale of the last days of a movie director. Never boring, McKean's illustrations are great as always. And what it had to say - from signal to noise, it's always signal to noise.
The good thing about some of Gaiman's writings - like the beginning of American Gods and the human subplots in The Sandman series - is their realism. The ability to touch f...more
She is trying to quieten the baby, and does not hear him. I doubt that it would matter if she did.”
A tale of the last days of a movie director. Never boring, McKean's illustrations are great as always. And what it had to say - from signal to noise, it's always signal to noise.
The good thing about some of Gaiman's writings - like the beginning of American Gods and the human subplots in The Sandman series - is their realism. The ability to touch f...more
This was one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean tell (in the best possible medium) a beautiful, haunting story about mortality. The artwork will stretch your soul.
Signal to Noise is a story about a director who is writing a film about the apocalypse, about the end of the world at the turn of the first millenium. This is kind of fitting, since he himself is dying of a terminal disease and so it's a race against time. A race full of self-reflection and introspection, thoughts about life and death and art and human character.
Pretty good all in all, but I do regret that we don't find out a bit more about the film he's writing, as I found scenes from it - mos...more
Pretty good all in all, but I do regret that we don't find out a bit more about the film he's writing, as I found scenes from it - mos...more
"Why am I writing a film I will never make, writing something no-one will ever see? -- The world is always ending, for someone."
Dedicated to the noises in my head.
Dedicated to the noises in my head.
Wow. I have read very few books in graphic novel form, and maybe if I was more used to the format, this wouldn't have packed the kind of punch that it did. As it was, however, the haunting drawings lent an emotional edge to the story that I seldom feel.
A movie director is dying, and as he dies, he tries to make sense of his life. There's one script he's had in his mind which has never been written. If he writes it, will everything become clear?
The graphic illustrations make everything dream-like...more
A movie director is dying, and as he dies, he tries to make sense of his life. There's one script he's had in his mind which has never been written. If he writes it, will everything become clear?
The graphic illustrations make everything dream-like...more
Another triumph by Gaiman/McKean, this one focusing on a film director dying of cancer while planning his last film, which will never be filmed. It's about the fear of the apocalypse in 999 A.D., and ultimately posits there will be no great apocalypse, but only a series of personal apocalypses, which was interesting. Favorite new word: apocatastasis. Nom, Latin!
ap·o·ca·tas·ta·sis /ˌæpoʊkəˈtæstəsɪs/ [ap-oh-kuh-tas-tuh-sis] noun
1. the state of being restored or reestablished; restitution.
2. the...more
ap·o·ca·tas·ta·sis /ˌæpoʊkəˈtæstəsɪs/ [ap-oh-kuh-tas-tuh-sis] noun
1. the state of being restored or reestablished; restitution.
2. the...more
Signal To Noise is a very effective graphic novel. I forced myself, due to the foreword, to not rush through the words and absorb all the pictures sloooooowly. The art is surreal. Photographs, pencil art and CGI come together to unsettle the helljeebers out of the reader. The story is really beautiful, and is one of the few that I have read that does not treat Death as poignant, beautiful, and such jazz, instead treating Death as a Full Stop.
I am going to be watching 8 1/2 after this, let us see...more
I am going to be watching 8 1/2 after this, let us see...more
I love weird comic book concepts, and I love Gaiman and McKean. When the three of them team up, it is bliss. The problem is, some weird concepts can't be taken long enough for true bliss to emerge, and that is the case here.
A successful director's final film is about an apocalypse that obviously never happened. Gaiman's juxtaposition between the director and his film is really well done and McKean's art is phenomenal as always.
Really, the only problem is that I wanted more.
A successful director's final film is about an apocalypse that obviously never happened. Gaiman's juxtaposition between the director and his film is really well done and McKean's art is phenomenal as always.
Really, the only problem is that I wanted more.
The visuals by Dave McKean are extraordinary. Definitely some of the best art I have seen. Neil Gaiman's story line is also an interesting look at mortality. This is one of the few times I might consider calling something a graphic novel or novella, but in certain ways it's almost like an art exhibit.
A beautiful, sad story, set against phenomenal artwork. Neil Gaiman never fails to win my heart, and Dave McKean never ceases to amazes me.
I realize that Signal To Noise is technically classified as a graphic novel but having it makes me feel like I own one of those art books that people just lay on their coffee tables for browsing through, except that mine can be either browsed through or actually read. It’s intense. It’s gorgeous.
I realize that Signal To Noise is technically classified as a graphic novel but having it makes me feel like I own one of those art books that people just lay on their coffee tables for browsing through, except that mine can be either browsed through or actually read. It’s intense. It’s gorgeous.
Dec 02, 2008
Izlinda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels-comics
This book includes two short stories/poems/something by Dave McKean and a short one by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean before the main story. I really like the third story "Vier Mauern." I skipped the introduction and skimmed them after the book was read. It turns out the "Hackers" short story were clipped out words that was pasted together semi-randomly.
This book is a great showcase of Dave McKean's illustrative techniques and prowess. There were some boxes that were creepy, or awe-inspiring or ad...more
This book is a great showcase of Dave McKean's illustrative techniques and prowess. There were some boxes that were creepy, or awe-inspiring or ad...more
In graphic novels, I usually find myself appreciating the illustrations more than the text, or getting so caught up in the story that I find myself overlooking the illustrations. This one felt so different - the images and words are completely entwined and complement each other perfectly. It was a real pleasure to immerse myself in this full-on reading experience.
Aug 08, 2011
Federiken Masters
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans de los autores y/o del cine
Recommended to Federiken by:
Sus autores
Fue una lectura de lo más agradable, pero me dejó la sensación de que se trata de una de esas obras que recién pueden ser apreciadas cabalmente a partir de la segunda lectura, ya que en la primera me perdí en algunas partes, ora por el dibujo tan peculiar, ora por referencias del guion que sin duda no cacé. Seguramente con una relectura íntegra, atenta y, sobre todo, documentada la logre apreciar más y quizás escale una estrellita, ya que estoy seguro de que méritos no le faltan a la "novela grá...more
Jul 22, 2009
Linda
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Inder
Recommended to Linda by:
Jennifer
Shelves:
graphic_novel,
faith
I finally read this after getting it as a birthday present a few months ago. I picked it up because I just finished reading another book co-authored by Neil Gaiman, Good Omens. As it turns out, this one has to do with the Apocalypse, too. No humor in this one, though, it's actually quite sad. A filmmaker finds out he has terminal cancer, and decides to finish a script for a movie that will never get made. The movie is about people living in the year 999, who are sure that Armageddon is at hand.
...more
...more
Took a few pages for it to grab me, but I ended up really enjoying it. Some interesting ideas about mortality and end of life here. The introductions mention that this work has evolved over the years and been presented/re-interpreted in different ways, even by the original authors. I would be very interested in the radio play version as well.
A very good graphic novel. The art by Dave McKean is absolutely astonishing. I find the story itself slighly weaker. It's very haunting and definitively a potent idead. But somehow I'd like something more - certainly not a "lesson", but... I don't know. Still, it's excellent and if you add the incredible art, this is absolutely recommended!
Nov 08, 2012
Karl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Karl by:
The Humble eBook Bundle
Shelves:
ebook,
science-fiction
Loved this book so much. Very deep and thought-provoking.
A few spelling errors but nothing that removed any of the feeling of the book.
Would recommend this to anyone who actually contemplates life and what it has to offer. Wouldn't recommend it to people who don't care enough about life to try and understand it.
A few spelling errors but nothing that removed any of the feeling of the book.
Would recommend this to anyone who actually contemplates life and what it has to offer. Wouldn't recommend it to people who don't care enough about life to try and understand it.
Very interesting "illustrated novel" that has more emphasis on the illustration part by Dave McKean than the story by Neil Gaiman. The novel is quite addictive but it falls short. Gaiman likes to address death but the story on this one isn't anything special. Considering the illustration though, it's worth reading.
Gaiman, as always, is at his best with others, and few can take his work and spin it into gold like Dave McKean. One of the lesser known works of both, Signal to Noise, being an exploration of the divide between creative and created, is especially pertinent to Gaiman. Despite a somewhat unnecessary and heavy-handed ending, the book shines as a quiet paean to the impossible goal.
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“I sat in the dark and thought: There’s no big apocalypse. Just an endless procession of little ones.”
—
39 people liked it
“The world is always ending for someone. It’s a good line. I give it to the father of the child. He says it to his wife. ‘The world is always ending for someone,’ he says. She is trying to quieten the baby, and does not hear him. I doubt that it would matter if she did.”
—
18 people liked it
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Apr 05, 2012 07:15pm