The
Art of Neil Gaiman (Harper Design, 2014, hardcover, $39.99) could
have many uses. Depending upon whom one is and what one wants to get out of it,
owning the book could be a worthy investment in many different ways.
The volume could certainly be used as a coffee table
book in the household of a Gaiman fan or science fiction aficionado. The illustrations are plentiful and
colorful, and there are numerous little side vignettes that make the book ideal
for this purpose. The price is in
line with that of other such books, and the eclectic science fiction and
superhero art within as well as the dark cover picturing Gaiman without would
make for a good conversation piece or starter--say with the Goth girl one had
invited over with the hopes of becoming more acquainted.
The book could also be placed on the shelf for use as
a reference for hardcore Gaiman fans.
One would have to be a hardcore fan to justify the price as well as the
modest space the book would occupy in this capacity. The book is well indexed and has a useful table of contents
and an extensive bibliography.
Fine artists, particularly those who are employed in
or enjoy sci-fi/fantasy illustration, painting, drawing, and digital art would
find this book quite valuable, both from an ideas standpoint and from a
marketing standpoint. There are no
doubt better resources for those topics, but I do believe this is worth
mentioning.
Writers, poets, playwrights, and screenwriters would
definitely benefit from reading the text in the book, plus or minus looking at
the pictures. Hayley Campbell does
a good job of chronicling the life from birth to the present of one of the
world’s most successful living authors, and there is much to be learned by
learning what worked for him and what did not. It is probably safe to say that for every successful author
such as Gaiman there are thousands of failure wannabes--this book, if carefully
read, reveals what made Gaiman a success.
The path and principles Gaiman followed (and continues to follow) made
his triumph almost inevitable. One
must read the book in detail to really understand this, but in summary here are
what I shall call...
Gaiman’s
Rules:
Read. Gaiman was an avid reader from an early
age. Anything from comics to
classics is fair game. But
read. Read like crazy.
Write. Take any opportunity possible to
write. One of Gaiman’s first gigs
was as a journalist. Not exactly
illustrated novels, but still writing.
Have a good idea for a story?
Write it down, flesh it out a little, then maybe finish it or not, but
write it down. Gaiman sometimes
came back to little ideas he had written down years prior and turned them into
best-selling novels.
Collaborate. Gaiman certainly would not have
succeeded as he did in illustrated novels, radio plays, and screenplays had he
not developed excellent collaborative relationships with many different
artists.
Market. Gaiman is a relentless marketer from
attending humble book signings to full out promotional tours.
Write
for love not for money.
This may seem to go against the “Write” principle. Perhaps it does to some degree. But Gaiman emphasizes that somehow
projects accepted just for big money always turn out badly, and even the money
somehow never materializes. This
is a lesson that Gaiman admits he has had to learn more than once and a lesson
he must guard against having to learn again.
Escape. Sometimes it is best to drop off the
grid for months if need be in order to devote full attention to a project.
Finally, fans of Gaiman such as I who do not just love
him but who are kind of in love with him will want to read every little part of
this book and study every illustration--with a magnifying glass when necessary
(as it often is for some of the text that appears on some of the
illustrations). For within this
grimoire lie the secret magicks and thaumaturgy of all that is Gaiman, not to
mention a comprehensive list and description of all of Gaiman’s creative work,
published, unpublished, and as yet to be published. Once thoroughly digested, remember the tome still makes for
an attractive coffee table book slash useful reference.
