American Gods Volume 1: Shadows (Graphic Novel)

Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States near Minneapolis. As a child he discovered his love of books, reading, and stories, devouring the works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, and G. K. Chesterton. A self-described “feral child who was raised in libraries,” Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a lifelong love of reading: “I wouldn’t be who I am without libraries. I was the sort of kid who devoured books, and my happiest times as a boy were when I persuaded my parents to drop me off in the local library on their way to work, and I spent the day there. I discovered that librarians actually want to help you: They taught me about interlibrary loans.”Neil Gaiman’s work has been honored with many awards internationally, including the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. His books and stories have also been honored with four Hugos, two Nebulas, one World Fantasy Award, four Bram Stoker Awards, six Locus Awards, two British Science Fiction Association Awards, one British Fantasy Award, three Geffens, one International Horror Guild Award, and two Mythopoeic Awards.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in painting, P. Craig Russell has run the gamut in comics. After establishing a name for himself at Marvel on Killraven and Dr. Strange, he went on to become one of the pioneers in opening new vistas for this underestimated field with, among other works, adaptations of operas by Mozart (The Magic Flute), Strauss (Salome), and Wagner (The Ring of Nibelung). Russell is also well known for his Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde series as well as his graphic novel adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: The Dream Hunters and Coraline. The author lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Walter Simonson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in College Park, Maryland. He always liked drawing pictures and telling stories, and in comics he found a place where he could do both and make a living. He’s worked on DC’s Manhunter, Metal Men, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the original graphic novel The Judas Coin, as well as Alien, Thor, The Fantastic Four, Elric, World Of Warcraft, and the Star Slammers, among many others.