Best known in comics as the author of DC's Sandman, Gaiman has also written the best-selling novels Neverwhere and Stardust as well as numerous screenplays, teleplays, short stories and graphic novels. Among other accolades, he is the recipient of the prestigious World Fantasy Award and is noted in The Dictionary of Literary Biography as "one of the top ten post-modern writers" in America. Gaiman's last Portland appearance in 1998 commanded a six-hour waiting line at Powell's books.
Over the years, Neil Gaiman's Guardian Angel Tours have provided rare chances to spend the evening with a master storyteller. In small, intimate theatres across the country, Gaiman has mesmerized audiences with dramatic readings form his short fiction and poetry. And in the course of these tours over the past seven years, Gaiman has raised more than $100,000 as part of his ongoing commitment to support the CBLDF.
"I've been doing these tours since 1993," said Gaiman. "I've really enjoyed returning people to the days when an author would take his work to the public, when a literary reading was something exciting, fun, and theatrical, instead of something to be endured. Dickens did it. Oscar Wilde did it. And, in a much lesser way, so have I." To celebrate this last reading tour, Gaiman plans to debut new, unpublished works and give fans an early look at his forthcoming novel American Gods.
The CBLDF is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for creators and retailers in the comics community. The CBLDF's guiding principle is that comics should be accorded the same constitutional rights as literature, film, or any other form of expression. The CBLDF organizes and funds the legal defense of specialty retailers, artists, and other comic book professionals. In the past five years, the CBLDF has devoted over one million dollars to defending freedom of speech and expression, and the battle continues. Comics, long considered exclusively children's literature, are a particularly vulnerable target. As new waves of conservatism flood the publishing industry and the country, the CBLDF continues to raise the money and awareness needed to fight the censors every step of the way.
"Neil is by far one of our strongest supporters, and I am extremely grateful that he has devoted so much of his time and celebrity to the Fund," said CBLDF Executive Director Chris Oarr. "No one better understands that comics are an important medium worthy of respect. His own work is proof enough, but the fact that Neil's willing to go out and make that case personally so many places across the country make him a truly special advocate."
The Portland appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, October 24, 8 p.m., at the Aladdin Theatre. A limited number of Premiere Tickets are available for $60, featuring premiere seating, a private pre-show reception with Gaiman, and an exclusive poster print signed by the writer. General reserved seating is $20 or $16 with valid student I.D.
All proceeds from ticket sales benefit the CBLDF. Tickets are available beginning September 1 from the Aladdin Theatre box office (503-233-1994, http://www.showman.com) or through Ticketmaster (503-224-4400, http://www.ticketmaster.com). For more information about other Last Angel Tour dates or about the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, visit http://www.cbldf.org.
