Character Analysis: Neil Gaiman & Enn

Enn: Character Analysis

Enn is a character who embodies Gaiman's perception of adolescents and how they tend to fetishize, objectify and alienate potential sex partners. I see many similarities between Neil and his main character. By exploring his personal history, we can gain insight to how those experiences may have influenced the creation of Enn from "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (Gaiman, How To Talk To Girls At Parties). By connecting Neil's background in subcultural media, one could see how films like Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) and The Wasp Woman (1959) influenced his work- they scratched the surface area of a similar message regarding males and their fascination with powerful and seemingly strange females.

Enn is a modest, but aspirational teenage boy. He repeatedly references his inexperience with girls and the envy he has for Vic, a friend who is much more experienced. He appears to be in awe of Vic's effortless charm. One might find it interesting that this self-conscious character has an affinity for punk, yet comes from a humble state of mind. He references Neil Young's Harvest as a song that everyone agrees on. This could be perceived as commentary on the ideal that all teenagers are driven by love and/or lust (Gaiman, How To Talk To Girls At Parties).

There are more examples of Enn's juxtaposition of humility and ambition. His interactions with the girls at the party are very cautious despite his intentions of rounding bases with one of them. Enn also appears to be well-versed in art and literature, but enjoys comics. He

references Conan comics, classic poet Lizzie Siddall and Jane Morris- an artist/muse married to William Morris. He appears to be envious of Vic's advances with Stella, but also seems to have found a new understanding of girls after listening to Triolet (Gaiman, How To Talk To Girls At Parties).

Like Enn, Neil is a modest and aspirational person. As a child, he spent most of his time unsupervised in libraries (Gaiman, The View from the Cheap Seats). As he got older, he was into the UK punk music and scene. Neil later started his writing career as a journalist and published his first book on Duran Duran (Gaiman, neilgaiman.com). Many of his stories focus on the notions of love and lust. He writes mostly fantasy, but the tone is accompanied by a gritty realism that helps illustrate his perspective on insightful morals.

Neil is an author who is adored by his fans, but remains humble. When pitching his first graphic novel, "Black Orchid", editor and creator of DC's Vertigo imprint, Karen Berger, described him as a "persistent but polite British guy who'd been bugging me all this time" (Berger). Neil's stories often weave in characters from other literature to give them new life. It wouldn't be unusual to find Batman and Cain having a conversation in ancient Rome. Though loved by many, Neil has settled with his wife Amanda Palmer in Minneapolis and is Professor in the Arts at Bard College (Gaiman, neilgaiman.com). This appears to be a somewhat modest ending for a young man who started as a punk rocker from Hampshire, UK.

Neil's connection to comics doesn't begin with his employment at DC. They played a large role in his childhood. He enjoyed the American Batman television show with his father, and became fascinated after Batman 227, where the hero became the main character of a Gothic literature-influenced storyline (Gaiman, The View from the Cheap Seats).

Gaiman's career appears to emulate the same strange crossover of classic literature and graphic novel that Enn appears to have. His career arguably takes off after the publication of a graphic novel called The Sandman, which is about a character who embodies all things born of creativity. There are many appearances by gods from every religion and characters from classic stories and mythology. This was the first graphic novel to win a literary award in 1991, World Fantasy Award: Best Short Story. The event stirred quite a bit of controversy, as this was an unusual accomplishment for a comic book (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund). He later wrote his first official novel with Terry Pratchett in 1990, Good Omens. It was later nominated for a World Fantasy: Best Novel award.