Product Description

Steven is afraid. Afraid of ghost stories, afraid of growing up... just afraid. That is, until he meets the mysterious Showman and his Theatre of the Real. Steven takes a ticket and watches the show on a dare, but getting out of the performance will be harder than he ever imagined. And then Steven learns what it is to be truly afraid. Neil Gaiman, internationally acclaimed and bestselling writer of both prose fiction (Neverwhere, Stardust) and graphic novels (The Sandman, Signal to Noise) teams with veteran artist Michael Zulli (The Sandman, Creatures of the Night) to create this dark and brooding morality tale. The Last Temptation is the latest addition to Dark Horse's proud and growing library of Neil Gaiman hardcovers. Originally published as part of the short-lived Marvel Music line of the early '90s, Zulli's lush and beautiful duoshade artwork is now showcased in a new format for this stunning second edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #247430 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 104 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Gaiman meets rock star Alice Cooper in this Halloween tale that originally appeared in the early 1990s. It adapts a story from Cooper's album Lost in America, to which Gaiman contributed story and lyrics. Halloween is coming, and young teenager Steven is scared—scared of girls, scared of his friends and scared of growing up. When he and his friends stumble onto the back-alley Theatre of the Real ("The Grandest Guignol"), it looks like the Master of Ceremonies (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Cooper) may have a way to save him from those fears—permanently. Soon, he's seeing the creepy master of ceremonies everywhere. This is not Gaiman's most sophisticated work, as he admits in his introduction. But the story borrows some strong horror tropes—mashing Nightmare on Elm Street together with Something Wicked This Way Comes. Moreover, Gaiman writes Cooper's Master of Ceremonies as a whimsically demented horror show host made of equal parts Torquemada and Willy Wonka. Zulli's black-and-white art uses cross-hatching and shadows to create a suitably creepy atmosphere. His characterizations are also dead-on: Steven is a convincing early teen, and the Master of Ceremonies looks just like Alice Cooper. (Sept.)
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Customer Reviews

Best Book Ever !!!!!
I am a huge Alice Cooper fan and this is the best book ever,well for me at least.This is a tale about a boy named steven always afriad and the brunt of all the jokes. Until Alice invites steven in a hidden theater. After the first comic we follow steven as Alice trys to steal stevens soul. I recomand this to any Alice fan or Niel Gamien fan. Thank You for Reading my review and I hope it is helpful.

Last Temptation, as viewed by a fan.
As of right now, there are 8 reviews for this item ahead of me. Very mixed reviews. With that being said, let us continue.

Having been a Neil Gaiman fan for several years, being weened on The Sandman and Stardust, I had fairly high hopes for this graphic novel. Upon purchase, I sat down and read the dark tale in a matter of about 30 minutes. I was impressed by the fine artwork and twisted story, but overall I felt a little let down.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great read, but if you're expecting Sandman caliber work in Last Temptation then you should just press the back button now. The story was rather predictable and, I felt, was rushed into a mere three parts, or "acts," as they're called in this novel.

Overall, a fun read and a must have for Gaiman fans, but don't expect too much.

One Of Gaiman's Weaker Efforts
I thought the story and the art were both very predictable. Themes familiar from the rest of Gaiman's work made only brief appearances. The art was too clearly a promotion for Alice Cooper. I enjoyed reading it, but it is nowhere near the calibre of _Sandman_.