I attended an event last night at the Walker Art Center put on in conjunction with Rain Taxi, a local literary review magazine. It was part of the Free Verse series of readings, and discussions and starred frequent collaborators Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. They are probably best know for their work on The Sandman, but they have been working together more or less for over 20 years, and have created such books as Coraline, Wolves in the Walls, The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish, and Mirrormask.

The evening started out with Dave showing some short clips of his animation, and then moving on to his wider portfolio which includes comics, novels, cd, posters, and movies. He gave a very interesting commentary as the presentation unfolded.

Neil, followed Dave, and proceeded to let the packed audience of 350 people in on the fact that he had just planned on winging things until he found out that Dave had actually prepared. So he interspersed readings from his latest book Fragile Things, in between his recap of his relationship with Dave. Most of the key points in their partnership can be found in this essay.

After their individual presentations, they say down together for a some joint reminiscing before taking some questions from the audience. The whole event lasted right at two hours.

This is the 4th time, I've gotten to see Neil , and its always a delight. He is extremely engaging, and possesses a voice that just pulls you into his readings. It was, however, the first time I'd seen Mr. McKean, and while not quite and outgoing as Neil, Dave had a tremendous wit, to go along with his amazing artistry. I can see why they have prospered so well together. They were introduced as England's greatest artistic duo since Lennon and McCartney. That's not too far off the mark in my opinion.

The event was carried live on the web, and should soon be available to view here