That's a good point - it's like he's bringing forward modern-day archetypes from Western culture. I like that idea.
I like the academics notion - especially as there's a standing joke - at least in the UK - that students have no common sense.
As for the characters - it's actualkly the way that he humanises the ridiculous that really strikes me. One of my favourite characters is death, and there's a great story - is it Mort? - where Death learns something of what it's like to be human. There's a touching sequence where he finally has to collect someone who had helped him in that life. The humanising of death was - for myself at elast - quite memorable and poignant.