Harlequin Valentine

By Neil Gaiman

Book Overview

Dark Horse Manga and Harlequin Books are delighted to present a shining new line of books that marry two of the most successful phenomenon to hit bookstores - bestselling Harlequin romance fiction and female-friendly Japanese manga!

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156971620X
• ISBN13: 9781569716205
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Dark Horse
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.4" x 0.4" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

Illustration gives new life to a fantastical story!

This is quite a journey through the mysterious world of Harlequin. As a fan of Neil Gaiman's short stories, this was a must-buy for me. I highly recommend this fabulous tale of unrequited love to even the most cynical skeptic.

Sweet, strange and a tiny bit gruesome.

What a strange story! Neil Gaiman is my favorite author, and as much as I love his longer novels (Coraline, American Gods, Neverwhere), he always proves himself best in short tales. And there is no greater treat than a lovingly illustrated, fantastically told graphic novel (adultspeak for: comic book). Harlequin Valentine is the perfect valentine's gift for that friend who prefers Morrisey to Celine Dion. It's a dark, bizarre twist on the commedia dell'Arte character Harlequin, as he follows his modern-day Columbine. In short, the art is lovely, the story entertainingly bizarre, and Gaiman has once again created a beautiful story with one foot planted firmly in the annals of cultural history and the other in the wry, tongue-in-cheek modern world.

Poetic and absolutely loverly

I'm not one to write lengthy reviews. So here's mine. Buy it. It's worth it. Once I finished the book and put it back on the table.. my heart skipped a beat.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Sometimes, when you want to tell your sweetheart how you feel, the only thing to do is tear that muscle that pumps your blood right out of your chest and afix it to your beloved's door with a hat pin. Rat-a-tat-tat! This way, you can determine if he, she or it is worthy of your devotion by studying how your cardiac offering is met. Some would-be lovers will spurn it. Some will shriek. If, like our Harlequin, you are besotted with a tow-headed beauty, lithe of limb, with "mermaid lips" and the most unflappable flaps that ever refused to commence with the flapping, your heart will likely wind up in a plastic baggy, safe and warm in Beauty's pocket, that is until - well, you're just going to have to read the book for that bit. I first read this tale in prose form some five years ago, I think. I loved it then and I love it now. John Bolton's painted illustrations are perfect for the thing, pretty, sweet and dizzying like blue cotton candy and looking the wrong way on a carousel. Plus it's hardback. I like hardbacks. They make me feel skinny, smart and rich.

I loved it!

What a brilliant, brilliant book. I think it was the perfect length. Any longer and it might have gotten monotonous, and we simply cannot have THAT. Oh, this book was delicious. I ADORE all sorts of modern mythology, and we all know that Gaiman is the undisputed MASTER of that particular genre. Harlequin Valentine is a precious little romance with a vicious little twist at the end. So, sit down with a plate of hash browns and some ketchup, and enjoy!