Who's this Hob guy?

Image taken from http://bolhafner.com

"So who is this Hob guy and why did you name your blog after him?" you may ask.  Hob Gadling is one of the characters in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.  He was first introduced in an issue titled Men of Good Fortune, which is itself part of the longer story, The Doll's House. Hob makes the absolutely ludicrous boast in a pub one night that he refuses to play the same game as everyone around him: he refuses to die.  Dream and Death overhear him, and Death decides to let him live for as long as he's game to keep on living.  Morpheus (that's one of the many names for Dream) tells Hob that if he's still willing, he'll meet him at the same pub 100 years hence.  And so begins a series of meetings between a now-immortal man and the incarnation of Dream. Hob's fortunes swing like a pendulum: some centuries he's living life large and others he's barely scraping by. But regardless, he's never ready to throw in the towel. Even when life sends him a rotten fate, it's better than death.

Originally played primarily for comedic value, Hob Gadling is ultimately a catalyst for Morpheus to accept friendship and the relationships that ensue.  Hob helps Morpheus realize that even he needs friends, needs human contact, needs to find a way to connect to others. In many ways, it's Morpheus' relationship to Hob that eventually paves the way for him to accept the death of one aspect of himself and the birth of a newer, more humane and forgiving aspect of himself, born of a human child, Daniel. In this regard, Hob is a great symbol of the indomitable will of mankind to struggle ever onward, making friendships and loves despite the pains that sometimes accompany life.

In this blog, I'll be discussing some of the books and comics I read. As the reference to Gaiman's character shows, I like some of the more offbeat comics out there.  But I'll be sharing my thoughts on the books I read, both traditional novels and graphic novels.