This is an adaptation of Neverwhere, a novel by Neil Gaiman. It’s about a man, Richard Mayhew, who helps a strange woman and ends up in the London beneath London, peppered with fantastical creatures and supernatural beings.
I haven’t read the novel so I don’t know how it works as an adaptation but there’s a cool foreword at the front by Mike Carey where he talks about the challenges at adapting a novel for the medium of comic books. The story is fine and I like the strange characters that populate the world. There’s at least one thing interesting about each character. Our anchor is Mayhew, who comes from the ordinary world. I found him to be okay. The main problem I have with the comic is that it feels rushed and I never felt immersed in the story. I enjoyed reading it, but afterwards I didn’t have any strong lingering feelings. I almost got the feeling that we were supposed to be familiar with some of the characters beforehand. I’m not sure if Neverwhere is part of a series or not but it had the feeling that I was jumping into a story.
I’m not sure I’m going to recommend this one. I like some of the concepts in it so it’s probably worth reading if you get a chance, but it’s not one that I’d actively seek out.
