Neil Gaiman to Auction Signed Comic Books, Original Artwork, and Handmade Christmas Stories

Neil Gaiman, creator of Sandman and best-selling author of American Gods, Good Omens and Coraline will auction some of his prized pieces at Heritage Auctions' March 14 sale at which Gaiman will be in attendance. 

Among the items going under the hammer are a signed limited printing of A Writer’s Prayer, an autographed unpublished American Gods short story gifted at Christmas to close friends, and Gaiman's Christmas short story Nicholas Was created with longtime collaborator Dave McKean.

Numerous artists have illustrated Gaiman’s Sandman stories or depicted Dream and his siblings for promotions or pleasure. Many of their pieces can be found in this event including those by Michael Zulli, Jill Thompson, Yoshitaka Amano, Gaiman’s Stardust collaborator Charles Vess and Mike Dringenberg, who Gaiman says was "utterly the quintessential Sandman artist in many ways".

Most of the works in this auction were gifted to Gaiman, tokens of reverence and affection from the interpreter to the inspiration. The 1994 painting of Death of the Endless by Jean Giraud - better known as Moebius, the Franco-Belgian author and artist - is the only piece in this auction Gaiman purchased for himself, simply because “I love that piece so much,” he said. “Since 1996, it has been hanging on my wall, and I walk past it, and it makes me smile every time I see it. I love it so much. But there are so many Moebius fans out there and I think it would bring incredible joy to the world.”

There are 126 lots in Neil Gaiman’s auction. “Yes, you are selling the artwork, the collectibles, but you’re also giving them the story,” Gaiman said. “Each of those pieces of art is, for me, a story. It’s a story of how I got it. It’s the story of what it meant to me. And I want to try and pass some of those stories on as well.”

A portion of the proceeds from this auction will benefit The Hero Initiative which provides medical and monetary assistance to veteran comics creators, writers and artists. Some of the proceeds will also go to the Authors League Fund which helps professional authors, journalists, critics, poets and dramatists who find themselves in financial need because of medical or health-related problems, temporary loss of income or other misfortunes.

Other highlights include:

• a Steve Bissette and John Totleben page from 1984’s Saga of the Swamp Thing No. 27, another from 1985’s Swamp Thing Annual No. 2, and the cover of Swamp Thing No. 66
• the page from Watchmen where the Nite Owl awakens from a horrific dream in which he and Silk Spectre are lovers obliterated by a nuclear blast, gifted by Alan Moore and his illustrating partner Dave Gibbons 
• a cover from Miracleman Issue No. 16, the last issue written by Moore before Gaiman took the reins.
• a page from the 1989 issue of Secret Origins with  Poison Ivy's tragic origin story drawn by Mark Buckingham, 
• one of the few double-page spreads from the Sandman series in which Michael Zulli and Dick Giordano introduce the sea serpent