Neil Gaiman

As I mentioned above, I first heard of Neil Gaiman and the Sandman in the 90s but didn't really pursue it. Many years later my mom sent me a copy of his book Trigger Warning. This is a book of shorter pieces. I liked some of them but others left me cold. I don't think I read the whole book. Then at some point I picked up a copy of American Gods and read it and liked it although I wasn't fanatical or anything.

So then at some point, I heard that there were some allegations against him. I am not opposed to to people talking about this kind of bad behavior by famous people. I do think a lot of sexual misbehavior and crimes get hushed up which allows people like Harvey Weinstein to operate for so long with impunity. And I do think the solution is to bring this stuff to light. But at the same time I also dislike a lot of the whole "cancel culture". I am also a person who is far from blameless in my dealings in romantic/sexual matters. I don't consider myself a predator in any way, but there was an ex-girlfriend that I definitely crossed some important boundaries with and did stuff I am not proud of. So part of me in some ways tuned out a lot of the subsequent stuff after the first wave of the me-too movement. And to be honest I kind of wrote off the stuff about Neil Gaiman without investigating.

So I had mostly forgotten there were any allegations about him when I started on this project of reading Sandman. Overall, I don't believe we should throw things in the dustbin just because the author or creator was unethical. First, because I can't throw stones but also because I feel like no one is blameless in life. So I do kind of believe in separating the artist from the work. But of course that is not truly 100% possible either. And the allegations do color how I experience the work.

So anyways, I had read the first and second volumes and was picking up volumes 3,4,5 at the comic shop. The clerk mentioned something about them not carrying the new ones anymore or that they wouldn't buy any more new ones because he got cancelled. I actually thought he meant his publisher had cancelled the contract because the copies weren't selling or something. But I just said "Cancelled?" and then he just vaguely mentione that stuff had come out about Gaiman. So that's when I remembered. So when I got home I decided to look into them.

So the allegations are more serious than I realized. That being said, he denies that he coerced anyone. He also claims to have a lot of evidence that the relationships were consensual. He also hasn't been tried or even investigated by the police for these matters. So on the accusers' side is his admission that he did have relationships with them and that there are a number of women (like 8 or 9) that claimed some form of coercion although I am unsure if any of them are outright claiming rape.

So I am obviously unable to make any kind of real assesment of whether he is actually guilty or not but part of me does lean toward believing the women. So, the main difference between reading or watching or listening to some historical figure's works and doing the same for a living writer is that I am actively supporting the living person if I purchase new works by them.

The way I am leaning now is to continue with the Sandman. It is just so widely recognized as a classic of the genre. And I have really enjoyed the first three volumes, I recognize that this is not a morally "pure" position. But again, I just feel like at some level I don't really believe anyone is morally pure and I just am unwilling to cut myself of from the works of people who have committed offenses. So obviously this is a case by case basis based on my own interests and my own assessment of how horrible or terrible the person really is.