When I first saw Neil Gaiman in person, he was saying this: "The next time someone tells you about comics as the hot investment item of the nineties, do me a favor, and tell them about the tulips."
This was the end of his 1993 speech to a room full of comic shop owners and sellers who were experiencing an unprecedented boom in their business - comics were selling as they never had before, and were seen as great investments. Neil's speech was about tulips, and about good comics, and about history and economy. But mostly, it was about tulips.
It was a warning: Don't get complacent with the current scenario. We've seen this sort of thing before, and it didn't end well. Focus on selling good comics, the comics you love, and the future will be the brighter for it. "Remember what it is you're selling people," he implored. It was a strangely controversial speech, and was not well-received by many of those in attendance.
I thought it was brilliant. As an introduction to Neil Gaiman the man, beyond the visionary author behind Sandman, it's hard to imagine a better way to come to understand how he views the world around him. Neil was charming and witty and humble, but also strangely wise. He brought an obscure historical analogy about tulips, as described in a century-old book about popular delusions, into a room full of people enjoying their success in a modern medium, and he warned them of what the tulips had to say about the comics industry. For those listening, he made his point perfectly. For those listening, he was an inspiration to do better. Sadly, not everyone was listening.
The text of Neil's 1993 speech is reprinted in 'The View from the Cheap Seats.' It's one of many such speeches, introductions, articles, and musings you'll find in these pages, and here's the thing: they're all like that. All are written with wit and with wisdom, in a voice that is similar to the one you hear in Neil's fictions, but more distinctly him. There's a natural humility and warmth that exudes each piece, and with each one, you learn a little more about the things he's seen, what he loves, and who he is. Like that 1993 speech, each piece reveals an aspect of the man behind the fiction - these pieces read like a conversation, the good kind of conversation that keeps you up until the grey hours of the morning because you don't want it to end.
We see his love of literature, of course, and get a sense of the authors who shaped him as a writer and as a reader. We hear about people he's known and people he's worked with. We experience the change of a deeply British author who moves to midwestern America. We see his love of music and musicians, films and filmmakers, art and artists, and comic books. Of course, comic books.
Often in these little glimpses of his mind and heart, Neil is unabashedly enthusiastic. He gets to expound upon and explain why he loves the tales of Lord Dunsany, the comics of Will Eisner, the experience of working with Charles Vess. And these are delightful to read. But there is also the strange melancholy of Neil in attendance at the Oscars, on the first anniversary of the death of his father, and the barely-contained rage against the impending death of old friends. For their insight into Gaiman the man, and their insights into our own brief lives, these pieces are no less valuable than the jubilant ones.
If you're already a fan of Neil Gaiman, there's a good chance you've seen (or heard) some of these pieces already, as I had. As this collection spans over 25 years of material, there's an even better chance that you'll find something new, something you'd never even known about, that will surprise and delight you. Opening these pages is a little like meeting Neil for the first time, over and over again, and that is an experience not to be missed.
25 years ago, I was fortunate to meet Neil in person, on the same night he gave his speech, and to have a few minutes to talk to him. I remember that he was wearing sunglasses, even though we were indoors, and that he smiled. I don't remember what either of us said, but I remember that he seemed kind, and more than a little surprised at all the attention he was getting. I hope I told him how much I appreciated his work on Sandman, and how much I enjoyed and was inspired by the speech he shared with us.
But, just in case I failed to do so: Neil, you were brilliant. I won't forget about the tulips.
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Bernardo
Un gran libro de ensayos por un gran escritor.
Reviewed in Mexico on December 12, 2016
