And Then I Read: THE PROBLEM OF SUSAN AND OTHER STORIES

Cover art and logo by P. Craig Russell

The newest in a long line of Neil Gaiman story adaptations from Dark Horse is this book containing four: “The Problem of Susan” and “Locks” by P. Craig Russell, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Galen Showman, “October in the Chair” by Scott Hampton, letters by Rick Parker, and “The Day the Saucers Came” by Paul Chadwick, letters by Gaspar Saladino. That last one is from 2013, originally appearing in DARK HORSE PRESENTS #21, the rest are new for this book.

In each case, the artist adapted Neil’s story, and all add visual elements to those stories that are unique interpretations of those artists. “The Problem of Susan” is based on Neil’s idea that, of the four children in the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis, only Susan is left behind at the end of the final book to grow older in our world. We meet a much older Susan as she is interviewed by a reporter, and the reporter herself is drawn into a strange dream about Narnia. That dream is creepy and horrible, and probably far from anything Lewis would have done, but it’s fascinating.

In “Locks,” we have a new look at the Goldilocks story as a father tells it to his young daughter, with the father’s adult view of the tale being quite different from the child’s.

“October in the Chair” has each of the months personified sitting around a campfire in the woods telling stories. It is October, and therefore his turn in as chairman. The story within the story has a boy who is teased and bullied who runs away from home and finds an unusual friend in a graveyard.

“The Day the Saucers Came” is a poem by Neil that has been illustrated a few times. Paul Chadwick’s version is seven full pages of detailed art that are a delight, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the lettering by my friend Gaspar Saladino, one of the last professional lettering jobs of his long and celebrated career.

Highly recommended.