A Pinoy Blog About Nothing

So yeah I was green with envy when author Neil Gaiman went to Manila in July 2005 much to the adoration of his Pinoy fans. It was nice to know there were a lot of people who loved his work.

Fast forward to Oct. 3, 2006. I’ve been stalking following Gaiman for a year, watching his blog and keeping my eye out for appearances. Missed him at San Diego Comic Con. He seemed like he was everywhere except California. And then in July of this year, he mentioned he will be in California to promote his new collection of short stories, Fragile Things. Less than 20 minutes from where we live.

The event was at 7:15 pm. We got to Kepler’s Books store at 5:30 to get the book and the tickets for the signing. We got 317 & 318. They started at 200. In front of the store were animators from Pixar including Mr. Ronnie del Carmen who had a table with their comic books. Unfortunately, it was obvious that the huge number of people who gathered in front of the store where Gaiman fans. Too bad since those Pixar artists had good books to offer. Only a handful walked up to the table.

The event started on time. Neil Gaiman was presented an award for his work. When he took to the stage, he was charming, witty and worth every minute we were there. He read a story (Other People) and poem (Locks) from the book. I liked Locks. He then answered questions from the audience ranging from where he got his pants that day to his experience with Hollywood. He makes a good Alan Moore impression. (Not that I would know how Moore would sound like but it was entertaining.) It was fun and memorable.

And then we got to line-up for him to sign our various Gaiman books. I brought Anansi Boys. The Kepler’s website initially said he’d sign 2 additional items plus the Fragile Things book per person. At the line we were told he’d sign just one additional item. We saw the number of people who were in line to get his signature and we didn’t press the issue. We were happy to be there. The guy in front of us, however, only had Gaiman’s comic books. A store representative asked him to leave to line since he didn’t buy a copy Fragile Things. But he bought the other items from the store, he said. No sir, sorry. The guy left. When it was our turn at the head of the line, we heard Mr. Gaiman, chewing out another store representative for asking people to leave the line when they don’t have Fragile Things with them. The guy was almost in tears. Imagine getting scolded by one of your heroes in front of strangers for being a dick. I’m sure he was just doing what he was told but it was hard to see. While the store needs to push the book (income), Gaiman understands all these people made their way to the store and waited in line. Imagine you’re the store owner and you invite and author for a signing and no one showed up.

In any case, it was memorable. You know when they say you shouldn’t meet your heroes because they may turn out to be heels? Meeting Neil Gaiman definitely remains a hero for me. When it was my turn to have the book signed, I told him I should’ve brought calamansi juice. He looked up and said “Ah you’re Filipino yeah? There’s nothing quite like the sensation of 3,000 Filipinos screaming at you.” I said I’m just glad Manila gave him a warm welcome. “Oh they gave me a very warm welcome,” he said as he proceeded to draw a butterfly.

Read Petite’s take on event and the book.