Neil Gaiman on Colbert Report

Here's Neil Gaiman on the Colbert Report last night, talking about his excellent YA novel, The Graveyard Book -- a retelling of The Jungle Book with ghosts instead of jungle animals.

Neil Gaiman On The Colbert Report, March 16, 2009. (Thanks, David!)

[#1 posted by Anonymous , March 17, 2009 2:13 PM]

You left out the top of the show, where Colbert said he believed the book about a boy being raised by ghosts was "the tragic sequel to 'Hop on Pop.'"

[#2 posted by Garmt , March 17, 2009 2:20 PM]

OK. I feel just _too stupid_. I got the book as a present, read it, enjoyed it, as I have done with most of his books, and then I read this:

a retelling of The Jungle Book

and realised that I HAD NOT REALISED THIS.

Please, someone, absolve me from the notion of being the least insightful person in history by sharing your equal uninsightfullness. If that is even a word!

[#3 posted by chezzo , March 17, 2009 2:28 PM]

brilliant!

[#4 posted by Anonymous , March 17, 2009 2:29 PM]

Witty and graceful as usual. I adore Gaiman.

[#5 posted by John Hudgens , March 17, 2009 2:30 PM]

I love how Neil almost gets Colbert to break character when he brings up "Fuqq It, We're All Going to Die" from the segement a few weeks ago...

[#6 posted by rikchik , March 17, 2009 2:31 PM]

What's the over-under on "F**k it, We're All Going To Die" by Stephen Colbert with art by Art Spiegelman actually being published within the next 2 years? I feel like there's at least a 50% chance.

[#7 posted by Adam_ , March 17, 2009 2:33 PM]

Colbert showed his geek when talking about Tolkien. Awesome!

[#8 posted by kc0bbq , March 17, 2009 3:02 PM]

Even Colbert reciting Tom Bombadil poetry didn't make it at all worth hearing.

And why did he know it? He shouldn't be admitting to something as low as reading. That's like a cornerstone of the character.

[#9 posted by toyg , March 17, 2009 3:11 PM]

Gaiman For Teh Win, as usual. Man might be a scientologist or whatever, but he's simply the coolest person on earth.

(Now I wish Art Spiegelman would really do "F**k it, we're all going to die"!)

[#10 posted by adonai , March 17, 2009 3:25 PM]

Oh, that was awesome. NG went toe-to-toe with Stephen for a result of massive win :)

[#11 posted by Jimbo2K7 , March 17, 2009 3:36 PM]

His father just died a few days ago.
Wonder if Colbert knew that?

[#12 posted by noen , March 17, 2009 3:37 PM]

I saw this and thought it was pretty funny. Just goes to show how an intelligent person can hold their own where others fear to tread.

[#13 posted by bililoquy , March 17, 2009 3:41 PM]

It was a bit strange seeing the two geek icons in one place.

I'm just relieved they didn't turn their combined power to evil: those guys have enough cumulative fanpower to launch an orbital death ray. Toss the Whedonites in the mix and they could take the world in a few hours.

[#14 posted by Daemon , March 17, 2009 4:49 PM]

Gaiman. Always awsome. Always.
Colbert gets bonus points for bringing up Lovecraft.

[#15 posted by FoetusNail , March 17, 2009 5:36 PM]

GARMT, my wife read the book without realizing the connection too, and she's glad she didn't. She thinks it would have been too distracting.

[#16 posted by Takuan , March 17, 2009 6:14 PM]

http://www.easypedia.gr/el/images/shared/6/6a/She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg

[#17 posted by misshallelujah , March 17, 2009 6:16 PM]

GARMT, I read the book and when I got to the last couple of chapters or so, I thought, "Heh, this reminds me a bit of the Jungle Book." And then about a couple of minutes later... "OH WAIT."

I think it's actually written somewhere in the back in the acknowledgements... or he acknowledges Rudyard Kipling. Can't remember which.

(Also, thanks to BB for this post. Gaiman + Colbert? Two of my favorite things in one post? And quoting Tolkien at each other? GEEK FACTOR OVERLOAD.)

[#18 posted by Architexas , March 17, 2009 7:32 PM]

This post made my day! I just read Graveyard a couple of days ago (after which I immediately went to the store and bought Coraline, which, admittedly, scared the ever-loving bejeezus out of me) and it was incredible. It's good to know that Gaiman's interview didn't let me down as to how brilliant I imagined he'd be!

[#19 posted by eustace , March 17, 2009 9:30 PM]

WoWz! Colbert throwing fast, fast pitches - and Gaiman hit every one out of the park. What a treat.

[#20 posted by Stefan Jones , March 17, 2009 9:35 PM]

#19: " . . was kicked out of Scientology . . ."

You might say that he was thrown clear.

[#21 posted by mdh , March 17, 2009 11:16 PM]

I wish that were five minutes longer.

[#22 posted by hexcalibur , March 17, 2009 11:20 PM]

Stefan Jones, you are my new favourite person.

[#23 posted by wylkyn , March 18, 2009 2:50 PM]

Thank God someone is finally mentioning this great struggling author. I'd hate to see his genius wither in obscurity! Nice find!

[#24 posted by Anonymous , March 20, 2009 2:39 PM]

Clip on colbertnation.com, since the youtube link is broken.

[#25 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager , March 26, 2009 12:45 AM]

We are not going to host a debate about Scientology itself. We are also not going to swap rumors about Neil Gaiman's upbringing, personal finances, religious beliefs, or marital status.

It's okay to say that Lorraine Garland is fabulous. That's an objective fact.

5alo, Skullivan, Raj, Anonymous: I'm sorry about your vanished comments. I had to prune way back to get rid of the opportunistic infection.