embracing-the-ineffable

[embracing-the-ineffable]

What’s your favourite line from Good Omens? The invisible and unbreakable one that joins Crowley and Aziraphale. part 1/3 || [insp.]

[embracing-the-ineffable]

[embracing-the-ineffable]

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Today Aziraphale realized that, being a demon, Crowley had never had a birthday party. Despite also never having celebrated his own birthday, Aziraphale baked Crowley a Devil’s food cake, and purchased a colourful balloon bouquet. He hung streamers in the living room, and startled Crowley by blowing a party horn the moment he walked through the door. (Crowley had asked for that one, having invented the noisemakers himself several centuries prior.)

[embracing-the-ineffable]

🌠Star-maker🌠 ANGEL! 👏 CROWLEY!👏 I!👏 LOVE YOU!👏👏 I just had to, the joy on his eyes when he created the fucking universe will forever end me, like,,, *sobs* ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵒ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ ᵒⁿᵉ

[embracing-the-ineffable]

"...out of the damp earth and into the sun."

little drawing dedicated to the flawless fic by @mrghostrat and @chernozemm. if you haven't read it already and/or seen the beautiful artwork, find it here. 🤧

[embracing-the-ineffable]

hey mr gaiman do you think my catholic parents would let me watch Good Omens?

I expect so. Show them reviews like this one if they balk:

Or this one:

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/07/01/good-omens-and-divine-absence/

(As I remember, most of the Catholic reviews were fairly enthusiastic.)

#good omens #neil gaiman #catholic #good omens reviews #Neil Gaiman appreciation #crowley #aziraphale #good omens fandom #catholiscism

[embracing-the-ineffable]

dead boy detectives reading list

with the show finally out i figured it was a great time to share my reading list again! check it out below the cut 👻☠️🔎

-

⏳ the sandman #25 (1991)

this is their first appearance!

🐇 the children's crusade (1993)/free country: a tale of the children's crusade (2015)

1. the children's crusade #1

(2. black orchid annual #1

4. animal man annual #1

5. swamp thing annual #7

6. doom patrol annual #2

7. arcana annual #1)

8. the children's crusade #2

alternatively you can just read free country. whether or not you read the annuals i recommend reading free country's middle chapter

!!! in place of the annuals there is an additional middle chapter that was created for the book "free country: a tale of the children's crusade" where it is placed between the two children's crusade issues. the boys don't actually appear in most of the annuals (they are in two panels of swamp thing and appear in doom patrol) and reading them isn't necessary but i figured i would include them as they are part of the story.

❄️ winter's edge #3 (2000)

this is an anthology. their part is the 'books of magic: waiting for good dough' story starting on page 19

🐦‍⬛ the sandman presents: the dead boy detectives (2001, 4 issues)

i believe the tv show's esther finch was partially based on this run's villain.

*

(they do have a part in 'death: at death's door' from 2003. it's short and really just a retelling of events from sandman #25 with some minor changes. the entirety of their appearance in death: at death's door is included at the end of the next comic im listing so i am not really adding the death: at death's door book to the list)

☠️ the dead boy detectives (2005, one-shot)

this book was made by jill thompson in a very cute manga-esque style

👻 ghosts (2012), time warp (2013), the witching hour (2013)

these three are anthologies. the story 'the dead boy detectives in: run ragged' runs through all of them. 'run ragged' kicks off the next run.

🔮 from the pages of the sandman: dead boy detectives (2013, 12 issues)

this is the comic where crystal is introduced! a book collecting all 12 issues titled 'dead boy detectives by toby litt & mark buckingham' was released in 2023

🔎the sandman universe: dead boy detectives (2022, 6 issues)

the most recent run, centered around some really interesting thai mythology and featuring multiple edwin moments that i am sure you will love

-

and that's everything! i also recommend buying the omnibus if you can. it includes everything minus the 2022 run plus some additional bonus content!

i hope this is helpful! feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the comics. dead boy detectives is my number one interest so i should be able to answer

have fun reading! 👻

#dead boy detectives #neil gaiman

[embracing-the-ineffable]

I'm confused about the GO timeline. When Crowley and Aziraphale first meet, we learn that They will be "shutting all this down again in about 6,000 years.". But Crowley tells Nina and Maggie that he and Aziraphale have been talking for millions of years. How is that possible?

Because there was lots of Good Omens angel time before Earth Time started.

#good omens #neil gaiman #good omens timeline #good omens clues #crowley #aziraphale #good omens analysis

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Do you not know the concept of a happy character or do you choose to ignore it? (I am genuinely interested)

I need some clarity on your ask. (I too am genuinely interested.) Are you asking about happy characters who are simply always happy, whatever else is happening in the story (like Jim, or Muriel) or happy characters who are fundamentally pretty happy until the story starts happening to them (like Aziraphale or Fiddler's Green) or happy characters who are enough at peace and have enough self knowledge to be happy and wise (like Death)?

#neil gaiman #Neil Gaiman appreciation #happiness #on writing #character analysis #character design #good omens #aziraphale #good omens death #muriel #jimbriel #good omens analysis #fiddlers green

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Re my last ask, I know you didn't make the show, but since you originated Mick in the comics I'm thanking you for him :)

Ah, that's lovely of you. But Tragic Mick was actually created by Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham.

Here's a fun article on some of the differences between the comics and the TV series:

#dead boy detectives #neil gaiman #toby litt #mark buckingham #tragic mick

[embracing-the-ineffable]

"Dancing is not a sin" part 3

I'm sorry that it took so long to finish this one. Wasn't satisfied with the first version of it. 🙈

Hope you like it

Part 2 here

#ineffable dance #good omens #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #good omens fanart

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Neil Gaimain about writing Good Omens with Terry Pratchett (x)

Neil: His line to me when we were writing “Good Omens”, he would phone me up and he’d say, I’ve just done this and it’s made it 17% funnier. I’d written this whole meeting between the International Express man and Pollution and I’d mentioned that, you know, ‘he and his wife went down there sometimes when they were courting to spoon’ and Terry added the line, ‘and on one memorable occason, fork.’

Rob: On one memorable occasion.

Neil: On one memorable occasion, and it‘s made it 17% better. In fact, in that case it may have made it 100% better.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Just a post in appreciation of Michael Sheen's teeth. I don't feel like they get anywhere near the appreciation they deserve. I figure they get overlooked due to the eyes, and the hair, and the face and the *gestures wildly* EVERYTHING, but the man has some seriously pretty teeth.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Neil talked about #10 here, and rebloggers added more details! It was illustrated for something else entirely by Rowena Morrill and the publisher reused it for Good Omens because they already owned the rights to it 😅

The art director & the Good Omens book cover tier list of doom, part 1

This is going to have to be a multi-part series because there are *checks notes* 64 different covers that I've found so far.

I am your resident Art Director/Good Omens enthusiast, and welcome to my completely meta-free book cover tier list. Listen, making a book cover is HARD. I should know. But while we salute these artists for their hard work and time, I think we can all admit that once in a while, the vision is just not on. And on very rare occasions, publishers seemed to have managed to commission the cover art directly from hell... 1. The original UK cover

Ahh, the standard by which all shall be judged. We're starting off with a nice & easy cover, with adorable woodcuts of Aziraphale and Crowley flanking a custom Good Omens font! While I have to take a few points off for the terrible kerning of the word "GoOD", the blockprint vibes and general bitchiness of Aziraphale's teeny weeny wittle face, along with the sick colour palette puts the orignial in my good graces. Tier: Great

2. The duelling US covers

Progress! Hail to the designer who figured out trying to make "GoOD" and "OMeNs" fit the same width was a fool's errand, and even managed to IMPROVE on the original handmade title by adding a little halo and devil's tale to the design. Aziraphale and Crowley are facing each other, while also managing to serve absolute cunt. Aziraphale is wearing EIGHTIES SNEAKERS. Crowley's little snake boots have HEELS. They've managed to keep the woodcut vibes and colour simplicity, while balancing out the full title of the book. Both authors get to trade off on who's name comes first! Dare I say, this is a work of genius. I could dock some points for Crowley's sad bat wings growing out of his right clavicle, but who am I to question greatness.

Tier: Blessed by God Herself

3. The Halo Master Chief(?) cover

How the mighty have fallen... As a Canadian child, I was subjected to maybe the most horrifying ad in existence by the War Amps warning children about machine safety. This cover is the paper embodiment of that ad. I am confused by the purple haze. I am frightened by the seeming ethereal flatness of Adam and Dog. I am strangely aroused by Aziraphale's eyebrows, and intensely saddened by the terrible outline/drop shadow they had to inflict on the type to fit "Pratchett" in that god awful space. Tier: WTF

4. Germany, Ein Gutes Omen covers

This cover inexplicably exists in two colour ways: red and teal. I put the audiobook cover here so you could experience the full illustration, and also how fucked up it is that they cropped the book version to include three horse-people of the apocalypse, but cut off DEATH on the regular cover. Points must be given for drawing a pretty slick Bentley, but I think we have to take even more points away for turning Crowley into a Ray Charles/Mike Wazowski hybrid. The ducks are nice. Tier: Not so Good (Omens)

5. Germany, Ein Gutes Omen covers continued

I don't know if the German designer of this cover *knew* that they were using western yeehaw cowboy woodblock letters when they made this cover, but judging by how they spaced the rest of the text at the bottom, THEY DID NOT CARE. And that seems to be a running theme for this one. We get kind of a duality thing going on with the black and pink background, but it just seems like somebody whispered the general themes of Good Omens into a jar, and threw it down a well, and this poor chap came along and picked it up. The baffling choice to align every piece of text on the cover *except* Neil Gaiman's name which is right aligned and rotated 90 degrees (not even real vertical type) will haunt my dreams, I think.

Tier: Bad

6. US, UK The Traffic Jam cover

For the love of Good Omens, WHY. I can think of so many more interesting symbols to put on the cover of this book than the ODEGRA SIGIL TRAFFIC JAM. Props for keeping the good colours and type, but like, I think this cover was secretly designed by @amtrak-official, or someone who just really, really likes public works. Tier: Does the Job

7. France, De bons présages cover

Leave it to France to make sure people know that Aziraphale and Crowley fuck severely. While I can't condone leaving out half the title of the book (and thinking a red carpenter's square counts as decoration), I can begrudgingly acknowledge that Ron Pearlman and Benedict Cumberbatch's love child is excellent Crowley casting. I think I give this a solid dark academia/10. Tier: Good (Omens)

8. France, De bons présages covers continued

Just imagine with me, if you will, the absolutely hilarious reality that this cover posits: Good Omens is exactly the same in every respect, but Crowley drives a pink 1950s convertible. Why do all of the colours on this cover look like they've been pre-digested? Why are the font choices and placement so bafflingly bad. My face is the demon's face holding that car. I feel his pain.

Tier: WTF

9. France, De bons présages covers continued

Minus points for not managing to write the full title of the book once again. I don't know what it is with the French. They seem pretty set on Good Omens being demonic. While I do appreciate a good Bosch-style demon party, the dude in the middle confounds me. All-caps Museo Sans that isn't even *centred* in the frame is just so lazy. I am le tired. Tier: Bad

10. France, De bons présages covers continued

Uhh. The font. The font is okay.... I think? Yeah. The font and kerning are. Okay. OHHH GOD I LOOKED DOWN BELOW THE TEXT WHYYYY. Tier: WTF

END of round one. I need a nap.

#good omens #good omens analysis #book omens #cover art #good omens fandom #book cover #neil gaiman

[embracing-the-ineffable]

@einesnachts