Dave McKean

About the Author

Dave McKean was born on December 29, 1963 in Maidenhead, England. He is an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, filmmaker and musician. McKean is best known for his regular collaboration with Neil Gaiman. MirrorMask, McKean's first feature film as director and visual designer, premiered at show more the Sundance Film Festival in January 2005. The screenplay was written by Neil Gaiman. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Dave MacKean, Dave Mc Kean, By Dave McKean., Dave McKean (Author)

Image credit: Photo taken by Kris A. Celario, can be viewed on Flikr

Series

Dave McKean's Cages

MirrorMask

The Residents: Freak Show

Works by Dave McKean

Popular Recent

Arkham Asylum (1989) — Illustrator — 2,877 copies

Mr. Punch (1994) — Illustrator — 1,668 copies

Black Orchid: The Deluxe Edition (1988) — Illustrator — 1,564 copies

Violent Cases (1991) — Illustrator — 1,040 copies

Signal to Noise (1989) — Illustrator — 991 copies

MirrorMask (children's edition) (2005) — Illustrator — 773 copies

Mirrormask: The Illustrated Film Script of the Motion Picture (2005) 543 copies

Cages (1998) 519 copies

Mirrormask [2005 film] (2005) — Director — 211 copies

The Vertigo Tarot (1995) — Illustrator — 172 copies

John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 04: The Family Man (2012) — Illustrator — 148 copies

The Alchemy of MirrorMask (2005) 140 copies

John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 05: Dangerous Habits (2013) — Illustrator — 140 copies

Pictures That Tick (2001) 137 copies

Celluloid (1508) 79 copies

Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash (2016) 77 copies

Phoenix (2013) — Illustrator — 71 copies

Black Orchid: Book One (1988) — Illustrator — 60 copies

The Weight of Words (2017) — Editor; Contributor; Illustrator — 53 copies

Raptor: A Sokół Graphic Novel (2021) 49 copies

The Particle Tarot: Major Arcana (2000) 48 copies

Black Orchid: Book Two (1989) — Illustrator — 47 copies

Mr. X: The Definitive Collection, Vol. 1 (2004) — Contributor — 42 copies

Black Orchid: Book Three (1989) — Illustrator — 42 copies

Small Book of Black & White Lies (1995) 42 copies

Dream States: The Collected Dreaming Covers (2014) 40 copies

The Residents: Freak Show (1992) — Illustrator — 36 copies

Option Click (1998) 33 copies

Dave McKean: Narcolepsy - Retrospective Tentoonstelling (2003) 31 copies

Pictures That Tick Volume 2 (2014) 28 copies

Bento: Story Art Box (2001) 22 copies

Postcard From Vienna (2006) 20 copies

The Dark Crystal / Labyrinth (1986) / Mirrormask (Triple Feature Video) (2015) — Director — 20 copies

Dave McKean: Short Films (Blu-ray Book) (2018) 18 copies

Hellblazer #027 (1989) — Illustrator — 18 copies

Dave McKean: Squink. Dessins (2008) 17 copies

Postcard From Barcelona (2007) 15 copies

Rolling Stones: Voodoo lounge (1995) 13 copies

Dave McKean: Postcards from Paris (2008) 12 copies

Cages Number Five of Ten: Strata (1991) 10 copies

Cages Number Six of Ten (1991) 10 copies

Postcard from Brussels (2009) 9 copies

Thalamus: The Art of Dave McKean Slipcased Set (2023) 9 copies

Cages Number Two of Ten: Drawing a Blank (1991) 8 copies

Cages Number Ten of Ten (1990) 8 copies

Cages Number Eight of Ten: Chromatic Scale (1993) 7 copies

Cages Number One of Ten: Descent (1990) 7 copies

Cages Number Three of Ten: The Individual Lines Begin to Describe Something (1991) 7 copies

Cages Number Seven of Ten: Schism (1993) 6 copies

Cages Number Nine of Ten: Fire, Star, Window, Stone (1990) 6 copies

The Tip of My Tongue (1995) 5 copies

Cages Number Four of Ten: Time and Origami (1991) 5 copies

Sandman: capas na areia (vol.1) (1997) 5 copies

Keanoshow - A Collection of Short Films by Dave McKean (2008) 4 copies

Sandman: capas na areia (vol.2) 4 copies

(eye) (2002) 4 copies

Signal to Noise Radio Adaptation (Signal To Noise) — Original author — 3 copies

Mister X #14 (v1) (1988) — Cover artist — 3 copies

Bitten & Bruised (2001) 3 copies

Postcard from Bilbao (2012) 3 copies

Cages: volume secondo 3 copies

Cages: volume terzo 3 copies

Cages: volume primo 3 copies

Cenas Marcantes 2 copies

Cages, Bd.1, Orte (1997) 2 copies

Luna (2017) 2 copies

Cages: volume quinto 2 copies

Cages: volume quarto 2 copies

The 1997 Vertigo Calendar 2 copies

Cages Number Eight of Ten Chromatic Scale 2 copies

Prompt (2022) 2 copies

Simpsons Comics #63 (2001) 1 copy

Wordsworth 1 copy

The Coast Road 1 copy

Blue Tree 1 copy

The Outlaw Varjak Paw 1 copy

Magic of Reality: How We Know Whats Really True 1 copy

The Gospel of Us [DVD] 1 copy

The World of Buckethead 1 copy

Caustic 1 copy

pholk 1 copy

Cages Number One of Ten Descent (1990) 1 copy

Windows Number 1 (2000) 1 copy

Cages #03 1 copy

Persistence of Vision: Dave McKean at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery Los Angeles 1 copy

O Selvagem 1 copy

Postcard From Venice 1 copy

Orquídea Negra 1 copy

Cages #01 1 copy

Cages #02 1 copy

Cages #04 1 copy

Dave McKean - Narcolepsy: A Retrospective 1 copy

Cages #05 1 copy

Cages #07 1 copy

Cages #09 1 copy

Cages Number Seven of Ten Schism 1 copy

Cages Number Six of Ten Strata 1 copy

Cages Number Three of Ten The Individual Lines Begin to Describe Something (1991) 1 copy

Cages Number Two of Ten Drawing a Blank (1991) 1 copy

Headache [Cuento] 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Crime and Punishment (1866) — Illustrator, some editions — 44,453 copies

American Gods {original} (2001) — Illustrator, some editions — 33,715 copies

Neverwhere (1996) — Illustrator, some editions — 25,038 copies

The Graveyard Book (2008) — Illustrator, some editions — 22,303 copies

Coraline (2002) — Illustrator, some editions — 20,288 copies

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013) — Illustrator, some editions — 14,943 copies

The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes (1991) — Cover artist — 11,888 copies

Invisible Cities (1972) — Illustrator, some editions — 9,435 copies

The Sandman: The Doll's House (1990) — Cover artist — 8,330 copies

The Sandman: Dream Country (1991) — Cover artist — 7,204 copies

American Gods: Author's Preferred Text (2001) — Illustrator, some editions — 6,954 copies

The Sandman: Season of Mists (1992) — Cover artist, some editions — 6,799 copies

The Sandman: A Game of You (1993) — Cover artist — 6,047 copies

The Sandman: Fables & Reflections (1993) — Cover artist — 5,772 copies

The Sandman: Brief Lives (1994) — Cover artist — 5,496 copies

The Sandman: The Kindly Ones (1996) — Cover artist — 5,240 copies

The Sandman: Worlds' End (1994) — Cover artist — 5,161 copies

I Am Legend (1954) — Illustrator, some editions — 4,853 copies

The Sandman: The Wake (1997) — Cover artist — 4,851 copies

Neverwhere: The Author's Preferred Text (1996) — Illustrator, some editions — 4,484 copies

The Sandman: Endless Nights (2003) — Cover artist — 4,422 copies

Roadside Picnic (1972) — Illustrator, some editions — 3,654 copies

Death: The High Cost of Living (1993) — Cover artist — 3,482 copies

The Wolves in the Walls (2003) — Illustrator, some editions — 2,717 copies

Death: The Time of Your Life (1997) — Cover artist — 2,229 copies

The Sandman: Book of Dreams (1996) — Cover designer, some editions — 2,049 copies

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (1997) — Illustrator — 2,030 copies

The Absolute Sandman Volume One (1988) — Cover artist — 1,997 copies

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True (2011) — Illustrator, some editions — 1,972 copies

The Sandman: Overture (2013) — Illustrator — 1,566 copies

The Sandman Companion (1999) — Cover art and design, some editions — 1,249 copies

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town (2005) — Cover artist, some editions — 1,236 copies

The Absolute Sandman Volume Two (1990) — Cover artist, some editions — 1,207 copies

The Absolute Sandman Volume Three (1991) — Cover artist, some editions — 931 copies

Midnight Days (1989) — Illustrator — 812 copies

The Absolute Sandman Volume Four (1993) — Cover artist, some editions — 800 copies

Angels & Visitations (1993) — Cover artist, some editions — 784 copies

Guys Write for Guys Read (2005) — Illustrator — 774 copies

The Child Garden (1989) — Cover artist, some editions — 734 copies

Sleeping in Flame (1988) — Cover artist, some editions — 732 copies

Varjak Paw (2003) — Illustrator — 679 copies

Death: The Deluxe Edition (2012) — Illustrator; Cover artist — 650 copies

London Orbital (2002) — Illustrator, some editions — 620 copies

Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman (2008) — Illustrator — 466 copies

Blade of Tyshalle (2001) — Cover artist, some editions — 461 copies

Crazy Hair (2009) — Illustrator — 461 copies

Absolute Death (1989) — Illustrator — 370 copies

The Homecoming (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces) (2006) — Illustrator — 281 copies

9-11: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember (2002) — Illustrator — 250 copies

The Outlaw Varjak Paw (2007) — Illustrator — 248 copies

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Rare Cuts (2005) — Illustrator — 242 copies

The Dreaming: Beyond the Shores of Night (1990) — Cover artist, some editions — 236 copies

Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes; The Doll's House; Dream Country [slipcase edition] (1988) — Cover artist — 219 copies

Hellbound Hearts (2009) — Contributor — 159 copies

The Sandman #01 (Sleep of the Just) (1989) — Cover artist — 145 copies

Vertigo Visions: Artwork from the Cutting Edge of Comics (2000) — Artist — 122 copies

Slog's Dad (2010) — Illustrator — 122 copies

John Constantine, Hellblazer: The Family Man (2008) — Illustrator — 120 copies

Mouse Bird Snake Wolf (2013) — Illustrator — 115 copies

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere [1996 TV series] (1996) — Cover artist, some editions — 113 copies

New Worlds, New Civilizations (1999) — Illustrator — 91 copies

Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament (1987) — Illustrator — 89 copies

The Vertigo Encyclopedia (2008) — Cover artist — 87 copies

A Fall of Stardust (1999) — Illustrator — 81 copies

The Best of Subterranean (2017) — Cover artist, some editions — 75 copies

Ubik: The Screenplay (1974) — Cover artist, some editions — 70 copies

Breakthrough (1990) — Illustrator — 60 copies

Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy (2008) — Cover artist, some editions — 58 copies

In Dreams (1992) — Cover artist, some editions — 52 copies

First Time (2008) — Illustrator, some editions — 51 copies

Bad Doings & Big Ideas: A Bill Willingham Deluxe Edition (2011) — Illustrator — 45 copies

Doctor Who The Scripts: The Tribe of Gum (1988) — Cover artist — 45 copies

Clive Barker's Hellraiser Masterpieces Vol. 1 (2012) — Contributor — 38 copies

A Death Gallery #1 (1994) — Illustrator — 37 copies

Tyger (2022) — Illustrator — 36 copies

Edge (2004) — Contributor — 32 copies

Death: The High Cost of Living #1 (1993) — Cover artist, some editions — 32 copies

An Honest Answer & Other Stories — Illustrator — 32 copies

Death: The High Cost of Living #3 (1993) — Cover artist — 30 copies

Death: The Time of Your Life #2 (1996) — Cover artist — 23 copies

Death: The Time of Your Life #3 (1996) — Cover artist — 22 copies

Death: The Time of Your Life #1 (1996) — Cover artist — 22 copies

John Constantine, Hellblazer: 30th Anniversary Celebration (2018) — Illustrator — 22 copies

Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams... But Were Afraid to Ask #1 (2001) — Cover artist — 18 copies

Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Book 20 (1993) — Illustrator — 15 copies

The Endless Gallery (1995) — Cover artist — 12 copies

Where's Neil When You Need Him? (2006) — Cover artist — 12 copies

The Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad — Cover artist — 10 copies

The Sandman Presents: Bast #2 (2003) — Cover artist — 9 copies

The Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #1 (2002) — Cover artist — 9 copies

The Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #2 (2002) — Cover artist — 9 copies

The Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #3 (2002) — Cover artist — 9 copies

The Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad #4 (2002) — Cover artist — 9 copies

James Bond: The Living Daylights [graphic novel] (1987) — Cover artist, some editions — 8 copies

The Dreaming #13 (1997) — Cover artist — 7 copies

Black Orchid #05 (1993) — Cover artist — 7 copies

The Dreaming #55 (2000) — Cover artist — 6 copies

Black Orchid #06 (1990) — Cover artist — 6 copies

Black Orchid #20 (1995) — Cover artist — 2 copies

Tagged

(3,523) children's (1,369) classic (1,299) classics (1,449) comic (2,106) comics (8,266) dark fantasy (831) death (1,076) ebook (1,143) fantasy (25,367) favorites (855) fiction (21,533) gaiman (2,205) ghosts (1,138) goodreads (896) graphic novel (13,429) graphic novels (3,845) horror (4,282) literature (1,550) London (1,073) magic (942) Neil Gaiman (2,578) novel (2,198) own (1,163) read (4,230) Russia (1,198) Russian (1,176) Russian literature (1,653) sandman (6,064) science fiction (2,489) series (1,084) sff (1,034) signed (978) supernatural (1,268) to-read (11,675) unread (920) urban fantasy (2,307) Vertigo (1,518) YA (983) young adult (1,458)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1963-12-29
Gender: male
Nationality: UK
Birthplace: Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK
Places of residence: Berkshire, England, UK
Occupations: illustrator
comic book artist
graphic designer
filmmaker
musician
Awards and honors: Squiddy Award (Favorite Artist, 1989)

Members

Reviews

Batman: Gótico (Grandes Novelas Gr&a… by Grant Morrison

160000

Flagged

FILBO | 80 other reviews | Apr 26, 2024 |

Black Orchid by Neil Gaiman

Black Orchid is visually stunning but too frequently difficult to follow. I've seen McKean's dreamy art style on the cover pages of Sandman so I'm glad to see that they collaborated on a whole series.

Flagged

ethorwitz | 27 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |

The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman

Graphic novels are really not my thing. But this is the first one I've read that *felt* more like an illustrated novel than a comic book. Or at least, illustrated short story. It might be because this one has as much narrative structure as dialogue and very little action, so the artwork seemed more for building atmosphere and mimicking a sort of stop-motion movie drama, like extreme closeups, rather than depicting characters in action with voice bubbles over their heads.

The artwork is strange but compelling. The story is strange but compelling. And the ending is... unsatisfactorily unresolved.

Paperback, picked up on a whim at a Friends of the Library sale, because the author is Neil Gaiman.

I read this for the 24 Festive Tasks 2019 for Door 2 Japanese Culture Day (Nov. 3): Read a graphic novel or a book set in a school or academic setting.… (more)

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Doodlebug34 | 24 other reviews | Jan 1, 2024 |

Batman: Arkham Asylum Anniversary Edition by Grant Morrison

Arkham Asylum is a classic for a reason. The story by Grant Morrison is two tales about the horrors of madness. In one, Batman must confront not only his deadliest foes (such as the Joker and Two-Face among others) but his own personal demons. Will he be driven mad too? The other story is about Amadeus Arkham, founder of the asylum that bears his name, and his descent into madness.

Arkham Asylum is a pure work of art, heavy on symbolism. Influence by Freud, The Brothers Quay, and Alice in Wonderland, Morrison and McKean took a variety of influences to create a fresh and mature look at Batman. Dave McKean's artwork is fantastic - and innovative. Creepy yet elegant, you can see how he was obvious influenced by The Brothers Quay as created a mixed media landscape for a comic. This (to my knowledge) had never been done before. It's a non-traditional comic to say the least.

Profound. Artistic. Disturbing. Moving.

This might be my favorite Batman comic.

Give us the arthouse movie adaptation, please.............… (more)

Flagged

ryantlaferney87 | 80 other reviews | Dec 8, 2023 |

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