As one door closes...

Neil Gaiman's work has been amazing to say the least. One of such works is Gaimans Neverwhere . The novel starts off in Scotland and introduces the lead character Richard Mayhew. It becomes all to obvious that Richard's pushover nature is a result of his kind heart. Due to this he was lead to a place where he has to choose between his heart or his head. Without a doubt Neverwhere is a classic coming of age story but with a twist. So many times Richard is put in situations where he must make choices that will  change his tomorrows. Although, Neverwhere is a coming of age story it also has another huge current under the surface. Gaiman stops at nothing to put the world as we know it on its ear. He does this by taking societal issues and magnifying them with his graphic tales. Homelessness is a huge subject that he wants the readers of this book to face. Gaiman points out to his readers that these people struggle daily. Even though we do not acknowledge them as we pass them on the street. Gaiman is trying to get his readers to understand that turning a blind-eye to atrocities does not make them go away and that as a society we must grow up and face we are all one family.

Works Cited

Gaiman, Neil. Neverwhere. New York: Avon Books, 1997. Print

She a Strong Black Orchid...

The bounteous talent of Neil Gaiman is far beyond what I expected when I started this blog! His ravenous appetite for reading has given his readers the benefit of the years inspiration and knowledge.  This knowledge that Gaiman has acquired he indubitably puts into his works with a spin. He finds the banes of our society like homelessness and spotlights them.  Gaiman’s works range from fiction to non-fiction, children’s novels and picture books, and of course graphic novels. Some of his works are as follows:

Novels

• American Gods
• Anansi Boys
• Coraline
• Good Omens
• The Graveyard Book
• InterWorld
• Neverwhere
• Odd and the Frost Giants
• Stardust

Picture books 

• The Wolves in the Wall
• Blueberry Girl

Graphic Novels and Comic books

• Angela
• Black Orchid
• The Books of Magic
• Creatures of the Night
• Harlequin Valentine
• The Last Temptation
• Signal to Noise
• Tekno Comix
• The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch
• Violent Cases 

Just as diverse as Gaiman's books so are his characters. In his comic book Black Orchid a female plant/human hybrid that has super powers.  The character has the a mystical connection with the plant world.  Proving his worth as writer, Gaiman also wrote a beautiful children's poem called Blueberry Girl. The poem is about giving your new baby girl the courage, strength, and love she needs to be all she can be. One of Gaiman's more adult titles is American God's in which we find that fictional character can be real when humans believe. Neil Gaiman is without a doubt prolific, adding Beowulf to his already impressive list of creations. He co-wrote the script for Robert Zemeckis's the film version of the British classic.Très Magnifique!

Works Cited

 

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.  

"Neil Gaiman." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 82. Gale, 2010.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.

Coraline's Shamanic Journey?

Neil Gaiman has always had his own unique style, which is his alone. He started his career with many comic books such as Black Orchid (Neil). Gaiman has written in many other forms one of which is prose. Prose is “a literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech” (Prose). He is also well known for his graphic novels, children’s books, science-fiction and screenplays (Neil). It has been said that Gaiman is the “…most accomplished and influential figure in modern comics as well as one of the most gifted of contemporary fantasists” (Neil). Gaiman has been known to draw from history, mythology, and other literature for inspiration (Neil). He has always used his own way blending “…the everyday, the fantastic, the frightening, and the humorous to present his stories” (Neil). Gaiman’s love of bizarre and alternate places of reality makes him a creative genius (Contemporary 3). One of Gaiman’s most recent works is a perfect example of the bizarre and alternate (Contemporary 3). Coraline’s story line highlights a little Coraline’s travels from her everyday reality to what seems to be a better alternate reality (Contemporary 3). Of course what seems to be better ends up being a bizarre and unwanted change (Contemporary 3). Keeping his readers interested will never be hard as long as he keeps doing what he does best shaking it up.

Works Cited

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>. 

"Neil Gaiman." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 82. Gale, 2010.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.

"How to talk to girls at parties"

From an early age Gaiman enjoyed different types of reading (Contemporary 3). One of such types is comic books, which he was enamored with for most of his early life (Contemporary 3). Thus, it is no surprise he has received many awards for his graphic novelist. One of such awards is the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for best writer of the year, which he won several years in a row (Contemporary 3). Gaiman’s graphic novel awards do not end there he has received many others such as, Eagle Award for best graphic novel (Neil). Gaiman’s diverse reading patters as a child transferred over to his writing. As a result, Gaiman’s received many other honors for his diverse body of work (Contemporary 3). One the most recent honours is the 2009 John Newbery Medal for most outstanding contribution to children's literature. One of his most famous works happens to be the children’s novel Coraline (Contemporary 3). This work without a doubt is one of Gaiman’s most recognized works. Long before the success of the motion picture Gaiman was recognized over and over again for Coraline (Neil). A few of Gaiman’s recognitions for Coraline are Prix Tam Tam Award, British Science Fiction Association Award for best short fiction, Bram Stoker Award, and Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award Horror Writers Association to name a few (Neil). He also has collected many lesser known awards like a Locus Award for his short story "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (Neil). It is without a doubt impressive how recognized Neil Gaiman has been thus far in his career.

Works Cited

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.

"Neil Gaiman." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 82. Gale, 2010.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.

Comic Relief

Neil Richard Gaiman was born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England to David Bernard the director of a company and Sheila Gaiman a pharmacist (Neil). Neil Gaiman grew up in an upper middle-class home in England where he developed an impassioned and almost unquenchable love of reading. One of the many things that Neil loves to read is comic books (Contemporary, 3). A member of many clubs which support and keep the lesser appreciated arts such as comic books afloat. One of such foundations is Comic Book Legal Defense Fund where Neil serves on the board of directors (Contemporary, 3). As a youth Neil was advised by his teachers to not read comic books. His teachers were worried that he would not give the more scholarly works the attention they needed to make Neil a well balanced student (Contemporary, 3). This thought really irritated Neil and has been quoted on the topic saying "Why are comics going to stop me reading?" Interestingly enough, Neil really proved his teachers wrong by reading the whole children's library in about three years time (Contemporary, 3). After reading the whole children’s library, Neil quickly moved to the adult library where he made it to about the letter "L". Neil was often rejected and after many rejections he decided to delve into the publishing world (Contemporary, 3). Later, Neil created a series of comic books named "The Books of Magic." These comic books tell the tale of a 13 year old boy who is told he has the ability to be the greatest wizard in the world (Contemporary, 3). Incredibly enough these comic's predate J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" showing how ahead of his time Neil really is.

Works Cited

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.

"Neil Gaiman." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 82. Gale, 2010.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. <http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/BioRC>.