Warner Bros. TV is in the early stages of developing a television series based on the popular Neil Gaiman comic book series Sandman.

WB is currently in the process of acquiring the television rights to Sandman from sister company DC Entertainment, which owns Vertigo, the imprint that published the comic book series from 1989 until 1996.

The company is also in talks with several writer-producers to adapt the award-winning series for television, apparently with Eric Kripke, creator of the CW television series Supernatural, at the top of their list of choices.

Sandman adaptations have been stuck in development hell over the past two decades with a movie version of the series planned in the early 1990s by frequent Gaiman collaborate Roger Avary, but that fell through. There had even been talks earlier this year of bringing the series to HBO, but that didn’t work out either. Back in March, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn, who adapted Gaiman’s Stardust for the big screen, expressed interest in doing a Sandman cable TV series and even spoke with Gaiman about his ideas, but nothing ever came of it. [Read “˜Kick-Ass’ Director Wants To Do A “˜Sandman’ Cable TV Series]

By Jedi of Doom

Comic book fans will be surprised this October with the release of Action Comics #894.

The issue will have a guest appearance by the character Death from Neil Gaiman‘s beloved Vertigo comic book series Sandman.

According to DC Comics, Action Comics writer Paul Cornell thought of the idea himself to bring Death into the issue and then got approval by Gaiman, who he said has been supportive of bringing Death and Lex Luthor face to face. This big move is part of a huge story arc for Action Comics where Lex Luthor will not only go against people he is used to, but other characters he has never met before.

DC had very limited information about the storyline, but they did reassure that way they use Death “will be true to the spirit of what has gone before.”

There’s been talk of a Sandman movie for over a decade, and that’s about how long a big-screen adaptation of the popular Neil Gaiman comic book series has been in development hell.

More recently, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn expressed interest several times in adapting the Vertigo Comics series, which had a 75-issue run from 1989 through 1996.

Now, Vaughn said he thinks Sandman would be better off an an HBO series than as a theatrical film.

Vaughn said he spoke to Gaiman about the prospect of doing a Sandman series, but didn’t mention what the author’s reaction was to his idea.

The director already brought one of Gaiman’s creations to the big screen with 2007’s Stardust, which he co-wrote and directed.

Several Neil Gaiman-related items are currently up for bids on eBay, with the proceeds going to the CBLDF charity.

The image at right is of two unrelated comic book characters together — Hellboy, drawn by Mike Mignola, and Sandman, drawn by Neil Gaiman. The drawing will be up on eBay for the next 20 hours or so.

Another charity item on eBay ending in less than a day is a sketch by Fables artist Mark Buckingham of Gaiman playing drums (and the author points out that while he does play instruments, drums is not one of them).

Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been working all day under the assumption that today was November 9, 2008. It’s only now in the evening that I realize that it’s actually November 10, hence the reason why this Neil Gaiman feature celebrating the author’s 48th birthday today is coming so late (sorry Neil!).

For those of you who don’t know about Neil Gaiman’s contributions to the geek world, I both pity and envy you — pity because of the deprivation you’ve experienced thus far; envy because if you follow the advice I’m about to give you, a whole new world is going to open up to you — and it’s a truly exhilarating experience.

One thing you’ll learn pretty quickly is that Gaiman is versatile enough to dabble in various literary categories, so there’s something out there for everyone — even the kids. Since Neil’s been writing for a such long time, you might not know where to begin. So, to help you out on your impending magical, eye-opening, life-changing journey, here’s a list of Neil Gaiman writings you need familiarize yourself with immediately (trust me, you’ll be thankful you did).