"American Gods" scribe Neil Gaiman and legendary "Final Fantasy" artist Yoshitaka Amano once combined their talents for "The Return of the Thin White Duke," a sci-fi reminagining of a David Bowie stage persona. Released in 2004, the short story follows sci-fi versions of Bowie and his wife Iman in future New York.

"I never met David Bowie. After a while it almost became a game: I only had one hero left, and it was him. The nearest I came to it was meaning to send him a copy of 'Trigger Warning,' with this story in it, and an apologetic note," Gaiman writes in a disclaimer just before the story, which you can read in full on his website. "It's unabashedly fan fiction. You can find the story of its origin in 'Trigger Warning.'"

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Gaiman spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the piece early last year and explained how he and Amano came to work together for the story, sharing, "It's an old piece of fiction, started around 2004, 'The Return of the Thin White Duke.' It was written in two parts. I finished it for this book, but the first part was with artist Yoshitaka Amano, who was commissioned to do pictures for a magazine called 'V.' His images were Bowie and (Bowie's wife, the model) Iman as sci-fi characters. Then I was asked to write a story, so it became about Bowie and Iman in this future New York."

Additional images from Amano's Bowie-inspired gallery can be viewed on his website.

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David Bowie, the pioneering rock idol whose influence extended well beyond music, into film, fashion and art, passed away Sunday, just two days after his 69th birthday.

(H/T: Kotaku)