He really is. I've never had the chance to meet him, but I've seen several convention interviews.
It wasn't until reading his Sandman series that I even considered comics as a source of entertainment. I was probably 23 at the time and found the entire set in a public library in Dallas. I read through all ten volumes within the same 24 hour period. From there I branched out into Alan Moore's stuff, and now I'm a shameless comic book nerd.
My first encounter with Neverwhere was actually a radio broadcast. I could be wrong, but I think it was BBC Radio 4, with James McAvoy as Mayhew and... Benedict Cumberbatch as the angel... I could be wrong on the actors, though. I don't feel like googling it. Anywho, I read that shortly after Sandman. I'm thinking of tackling Anansi Boys next.
Sorry for the hijack, people!