film Neverwhere (1968) was followed by short stories in the following publications: Fantagor No.4 (1972) – "For the Love of a Daemon" Grim Wit No.2 (1973) – "Den" Heavy Metal No.1-13 (April 1977 thru April 1978) – collected in Den 1: Neverwhere Heavy Metal No.54-72 (1981–1983) – collected in Den 2: Muvovum Children of Fire No.1-3 (1987–1988) - collected in Den 3: Children of Fire, Den ("Fantastic Adventures!") No.1-10 (1988–1989) – collected in 'Den 3: Children of Fire, Den 4: Dreams and Den 5: Elements DenSaga No.1-4 (1992–1994) (not collected in English) Penthouse Comix No.15-20 (1996–1997) – "Denz" (not collected) They have been collected in the following Den trade paperbacks: Neverwhere (1978, 1985, 1991) Muvovum (1984, 1991) Children of Fire (1992) Dreams (1992) Elements (1992) Fictional character biography "Den" is the name of two characters: the hero featured in the short film Neverwhere; and the identical hero featured in all the subsequent comics. First version The first Den story, as told in the short film Neverwhere, is clearly inspired by the Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars novels. In the beginning of the film, an office worker is shown reading the 1963 reprint of A Princess of Mars, before he is turned down for a date by a coworker and quits his job. He then builds a machine that opens a portal where a "deposed queen" beckons him to enter another world. Turning into a muscleman he fights several monsters, including four armed monsters reminiscent of Burroughs’ Green Martians. Den is then sent on a mission by the Queen to retrieve the Locnar and, after succeeding, returns home to his mundane life. Second version In its comic-book sequel, Den is a young man named David Ellis Norman. Following directions left for him on a note and a diagram from his missing uncle Dan, David builds another electronic apparatus. The apparatus opens a gateway to a fantasy world named "Neverwhere", where he was transformed into a hairless, nude, muscular, and prodigiously endowed adventurer. Confused by his strange trip, he can only remember the acronym of his real name (DEN), and begins calling himself "Den". In his Earth incarnation, David had found a letter in one of the fantasy novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs left to him by his uncle Dan. Some images from the Neverwhere film are recreated in the first volume of Den as flashbacks. Shortly after his arrival