Maze Comic Book Review - Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (2007) AMZN

from Vertigo, 221 Pages

by MIKE CAREY (Author), GLENN FABRY (Author), Glenn Fabry (Illustrator, Artist)

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (2007) comic cover

This is a comic book version of Neil Gaiman’s novel. I must say that having read this fantasy story that deals with so many colorful characters and interesting places, it makes for a perfect comic adaption. Sure, we can get into the age old discussion of how the book is better than the movie or vice versa, but in this case the illustrations of the world (Neverwhere, or London below) and it’s people make up for any narrative that is lost from the book. After all, taking 400 written pages down to 221 and adding pictures you are bound to lose some of the story.

As far as that story goes, well it is a wonderful quest story that takes place between the London Above that we all know and love (do we all love it?- I’m a big fan) and a magical city called Neverwhere that is below London. The main characters are Door, who can open all types of doors to anywhere, and from London above, Richard Mayhew who I can best describe as a completely ordinary guy. And then, one day, his life will never be the same. And we get a quest that includes needing to navigate a maze to reach their final destination. But as is the case in many mazes/labyrinths it is guarded by a beast, which may or may not be a minotaur ? What do you think ? Whatever it is, this is not something I would want to meet.

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (2007) Minotaur beast


This is an excellent story. Read it. 8.5/10 !

This story was also made into a television mini-series in 1996 that received ok reviews (7.2 on IMDB) split into six 30 minute episodes. I think it would be a perfect story for an update in the age of streaming. You can currently find the entire series streaming on YouTube. Here is episode 1 to get you started.

Maze of the Week #30 - Grandview Hotel Sign Maze

Maze of the week #30 returns the the state of Idaho with another sign maze, this one of the Grandview Hotel Sign. Located in Boise, Idaho the Grandview Hotel is an independently owned hotel that as far as I can tell does not have a website. But what it does have is a nice sign.

Photos of the sign: If you would like to see a great photo of this sign I suggest roadarch. I am also a fan of this street view from Google Maps !

The maze:

Grandview Motel Sign Maze

Grandview Hotel Sign Maze

I hope you enjoy the maze. This maze has a permanent home where you can download the maze.

Coming next week:

A Lighthouse Maze

Book Review - The Magic Of Labyrinths

Book Review - The Magic Of Labyrinths by Liz Simpson 192 pages. AMZN.

The Magic of Labyrinths book cover

The full title of the book is The Magic of Labyrinths: Following your Path, Finding Your Center, and really that is what the book is about. It starts with the history of the labyrinth and the various types of patterns you can find and transitions into the spiritual aspect of labyrinths.

What I learned in this book:

  • I learned about new labyrinths around the world that I had not heard of previously, like the square labyrinth from the Church of Reparatus in Nigeria and the Ely Cathedral in the UK.

  • I learned some background on the Man in the Maze labyrinth from the Hopi tribe of Arizona and how it is reminiscent of labyrinths in Scandinavia !

  • The Maekula Islanders in the South Pacific have a myth that in order to cross over to the Land of the Dead the soul must complete a labyrinth.

  • I never knew that churches in England were built on “ley lines'‘ as a way to convert non-Catholics by taking over their physical places of worship.

  • There is a section discussing the Hindu concept of Kundalini energy and it’s relation to the journey through the labyrinth.

  • Chapter 5 goes into the construction of physical labyrinths and how to creatively measure them out, the use of dowsers, and the choosing of an appropriate location. If you want to draw a labyrinth on paper, I’ve got you covered.

What this book does best: Speaking to how to create a labyrinth in your lawn, church, etc. Options and things to think about before actually doing it. I also think the book does a good job exploring the fringes of the history of labyrinths and some unique shapes.

Maze of the Week #29 - Thread City Crossing Maze

Maze #29 features the Thread City Crossing in Willimantic, Connecticut. While some bridges can be boring, and most are, but this particular bridge connecting highways 32 and 66 features 4 bronze statues of frogs sitting on spools of thread. And you are probably thinking, huh ? Why on earth is there a frog on a spool of thread? Well it has to do with The Great Bullfrog Battle and a local cotton mill. Read the story on this atlas obscura page.

And if you want to go long form just on the frog battle, this Wikipedia entry works.

Who wants to watch some drone footage of the bridge ?

Let’s start with a photo of one of the bridge statues:

Thread City Crossing Frog

By Grendelkhan - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54220926

The maze:

Thread City Crossing Frog Maze

Thread City Crossing Maze

I hope you enjoy the maze. It has a permanent home where you can download the maze and solution !

Coming next week:

A Sign Maze