Usenet: Re: Cerebus?

Thursday, 27 February 1997

Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc,rec.arts.comics.alternative
From: avram@interport.net (Avram Grumer)
Subject: Re: Ceberus?

Joseph A Santoro Jr <wildfire@wilde.oit.umass.edu> wrote:

Ok, I'm finially curious enough to ask a question about Dave Sim and Ceberus... what the heck is it about, and why is it so good?? (I'd never heard of it until it was mentioned here...)

I'm setting followups to rec.arts.comics.alternative.

Cerebus started life as a mediocre parody of Conan. The first 25 issues (the "Cerebus the Barbarian" arc) theoretically follow in this vein, but towards the end of this span, you can see more sophisticated things coming, both in terms of story material and in the way the story is told.

The second arc, "High Society" (issues #25-50), brings the barbarian into the city, where he becomes embroiled in politics. This, for me, is where Cerebus starts to really take off. Sim blazes a new path for future generations of comics artists to follow, and writes some of the best comedy of his career. The plot becomes more complex, and impossible to follow without reading everything that has gone before. Fortunately for you, everything that's gone before is currently in print.

The third arc, "Church & State" (issues #52 to one-hundred-and-something, I forget exactly where), is more great material. The protagonist, who had thought he was done with politics forever, finds himself drawn back in, and eventually is made Pope. Sim finds a partner in Gerhard, whose delicate backgrounds and cover watercolors make Cerebus one of the best-drawn comics around. Sim also gets more experimental in his pacing with this arc. In the latter half of "Church & State," events are being portrayed almost in real time, and every twitch of a character's eyebrow resounds like a dramatic note on a film soundtrack. Characters act on complex motives that can only be guessed at by the readers through the hints given within the book. "High Society" and "Church & State" are what I consider the true essence of Cerebus.

The forth arc, "Jaka's Story" (issues #I've long since lost track), is Dave Sim trying to do Love and Rockets. It deals with a small cast of characters and their emotional interactions. The exchange that best sums up the spirit of this arc:

Cerebus: Cerebus is in love with your wife.
Rick: I know. Isn't she great?

Interspersed throughout "Jaka's Story" is, well, the story of Jaka, Rick's wife and Cerebus's one and only great love. It's told in prose, which is unfortunate, as Sim is nowhere near as good a prose stylist as he thinks he is.

The fifth arc, "Melmoth", is the story of the death of Oscar Wilde. No, I'm not kidding. Feh.

The sixth arc, "Mothers & Daughters", is similar to "Church & State" in it's scope and pacing, but (in my opinion) not as good. It deals with life in a repressive matriarchal culture, ties up and/or snips off some long-dangling plot threads, and contains the worst Dave Sim text-barf to date: A rambling discourse on the nature of male-female relations that probably cost Sim more credibility in both fannish and professional circles than anything else he's ever done in his life.

The current arc, "Guys", is Sim going back to comedy. A bunch of men in a bar, with some very funny caricatures, and some interesting stuff going on in Cerebus's head.

Sim's strong points: A brilliant mind for page layout and storytelling, and possibly the best instinct for comedic timing in comics. Also, his love for comics as a medium. Some of his editorials contain some great practical advice for a would-be comics creator and/or publisher.

Sim's weak points: His "thoughts" on women, and his great love of seeing his words in print.

And I haven't even mentioned the Cootie....