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Comic books are not just words on paper, Gaiman points out. It's a multi-discipline art form, and one that makes him aspire to more than the printed word has to offer as he works with an artist to create something never seen before. The British author is perhaps best known for his creation "Sandman," a series that helped elevate the art form like Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" or Frank Miller's "Sin City." He'll make his long-awaited return to that world this fall when DC Comics imprint Vertigo publishes "The Sandman Overture." culture. "You do your best to write the most fantastic script you can for the most amazing artist," Gaiman said. "You want to write a script that not only tells the artist what to draw but also in some ways if you can inspire the artist. You want to get their best work out of them and you want them to be excited and inspired and thrilled and go,
'Oh, my God, I get to draw that! Nobody else in the world has ever drawn that but I get to draw this and people are going to be amazed!'" And more and more everyone wants to be involved. "People in Hollywood with the power to green light now look at comics as respectable a medium as anything
-- as novels, as plays, as anything," said Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios. "They see there are great great stories and great characters to be mined from those issues." Feige says we've moved on from the double standards that once divided and
defined pop "I think there's less of that now," Feige said. "If anything I think it's the opposite. I was never a sports guy. I haven't been in high school for a long time, but you go back to the jocks and the nerds, the
'Revenge of the Nerds' templates, and you have to judge me like,
'Oh, look at you nerds walking around with your Spock ears.' And that Sunday they're painting their face football colors at the stadium, and I'm like,
'That's the same thing!' I think the notion of fandom has broadened in an acceptable way, which I certainly embrace." And so do formerly more "mainstream" stars in Hollywood. Tom Cruise
-- the guy who once played the macho icon Maverick in "Top Gun" -- has turned more and more to sci-fi these days, and he's bringing others with him. He attended his first Comic-Con this year to promote "Gravity" with co-star Bullock, best known for romantic comedies and realistic dramas. She's new to the fantasy world, but the outpouring blew her mind. "I've never been in a venue like this before in my life where just the joy and the happiness is so palpable ... and the camaraderie is amazing," Bullock said. "I love it." And increasingly, so does everyone else. ___ Online:
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