Neil Gaiman: The Books, the Comics and the Magic
By Abhinav Anand
Having a role model is an incredibly fickle business.
No human is inherently perfect, and we are all flawed, in some way or the
other. So what makes people have role models? Quite simply, they are a source
of inspiration. And not just that! They are a source of comfort, and at times,
despite our best efforts, they become a point of comparison. They make
mistakes. We all do. But despite their well highlighted flaws, we seek solace
and inspiration, and during the really hard days, we seek, via their words or sometimes,
simply their appearance, that slight nudge which keeps us going. They are
mortals, just like us, and they are born and they breathe and they wither and
they die, eventually, just like us, but by that point of time, they do not
remain mere mortals. They all have problems. Nobody likes anybody for what they
are, as a whole. Salman Khan is admired by a lot of people, because of his work
ethic, not because of his antics behind the wheel. Virat Kohli inspires a lot
of people, because of his determination and his ability on the field, not
because of his expletive ridden celebrations. Exceptions are always there, as
there always will be, but for the most part, people tend to admire the
positives of the people who inspire them. Their flawed parts tend to be
ignored, mainly because nobody is flawless.
I first happened to come across Neil Gaiman when I began to read comics. I too, was initially painstakingly only aware of the superhero ones. Marvel and DC were, for all I knew, the only comic book companies in the entire world. This thought wasn't helped by the fact that I was living in what could arguably be called The Golden Age for Superhero Movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was, and still is, releasing some gems, while the likes of X-Men, the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, and Watchmen were all pervading movie screens, and consequently becoming huge successes. Some years later, after becoming a bit more solemn and bit more mature, during which I had completely abandoned my reading of comics (those were the years of darkness; the final two years of schooling), I started doing some proper research into the comic book industry. And that's where I stumbled across Neil Gaiman.
And I will be quite frank with you here. I have not read all of Gaiman's work. I admit, with deep regret, that I am yet to read what is perhaps his best ever work, the much acclaimed, one of the few graphic novels to have graced the New York Times Best Seller list, The Sandman. But I have read American Gods, The View From the Cheap Seats and Marvel 1602. I have read two of his short story collections, Fragile Things and Trigger Warnings. And that's about it. So, in more than one way, I am in no position to talk about Gaiman. But still, I will trudge on. Because it's not just about the books, I feel like. It's the person, and the influence he has had. The fact remains that my life has been a better one with Neil Gaiman books in it.Marvel 1602 was the first graphic novel that I ever read. I found out that it existed after Neil's appearance in the TV show "The Big Bang Theory", and I was intrigued by the plot. Marvel characters in Elizabethan England. What's not to like? And I am happy to write, it didn't disappoint. And I am happy that I began my comics Renaissance with Marvel 1602. It made me want to read more. And that's how it began. Via Gaiman, I found out about Alan Moore, and thus I read From Hell, Moore's take on the Jack the Ripper murders. By that point, I was hooked. I was lucky, in the sense that my early comic book teachers were two of the greatest writers of the comic book industry. It began with Gaiman. And I am glad it did.
American Gods is often seen as Gaiman's best novel, and it perhaps is, but, for me, The View From the Cheap Seats has become like gospel. It is non-fiction, and I had made up in my mind that it would be the last book of Gaiman that I would read. But I happened to watch a video on YouTube, of Neil in conversation with Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) and I heard some wonderful things about the book from there ( https://youtu.be/ySngfRi6ndg ).
I decided to give it a go.
It is a book about authors, about ideas and about various other things Neil has
talked or written, over the years. I learnt about important authors like Jack
Vance, Harlan Ellison, G.K.Chesterton and Diana Wynne Jones, authors that I was
woefully unaware of. I learnt of comics and books such as Bone, Hothouse,
Spirit, and The Einstein Intersection. This book made me want to take a
shopping bag, go into a bookstore, or go online, and buy all the books
mentioned in this book. (I admit that Audrey Niffenegger said something similar
in the YouTube video).
And finally, Neil made me write short stories. I read Fragile Things and
Trigger Warnings, and both of them had a Sherlock Holmes short story, one of my
favourite fictional characters. And it was so well written. I realised that
short stories are cool. Not everything you write has to be a novel. (An
assumption I was living under for a long time). HP Lovecraft wrote short
stories. So did Ray Bradbury. Satyajit Ray's Feluda series were, at the very
best, novellas. And a well written collection of short stories, accumulated in
a single book, is one of the best things in literature.
So that's comics, books and stories. In time, I hope to read Coraline, Stardust
and of course, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, amongst the plethora of other
stuff that Neil Gaiman has, and will write, alongside the glut of books he has
recommended. He changed reading for me. And that's why he will remain, despite
being a mere mortal, in my eyes, a true role model, and an immortal.
About Abhinav Anand
Abhinav Anand, 21, is passionate about reading, football and writing. Currently pursuing B.Tech., he aspires to have a post graduate degree in International Relations. He can be followed at his blog https://sisypheancomplex7.blogspot.com/.
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