Neil Gaiman is an interesting bloke.

I had suspected this, based on interviews with him that I have read on the net, and because he is so popular in several areas of pop subculture – comics, novels and film. However, what really convinced me was when he told me that his fountain pen had a flexible nib; that he had believed that such pens were no longer produced after the 1920s until he was in a pen shop in Bologna, Italy where the owner told him that they still made them until the 1950s and that he had one in stock, which Neil promptly bought. Incidentally, he used that pen to sign a copy of his novel American Gods for me. He also explained the primary benefit of flexible nibs, viz that they release more ink the harder you push the nib onto the paper.
I was hooked.

Some context may help here: Neil Gaiman is someone I had heard of a long time ago, as he was the author of the Sandman comics and he collaborated with Terry Pratchett on the novel, Good Omens, although I had not read any of his work. Last year, when Impact Records in Canberra (a sad passing) closed down, I bought a hardcover copy of Volume 1 of the Sandman graphic novels at half price, which promptly went into storage ready for moving house. I pulled it out earlier this year after we moved to Dickson and read it in January or February. It was great. Very interesting, intriguing and just off beat enough for my tastes. So, when I heard that Mr Gaiman would be in Canberra on Tuesday 19 July for a book signing at a local SF/Fantasy specialist book store followed by a talk at the ANU, I decided that I may as well go along to get my one book by him signed.

Even an hour before the event I was wavering about whether or not to go – in the end, I decided to go deciding that I would regret it if I did not. As my tale above indicates, I was glad I did. Further, I hadn’t intended at all to go to the event at the ANU, however after that conversation and some encouragement from others I met while queuing for the book signing I decided to go to that as well. Tegan came along as well, despite being exhausted, reasoning that, like me, she would later regret it if she didn’t go – even though she had read nothing at all of Neil Gaiman’s work. She came away with a strong conviction that she would enjoy his books and was immensely glad that she went.

At the ANU, Neil Gaiman showed excerpts of an upcoming film that he worked on, called MirrorMask. He said that the design brief was to make a movie in the vein of Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal. MirrorMask looks fantastic and we can’t wait to see it. Mr Gaiman was also witty, uproariously hilarious and (again) came across as an intensely interesting person. Tegan and I will definitely be tracking down and reading more of his work.

In the meantime, I’m off to look for a fountain pen with a flexible nib and think I have discovered that the Namiki corporation of Japan still manufactures one.