Neil Gaiman and Philosophy

NeilGaimanistheimaginativewizardbehindthebestsellingnovelsAmericanGods(soontobeanHBOseries)andTheAnansiBoys,thegraphicseriesTheSandman,andpopularchildren'sbookslikeCoralineandTheGraveyardBook.NeilGaimanandPhilosophylooksatGaiman'sworkthroughaphilosophicallens.Howdoesfantasyinteractwithrealityandwhatcaneachtellusabouttheother?Doweeachhaveotherselveswhoembodydifferentpersonalqualities?Iftheunknowninfluencestheknown,istheunknownjustasrealastheknown?Whatmakespeopletrulyvaluable?InNeilGaimanandPhilosophy,eighteenphilosophersexploreGaiman'sbestlovedandunforgettableworlds:TheGraveyardBook,amacabreparalleltoTheJungleBook,inwhichtheboyBodisraisedbythesupernaturalinhabitantsofagraveyard.Coraline,inwhichagirlneglectedbyherparentsfindsanotherworldwithanOtherMotherwhopaysheralotofattention,butthenturnsouttobeevilandwon'tlethergo.Neverwhere,inwhichaLondonmandiscoversamagicalparallelcity,LondonBelow.TheSandman,bestsellingcomicbooksinwhichtheLordofDreamsattemptstorebuildhiskingdomafteryearsofimprisonment.GoodOmens(withTerryPratchett)treatsbiblicalprophecy,theAntichrist,andtheEndTimesasahilariouscomictale,filledwithslybutgoodhumoredtwistsandturns.MirrorMask,whereayoungcircusgirlfindsthatthepicturesshehasdrawnhavegivenheraccesstoafantasticworldoflightandshadow,populatedwithcharacterswhohavedesignsonher.