Michael Deeley has been reading comics since he was 12 years old. His first book was an issue of Silver Surfer by Jim Starlin, leading him to see all comics as ideological conflicts with big-ass fight scenes. At the very least, he expects a comic to be entertaining in some fashion, which is why he thinks Secret Wars II is better than Dark Knight Strikes Back. He has never work in the comics field, but he does have a belligerent attitude and a lot of free time.
During his brief intervals in the real world, Michael looks for a paying job that should, (theoretically) lead to a better life involving more comics, privacy, and women.
He currently lives between Pittsburgh, PA, and the Pittsburgh International Airport, in a suburb so new, it only has one McDonalds.
“Lots of talk about Sim’s rants-barely any talk about Sim’s comics.”
-Poster on the Comics Journal message board.
This one’s a little different, folks. It’s an all-company review of a single comic book. I intend this to be a public resource to be searched and accessed by all readers for as long as SBC archives this column. This column will summarize every volume of Dave Sim’s ‘Cerebus’ published to date. All 295 issues to date (only five more to go), with plots of every major story arc, key character appearances, and some celebrity guest stars.
Seriously … I’m going to summarize 300 issues of a comic book series. If you want, just do a “Find” command for the stories or characters you want most, or just skip down to this week’s new comics reviews.
And if you haven’t clicked over to ATR or Marv Wolfman’s column, let me assure you: it will be painless.
First of all, I’m not going to review each and every issue. ‘Cerebus’ is a single story told in 300 chapters. To review any one or even 20 would be like reviewing only three chapters of “Moby Dick”. This is just a Cliff’s Notes version of the series, to both aid the understanding of a complex work, and to promote what is, undeniably, one of the greatest comic books ever made. I’m just going to give you the basics of what happens, like who’s who in the story, and point out a few fun facts.
‘Cerebus’ is unique among other comics for its length of story, depth of character, breadth of detail, and evolution over time. It exists in 4 dimensions. The series focuses on Cerebus, a 3-foot tall aardvark man, who lives in a pre-industrial medieval fantasy world. As the story progresses, Cerebus finds himself involved with people and events that change history. He becomes a politician, pope, houseguest, bartender, and prophet, in that order. He finds and loses love. He speaks with beings of great power and knowledge, including his creator, Dave Sim. And yet, he still cannot find happiness in day-to-day life. Cerebus has done it all, been everywhere, and seen everybody. And he still fucks up.
You gotta love that.
‘Cerebus’ began as a parody of fantasy comics like ‘Conan’. (Sim would later recall a ‘Conan’ comic by Barry-Windsor Smith as a major inspiration in his artistic career.) Humor remained prevalent throughout the series, especially satires of other comics and the comic book industry. Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Eddie Campbell, and Todd McFarlane have made appearances. Sim created the character of The Roach specifically to lampoon other superheroes; his identity changing with every new character. Very few comics are able to address serious real-world issues and still come back to old-fashioned slapstick as naturally as ‘Cerebus’.
But the series is best known for its social and political commentary. Politics, religion, and gender relations are central themes of the series. All three are often addressed simultaneously. The “second third” of the series saw Cerebus’ world conquered by an all female religion that established a matriarchy. When Cerebus is hailed as the prophet of a new male-centric religion, he leads a revolution against the matriarchy and establishes a new patriarchy. Indeed, Dave Sim’s opinions about women and their place in the world have made him the single most controversial, if not hated, figure in the comic book world.
Cerebus’ success is due almost entirely to Dave Sim. Sim has written and drawn every issue of the comic since its creation. Think about that: 300 issues, 26 years, on a single comic. That is longer than any creator ever spent on any comic. Longer than Erik Larsen on ‘Savage Dragon’; longer than Stan Lee on ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ combined! What’s more, he’s been publishing the series himself, with a little help from his friends and colleagues. ‘Cerebus’ is Dave Sim’s thoughts and views of the world as much as it is a work of fiction. Sim has used ‘Cerebus’ as his soapbox for a variety of issues, including the rights of comic book creators. Sim has always encouraged comics creators to self-publish. To Sim, working for another company means giving up creative control and ownership of an artist’s work.
Let me pause for a moment and point out there’s a difference between admiring a man’s work and admiring the man himself. I disagree with Sim’s views on women, politics, and religion. Frankly, I don’t like the guy very much, but he makes a great comic. I heard him speak at this year’s SPACE, and found him to be incredibly boring. Reading his essays and responses to letters in the backs of ‘Cerebus’ have led me to wonder if he’s entirely sane. He’s a Canadian who steadfastly supports any U.S. action against a government controlled by that nation’s Muslim minority because, in his opinion, God is on America’s side and Islam is the wrong religion. On the other hand, by taking an unpopular stand, he forces you to defend your beliefs. If you don’t argue, he declares victory by default. If you do argue, he’s ready to back up his view with research and anecdotes. Tough guy to talk to, but interesting to read.
But Sim’s controversial nature does work against him in one respect: he draws attention away from his book and onto himself. This means many people may refuse to read ‘Cerebus’ because Sim is a jerk. Which is a shame, because ‘Cerebus’ is not only a great comic book, but, (ironically enough), it features some of the most compelling and complex female characters in comics. (More on them later.)
‘Cerebus’ is more than just a comic: It is the expression of one man’s life. ‘Cerebus’ has, literally, been Dave Sim’s life for 26 years, just 2 months less than I’ve been alive. Sim’s views and ideas, coupled with the public’s reaction to them, are part of the experience of reading ‘Cerebus’. And how many comics can you really “experience” instead of just read?
‘Cerebus’ is a epic graphic novel. My only complaint is, between Canada’s ‘Cerebus’ and Japan’s ‘Lone Wolf & Cub’, I’m embarrassed that the USA, birthplace of the modern comic, has yet to produce a graphic epic of such literary merit and magnitude. OK, there’s the stuff from Vertigo, ‘Sandman’ and the like, but they don’t reach the 100th issue mark! Wimps!
What follows are summaries of the ‘Cerebus’ TPBs, called “phone books” for their size and rough newspaper pages. If you’ve never read the series, this should give you some idea of what it’s about and guide you to the parts you’d like best.
Enjoy.
Cerebus Vol.1 (collecting #1-#25)
Cerebus the character started out as a mascot for Aardvark-Vanaheim, a small press publisher of sci-fi/fantasy fanzines and comics formed by Dave Sim, his fiancée Deni, and various friends and family. Sim designed a cartoon aardvark for what would have been a fanzine called ‘Cerberus’, only Deni misspelled the name as ‘Cerebus’, and the printer stole the original art. Undeterred, Sim decided to use “Cerebus” as the aardvark’s name and created a humorous comic around him. ‘Cerebus’ #1 debuted in December of 1977. The early issues parodied the sword and sorcery comics popular at the time. ‘Conan’ was a popular target. Sim’s art emulates the realistic style of Barry Windsor-Smith for people and locations. This makes the uniformly grey, simply drawn Cerebus stick out and look more comical, much like the cartoon characters in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.
Many of the series’ recurring cast members appear in this time: Jaka: The dancer Cerebus loves (or thinks he loves). Lord Julius: Ruler of the city-state of Palnu, head of a bureaucracy so complex only he can understand it, thus ensuring his power. After Cerebus saves his son, Julius names him his “Kitchen Staff Supervisor”, which puts Cerebus in charge of Julius’ security forces. Lord Julius is patterned after Groucho Marx, and often delivers cutting one-liners and put-downs. A fan favorite. Elrod the Albino: A parody of Michael Morcock’s Elric, who blusters like Foghorn Leghorn and has proven to be absolutely useless to everyone. Red Sophia: A busty parody of Red Sonia. She pledges her life and love to Cerebus after losing to him in battle. She would later become his first wife. Weisshaupt: Political manipulator who complicates Cerebus’ life immensely; Bran Mak Mufin: Dumb name aside, he leads the hidden tribe of Pigts who worship a clay statue that resembles Cerebus. Cerebus destroys this statue, thus changing his destiny. Mak Mufin would return to Cerebus’ side in later stories. The Roach: A businessman with a split personality. The roach began as a Batman parody, then later evolves (or devolves), into a Captain America parody. (Readers debate whether or not Ben Edlund based his Tick on the Roach, but Sim isn’t interested in pursuing the matter.)
The first 25 issues were reprinted in a trade paperback series called ‘Swords of Cerebus’. Six issues were published and kept in print from 1981 to 1986. These are worth tracking down as they feature Sim’s commentaries about the series (from which the above history was taken), and original stories not included in the TPBs. Two gems include a Prince Valiant parody that originally ran The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom, and a silent story illustrated by BWS himself! ‘Cerebus’ the TPB was first printed in 1987. December of that year saw the premiere of ‘Cerebus Bi-Weekly’, a series that reprinted the first 80 issues.
Cerebus Vol. 2: High Society (#26-#50)
About 2 years into the series, Sim decided ‘Cerebus’ would be an epic novel published in 300 parts. The characters and events Cerebus had already encountered would return later in the series, and prove to hold greater meaning to his life. ‘High Society’ is the first epic story in ‘Cerebus’, and the first to address such serious issues as politics and its relationship to religion.
Cerebus comes to Iest, his world’s equivalent of Vatican City, to find himself treated like royalty. Turns out, as Lord Julius’ “Kitchen Staff Supervisor”, he is the highest ranking representative of Palnu in the city. Cerebus finds himself further embroiled in politics when a young woman named Astoria convinces him to run for the city legislature, and then Prime Minister of Iest. He wins as a member of the newly-formed Republican Party. With the Eastern Church of Tarim shutting itself away from the world, including the pope and all priests, the position of Prime Minister becomes much more powerful. Cerebus tries to use his new power to stage a campaign of conquest, but is weakened by Lord Julius’ political manipulations. Political in-fighting within the legislature further distracts Cerebus from his military campaign. Bran Mak Mufin goes to summon the Pigts to help, but he never returns. Cerebus finally quits his job after the Eastern Church unites with its rival, the Western Church, and reassumes political power over Iest. There is also a “Maltese Falcon”-style subplot about an albatross statue that grants its owner authority to unite the two churches.
Cast includes: Astoria: Former wife of Lord Julius and former protégé of Cirin. Astoria has often gained positions of trust and power to further her own feminist agenda. She remains a prominent figure in Cerebus’ life and world after he leaves her. The Regency Elf: A magical sprite that lives in the room at The Regency Hotel rented by Cerebus. The Elf’s innocence provides some comic relief in Cerebus’ hectic life. The Regency itself becomes an important location in the series. Fleagle and Drew McGrew: Two dim-witted barbarians who try to kidnap Cerebus at the start of the story. Instead, Cerebus uses them to stage his own kidnapping. He later hires them as bodyguards on his campaign trail. More comic relief.
Elrod returns as the adopted son of Lord Julius, and Cerebus’ opponent in his bid for the legislature. The Roach has transformed into the Moon Roach, a Moon Knight parody. Astoria manipulates him into assassinating her political opponents. His over-zealousness causes Cerebus more headaches as he transforms into Sgt. Preston and, while drunk, most of the Marvel universe.
Cerebus Vol. 3: Church and State I (#52-#80)
After being a mercenary and a prime minister, Cerebus decides to write his memoirs. He stays at the house of a countess when they’re visited by Weisshaupt who offers Cerebus the job of Prime Minister of Iest. Turns out, Weisshaput has united the five states of Feldwar into a collective government with himself as president. He wants Cerebus to be his puppet in Iest. Cerebus refuses, but wakes up several weeks later in Iest, hung over and married to Red Sophia. Under Iestian law, Cerebus cannot divorce Spohia without Weisshaupt’s approval. Weisshaupt effectively blackmails Cerebus into being Prime Minister and writing propaganda comics.
Weisshaupt’s position is dependent on the cooperation of the church. When the newest pope is assassinated, the bishops nominate Cerebus for the job. They believe he can be easily controlled. Instead, Cerebus uses his newly granted power over people’s souls to demand all their gold. If he doesn’t get it, he says, Tarim will destroy the world in 15 days. The sudden shift of gold from the population to Cerebus weakens Weisshaupt’s economic power. Weisshaupt is weakened by a heart-attack and slowly dies, but he leaves Cerebus with this thought: “There are two other aardvarks in the world”.
Mak Mufin returns to counsel Cerebus about the forces he’s put into motion. Indeed, odd events are happening and Cerebus is at the center of it all. He doesn’t know it, but Cerebus has set into motion events that could truly lead to the end of the world and the fulfillment of prophecies. Several people show up claiming to be the new Tarim on Earth. Abandoned by Sophia and his friends, Cerebus is literally thrown out of power. Meanwhile, a part of the mountain which Iest sits upon is growing. . .
The Roach becomes Wolver-Roach, another propaganda tool used by Weisshaupt. Sophia’s loud and ugly mother Mrs. Henrot-Gultch is introduced. We also meet Bear and Boobah, two of Cerebus’ old mercenary buddies. Bran Mak Mufin kills himself for betraying Cerebus to Thrunk, a stone giant claiming to be Tarim on Earth. Through the course of the story, we learn about Astoria’s history with Cirin, their differences of politics and religion, and their ensuing power struggle. Both women, however, believe the universe was created by a goddess named Terim.
On a personal note, Dave Sim divorces his wife, Deni, during the creation of this story.
Cerebus Vol. 4: Church and State II (#81-#111)
In the lower city, Cerebus is once again the guest of the Countess who’s looking after the Secret Sacred Wars Roach and his sidekicks, the McDrew Bros. She tells him about her relationship with Weisshaupt and delivers the means for Cerebus to destroy Thrunk. He also learns that if the chosen one possesses enough gold, he can ride the growing mountain and ascend into Vanaheim (Heaven). A false messiah results in the mountain falling over and killing people. Cerebus races the Roach up the mountain (who starts thinking like the Dark Knight Batman), makes Astoria disappear with a word, and destroys Thrunk with Weisshaupt’s weapon.
Back at the hotel, Cerebus has a vision about how to ascend: hold a gold sphere atop the newly grown Black Tower. A sphere of gold coins forms itself in Cerebus’ hands, but melts away when he’s distracted by an artist. The bishop arrives with the albatross statue, declaring the two churches united under Pope Cerebus. But to ensure his rule, he must execute the murderer of the pope of the Eastern Church: Astoria.
Cerebus interviews Astoria in prison who tells him that if she is killed, Cirin will invade and attack with her army. Astoria tries to seduce Cerebus who goes straight to raping her. During her trial, Cerebus and Astoria have visions of these events having occurred before. Cerebus sees himself as Astoria, pope of a goddess-worshiping church, and Astoria is a skinny, emaciated, old aardvark. When the vision passes, Cerebus learns if he doesn’t execute her, the legions of the Western Church will rebel against him.
Unable to make a decision, Cerebus finds another gift from Weisshaupt: A gold sphere.
Diving out the window, Cerebus grabs hold of the hollow Black Tower just as it rises into the air and flies through space. Climbing inside of it, he meets the Flaming Carrot who guides him for some distance. The Carrot leaves after finding his lost friend, Sponge Boy.
Ultimately, Cerebus arrives on the moon and meets the Judge, an all-seeing, all-knowing being. The Judge informs Cerebus that 1. He’s not Tarim, and 2. Cerebus will never conquer the world. He then tells Cerebus about Suenteus Po, a legendary military figure in the history of Cerebus’ world. The Judge goes on to explain the creation of the universe as a seduction/rape between Tarim the Void and Terim the Light.
The Judge also says this about the future: Man will land on the moon. It is the first in a series of events that lead to space-based weapons and means to detonate the sun with the push of a button. This button, The Judge says, is pushed, ending all life in the solar system. He also says Cerebus will die alone, unmourned and unloved, a prophecy that will haunt Cerebus for the rest of his life.
Cerebus is sent back home to find his followers have deserted him. Cirin has invaded the country and taken Cerebus’ gold.
During this story, we get our first glimpses of Cirin and Suenteus Po, the other two aardvarks Weisshaupt mentioned.
The Flaming Carrot was being published by Aardvark-Vanaheim when he appeared in this story. Sponge Boy was kidnapped in his series. Go read it; it’s funny.
Gerhard joins Sim as a background artist. That is, if he exists. I’ve long suspected “Gerhard” might be an imaginary person created by Sim to legally justify giving himself two paychecks. I’ll have to check my collection, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of him [Ed’s note – Gerhard appears in numerous photographs on the back covers of individual issues]
Cerebus Vol. 5: Jaka’s Story (#114-#136)
The focus of the series shifts to Jaka, who’s living in the poor section of Iest with Rick, her affable but useless husband. Jaka works as a dancer at the establishment of Pud, her landlord. No one comes to Pud’s place, which leaves the lonely Pud free to obsess over her. Cerebus arrives to take Jaka away, but she convinces him to move in. Oscar Wilde stops by to secretly write his new book about Jaka’s life.
The story often flashes back to Jaka’s childhood growing up as Lord Julius’ niece. It helps explain how dancing, for Jaka, is an artform; an expression of something deep inside her that she cannot show any other way.
Sadly, it all ends in tears. Cirinists kill Pud for harboring a dancer. Oscar is sentenced to two years hard labor for not having an artistic license. Jaka and Rick are taken to prison where Jaka is humiliated and interrogated by Mrs. Thatcher. Thatcher informs Rick that Jaka had induced a miscarriage to abort their baby. The enraged Rick strikes Jaka and is taken away. Mrs. Thatcher coldly orders his left thumb be broken, traumatizing Rick deeply. Jaka is taken back to her family home in Palnu where she mourns the loss of her life.
Cerebus was out when Jaka was arrested. When he finds her gone, he assumes she’s been killed by Cirinists.
‘Jaka’s Story’ is considered one of, if not the, best ‘Cerebus’ story arcs. The story is more like a singular narrative than the previous episodic stories. Sim’s work grows more sophisticated and complex as the act of reading the comic itself enables you to feel what the characters are feeling. One passage has a young Jaka keeping her nurse out of a room by holding the doorknob closed. Tension is created through a lengthy text piece that compels you to read every word. There is also the arrangement of panels that silently communicate meaning between characters, such as when Jaka dresses for work knowing Oscar will be watching. Oscar considers his wardrobe carefully, knowing Jaka will see him. Sim and Gerhard convey the idea that the two of them are dressing for each other just by putting their panels next to each other. Basic, sure, but also quiet and effective.
Cerebus #0 (#51, #112/#113, #137 and #138)
You’ve noticed that the previous trade books do not include some issues. The omitted comics were one-shot stories that didn’t quite fit into the larger narratives. They act as epilogues to the larger works. The four comics were collected into a single issue called ‘Cerebus’ #0. It’s a cheap way to experience the humor, art, and storytelling the series is known for.
Issue #51 is basically Cerebus stuck in a closet with Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Foghorn Leghorn, and Rodney Dangerfield. (Played by their comic book analogues, of course.) It’s 20 pages of one-liners and one-upmanship. Funny stuff.
#112/#113 was a double issue published to give Sim and Gerhard a month off after ‘Church and State’. This 40-page, almost silent, issue sees Cerebus wander around the remains of his home and his life. He even tries to kill himself at one point. Good stuff.
#137 and #138 answer the burning question left unanswered in ‘Jaka’s Story’: Why was Lord Julius wearing a dress? The Lord Julius look-a-like (called like-a-looks), returns to “his” home to find other Julius “like-a-looks” claiming to be the real deal. This leads to the weird, but hilarious, sight of numerous Groucho Marxes scoring zingers off each other.
Even if you never read the series, ‘Cerebus’ #0 is so funny and so poignant you simply should not miss it.
Cerebus Vol. 6: Melmoth (#139-#150)
This was the first ‘Cerebus’ book I ever owned. Cerebus, despondent over Jaka’s apparent death, sits at an outdoor café in a near-catatonic state. Boobah and Mrs. Henrot-Gultch walk by without noticing him, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards spot him right away. After weeks of introspection, Cerebus awakens to the simple fact that it’s a beautiful day.
Up the street, Oscar, just released from prison, is dying slowly. Much of his story is told through the letters of friends that stay with him in his last days. Oscar’s part of the story was adapted from the actual letters from Oscar Wilde’s friends. Sim spent a great deal of time and research to recreate Wilde the man and his last days. Although at the time I did not realize Oscar the character was based on the real Oscar Wilde, I found this story about the slow decay and death of a man to be compelling. ‘Melmoth’ confirmed what I had suspected: ‘Cerebus’ was more intelligent than any other comic book I’d ever read.
In the story’s epilogue, Cerebus overhears two Cirinists talking. One of them turns out to have been Jaka’s prison guard. Cerebus kills them both, alerting every Cirnist in the area to his presence. Cirinists, and most women it turns out, have varying degrees of telepathy. Cerebus runs for his life with dozens of angry soldiers on his tail.
Cerebus Vol. 7-10: Mothers & Daughters
Like “Church and State”, “Mothers & Daughters” is a 50-issue mega-arc about religion and prophecy, this time regarding Cirin, Astroia, and their respective beliefs in the goddess Terim. There is another ascension, more revelations about Cerebus’ role in “the grand scheme of things”, and a lengthy parable on creator’s rights.
Flight (#151-#162)
In “Flight”, Cerebus’ reappearance inspires a revolution amongst the people, including the newly-sane Roach. This self-aware person is reborn as Punisheroach. Artifacts from the early issues of Cerebus suddenly change and vanish. Cirin continues her plans to ascend to the goddess Terim atop a giant gold sphere. The Pigts emerge from their underground city to attack Iest, only to turn on themselves. Duplicates of the Judge and the Regency Elf suddenly appear.
Meanwhile, Cerebus is playing chess on a higher plain of reality with Suenteus Po. Cerebus learns the impact his mere presence has had on people’s lives, while Po tells the story of his many incarnations.
Women (#163-#174)
As the title suggests, the women characters of ‘Cerebus’ come to the fore. Astoria is rescued by her followers who hole up in the Regency Hotel. Cerebus meets a woman who tells him all women read minds to varying degrees. Some abuse this power. Punisheroach becomes Swoon after his heart is broken, and dresses up Elrod as Snuff, his “sister”. The Black Tower grows again, but falls on the Regency and Cirin’s headquarters. Astoria and Cirin are knocked unconscious and share a prophetic dream. Upon waking, both women realize their cravings for power will lead to mutual destruction, but Cirin later regards this as a brief spell of madness. Nevertheless, Astoria leaves the Regency to meet Cirin and accept her fate. Cerebus flies in, literally, after weeks of sleep, to kill Astoria. He’s stopped by the sudden appearance of Suenteus Po. The three of them go to meet Cirin.
On the moon, The Judge suddenly realizes he was wrong.
Reads (#175-#186)
The format of these issues is a little tricky to explain in words. Each issue is divided into text pages and art/story pages. The first six issues begin with the text story of a reads writer in Cerebus’ world. (Comic books are called “reads”, only with art and text on separate pages.) This writer found some success working independently and is now considering joining a large publisher. He has an idea for a historical fiction about Cerebus’ time as pope and his disappearance. Unfortunately, he ultimately compromises himself to produce cheap action-adventure stories with plenty of sex to maintain his luxurious lifestyle.
The story/art pages in all twelve issues have Po trying to explain the futility of controlling anything or anyone. Aardvarks, he says, are metaphors for the unpredictable nature of power. He walks out after saying his piece. Astoria confesses that she was never really happy and gives up her vendetta against Cirin. She reveals that Cerebus is a hermaphrodite, with two sets of sex organs. Cirin fears Cerebus could father/mother more aardvarks.
After Astoria leaves, Cirin and Cerebus go at it with swords. It is one of the bloodiest and most exciting fights in comics ever.
The last six issues each end with text pages written by Dave Sim pondering the strange relationship between him and the readers, the nature of stories themselves, and the true origin of the universe. According to Sim, the male light ejaculated into the female void. Women have been sucking men dry ever since then. The essay in issue #186 was the one that offended the most people. Sim declares all women to be inherently irrational and secretly influencing society towards its own destruction. At times, what Sim describes intrudes upon Cerebus’ and Cirin’s fight.
Minds (#187-#200)
The ground Cirin and Cerebus are standing on rockets upward into space. There, they are separated and drift apart.
That’s when Dave Sim begins talking with Cerebus. It is the only time I’ve ever seen a writer talk to the character as creator-to-creation. (I know Morrison did it with Animal Man, but their talk didn’t go much beyond Animal Man’s initial shock at being fictional.) Sim explains the significance of everything in Cerebus’ life and the true origin of Cirin. He makes Cerebus he never really loved Jaka, sticks a needle into his eyelid, and finally drops him into the next story.
This is my favorite ‘Cerebus’ story, and as good a place to jump into the series as Vol. 1.
At this point, I begin collecting ‘Cerebus’ the series. The following summaries are taken from my comic collection. I apologize for any differences between the original and collected versions of the issues.
Cerebus Vol. 11: Guys (#201-#219)
Dave drops Cerebus into a small bar with his old friends Bear and Boobah, along with Mick Jagger, Marty Feldman, two Beatles, and visits from Eddie Campbell, Bacchus, and Margaret Thatcher. In Cerebus’ world, men are permitted to live in bars and drink for free until they get married. By the story’s end, everyone except Cerebus has left the bar. Cerebus has a brief fling with a typically manipulative woman named Joanne. It ends badly.
‘Guys’ is more humorous than other ‘Cerebus’ stories, but it also shows how big an asshole Cerebus is. There is a brief appearance of Fanboy Roach. Joanne mentions her old neighbors, the married Elrod and Red Sophia. This is the last time Roach, Elrod, and Sophia are heard from.
Cerebus Vol. 12: Rick’s Story (#220-#231)
Rick Nash, Jaka’s ex-husband, comes to the bar fat, bearded and happy. He’s writing a book about women based on what smarter men than he have taught him. During his stay, Thatcher stops by. This brings back painful memories and Rick is paralyzed with fear. When he sees Cerebus dismiss her with a word, it cements his growing belief that Cerebus is a prophet from Tarim. Rick goes to work writing a bible describing Cerebus’ tavern and “wisdom”. Cerebus just wants Rick to leave so he’ll have an excuse to go himself. Joanne’s timely return makes an impression on Rick who finally leaves, bitterly. Dave Sim pops in, giving Cerebus the chance to vent his frustrations at being in the same place for so many years. Finally, Jaka comes back, and she and Cerebus travel north to Cerebus’ hometown.
Although it’s the shortest ‘Cerebus’ story, ‘Rick’s Story’ is a pretty dense read. Several pages (the pages from Rick’s book), are written in the language and style of the King James Bible. Rick’s bible would prove to have an enormous effect on Cerebus’ life and his world.
Cerebus Vol. 13 & 14: Going Home (#232-#250) & Going Home II: Form & Void (#251-#265)
‘Going Home’ follows Cerebus’ and Jaka’s journey back to Cerebus’ Northern home in Sand Hills Creek. Cerebus’ takes Rick’s advice too literally and acts happy all the time. He ignores potential problems in the relationship, such as their differences in religion and Jaka’s trepidation at living in a blue-collar mill town. Cerebus, meanwhile, has visions of Rick’s new religion worshiping Cerebus and God.
On their journey they meet F. Stop Kennedy, (F. Scott Fitzgerald), and Ham Ernestway, (Ernest Hemmingway), two prominent authors near the ends of their lives and careers. Jaka considers joining Kennedy at an island retreat of artists and writers. She lets her Cirinist host know she’s considering leaving Cerebus, but changes her mind when she sees the battalion of Cirinists waiting to take him away.
Our happy couple goes camping with Ham Ernestway and his wife. Ham is Cerebus’ favorite author, although he doesn’t think much about his newest wife, who reads passages from her diary about their trip to Africa. He’s shocked when she helps Ham kill himself.
When Cerebus and Jaka finally reach Sand Hills Creek, Cerebus learns his parents had died while he was gone. The entire town has shunned him. He yells at Jaka who tearfully goes into a waiting carriage and leaves Cerebus screaming in despair.
Sim did a lot of research on the works and lives of Fitzgerald and Hemmingway. More so, I think, than he did with Oscar Wilde. Sim’s notes are included in the backs of the comics if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Since the two men were contemporaries, it’s interesting to see how their lives and works differed. Sim concludes Fitzgerald to be the better author; more of an artist than the populist adventure writing Hemmingway.
Makes me want to read their books myself.
Issue #265 includes the essay “Tangents”, Sim’s detailed thoughts on feminism, homosexuality, and how women ultimately want to make all genders, sexualities, adults, children, races, and animals interchangeable with each other. Crazy stuff to say the least, but he brings up an interesting view of Martin Luther King Jr.
Cerebus Vol. 15 & 16: Latter Days (#266-#288) & Latter Days II (#289-#300)
The current and final ‘Cerebus’ story arc. The trade Latter Days is only just out – the final volume will follow sometime in 2004 after the series concludes in March of that year. Cerebus is captured by the Three Stooges, adherents to Rick’s religion that names Cerebus as the Seat of Truth. After being forced to hear the bible read to him for weeks on end, he tells the Stooges how to defeat the Cirinists: Just get all the men together and shoot them. Being shot back isn’t a big concern, since women are terrible shots (as proven by Ham’s wife).
After the initial victory, Cerebus finds his position challenged by Todd McFarlane and a sect who misinterpret Rick’s dying words to mean everyone is the Seat of Truth. Cerebus creates the demonic identity of Spore to scare them back into line and purge the villages of “troublesome” women. Any women decided by popular vote to be a “devil, viper, or scorpion” is shot. It’s funny, in a dead baby joke kind of way.
Men are soon back in charge, and Cerebus is in charge of men. That’s when he’s visited by Woody Allen bearing a copy of the Torah (Old Testament, for those of use who worship a Roman torture implement). Cerebus reads every word repeatedly, and comes up with a unique interpretation of God’s word. To him, there are two beings described: the nameless creator of everything, and the crazy female living in the Earth. This crazy goddess has tricked men into killing each other and caused all sorts of problems by trying to be God. This is what ancient Jews called “YHWH”, which Cerebus dubs “Yhoowhoo”. Much of these interpretations are drawn to resemble a movie. Allen’s analogue is shown as self-absorbed and neurotic. His condition worsens as he delves deeper into psychiatry. (Sim doesn’t approve of the practice.)
Issue #289 and #290 were released as a double-sized issue to bring the series back on schedule. In it, Cerebus is shown the true story of creation, this time a religious interpretation of the big bang and sub-atomic behavior combined with Cerebus’ interpretations about God and “Yhoowhoo”. Sim provides footnotes on each page to translate the action into simple terms and cites resources.
Issue #291 begins an overtly comic story, with an INCREDIBLY old Cerebus trying to meet his estranged son. We learn the church has fragmented into several quarrelling factions, with many dominated by the new feminist movement. Ironically, this movement was started by Cerebus’ last wife and mother to his son. In the current issue, #295, Cerebus is sick of other sects deciding whether or not he can see his son, and tries to leave the room.
That’s right: the last six issues have been about a lonely old man stuck in a room. And it’s great! Really compelling, funny, touching stuff
Tarim, here it is, the 13th page of the column (according to Microsoft Word). Guess I better wrap this up. Not much left to say though. Thanks for sitting through this. Hope you pick up a couple ‘Cerebus’ books. You’ll have to search on-line stores or order through your local shop. Sim doesn’t have his own website, and sells books through comic distributors or direct mail.
One final word – issue #300, the last in the series, is out in March of next year. It’s only $2.25 and it’ll be the end of an era. The next time you’re in your local comic shop, just ask them to advance order one for you. You can afford $2.25. You can help set the capstone on this series by making this issue the highest ever ordered. And you may just find a whole new world out there to enjoy. Just do it.
The new books:
Cerebus #295 -
The old man gets heartburn.
Wildcats #13 -
Agent Wax gets a promotion, Grifter gets a new body, and Zealot does more sexy violence.
Planetary #17 -
The origin of Jakita Wagner.
Uncanny X-Men #432 -
Nightcrawler learns that Mystique and the demonic Azazel really are his parents. And Azazel becomes the 80th comic book villain to claim to be Satan. And Alpha Flight show up to fight Juggernaut. *snicker*.
Avengers/JLA #2 -
2 reasons why this isn’t perfect: ‘Contest of Champions’ and Superman’s a prick. The story is the same plot as Marvel’s old ‘Contest of Champions’, which wasn’t so great. Any connection to that work diminishes the story just a tad. Second, Superman is still disappointed in how the Avengers allow so much evil to run rampant and to be hated by the people they protect. Two words Kal, “President Luthor”. Now get off your high horse.
On the other hand, we get some great fights, including Wonder Woman vs. Hercules. Considering the mythology behind these to characters, I’d love to see a 64-page knock-down, drag-out, bare and bloody knuckled fight between these two. Maybe Herc would fall in love with Diana, just a bit, and she’d use that against him. Or maybe she’d just punch his face in. Whichever. Someone get Perez on that yesterday.
Goon #3 -
Funny story about a tough kid helping a weak kid, gangsters, revenge, zombies, and how comics corrupt young minds. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, and they’re all true.
And all the rest:
Alias #11-15; Uncanny X-Men #281-283; Ultimate Spider-Man TPB Vol. 6; Road to Perdition; Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis #1-2; and Left Behind the TPB.
And that’s it. I can’t even think about what I’m doing next week. Maybe another batch of cheap comics.
Cerebus the character started out as a mascot for Aardvark-Vanaheim, a small press publisher of sci-fi/fantasy fanzines and comics formed by Dave Sim, his fiancée Deni, and various friends and family. Sim designed a cartoon aardvark for what would have been a fanzine called ‘Cerberus’, only Deni misspelled the name as ‘Cerebus’, and the printer stole the original art. Undeterred, Sim decided to use “Cerebus” as the aardvark’s name and created a humorous comic around him. ‘Cerebus’ #1 debuted in December of 1977. The early issues parodied the sword and sorcery comics popular at the time. ‘Conan’ was a popular target. Sim’s art emulates the realistic style of Barry Windsor-Smith for people and locations. This makes the uniformly grey, simply drawn Cerebus stick out and look more comical, much like the cartoon characters in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”. 
About 2 years into the series, Sim decided ‘Cerebus’ would be an epic novel published in 300 parts. The characters and events Cerebus had already encountered would return later in the series, and prove to hold greater meaning to his life. ‘High Society’ is the first epic story in ‘Cerebus’, and the first to address such serious issues as politics and its relationship to religion. 
After being a mercenary and a prime minister, Cerebus decides to write his memoirs. He stays at the house of a countess when they’re visited by Weisshaupt who offers Cerebus the job of Prime Minister of Iest. Turns out, Weisshaput has united the five states of Feldwar into a collective government with himself as president. He wants Cerebus to be his puppet in Iest. Cerebus refuses, but wakes up several weeks later in Iest, hung over and married to Red Sophia. Under Iestian law, Cerebus cannot divorce Spohia without Weisshaupt’s approval. Weisshaupt effectively blackmails Cerebus into being Prime Minister and writing propaganda comics.
In the lower city, Cerebus is once again the guest of the Countess who’s looking after the Secret Sacred Wars Roach and his sidekicks, the McDrew Bros. She tells him about her relationship with Weisshaupt and delivers the means for Cerebus to destroy Thrunk. He also learns that if the chosen one possesses enough gold, he can ride the growing mountain and ascend into Vanaheim (Heaven). A false messiah results in the mountain falling over and killing people. Cerebus races the Roach up the mountain (who starts thinking like the Dark Knight Batman), makes Astoria disappear with a word, and destroys Thrunk with Weisshaupt’s weapon. 
The focus of the series shifts to Jaka, who’s living in the poor section of Iest with Rick, her affable but useless husband. Jaka works as a dancer at the establishment of Pud, her landlord. No one comes to Pud’s place, which leaves the lonely Pud free to obsess over her. Cerebus arrives to take Jaka away, but she convinces him to move in. Oscar Wilde stops by to secretly write his new book about Jaka’s life.
You’ve noticed that the previous trade books do not include some issues. The omitted comics were one-shot stories that didn’t quite fit into the larger narratives. They act as epilogues to the larger works. The four comics were collected into a single issue called ‘Cerebus’ #0. It’s a cheap way to experience the humor, art, and storytelling the series is known for.
This was the first ‘Cerebus’ book I ever owned. Cerebus, despondent over Jaka’s apparent death, sits at an outdoor café in a near-catatonic state. Boobah and Mrs. Henrot-Gultch walk by without noticing him, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards spot him right away. After weeks of introspection, Cerebus awakens to the simple fact that it’s a beautiful day.
In “Flight”, Cerebus’ reappearance inspires a revolution amongst the people, including the newly-sane Roach. This self-aware person is reborn as Punisheroach. Artifacts from the early issues of Cerebus suddenly change and vanish. Cirin continues her plans to ascend to the goddess Terim atop a giant gold sphere. The Pigts emerge from their underground city to attack Iest, only to turn on themselves. Duplicates of the Judge and the Regency Elf suddenly appear.
As the title suggests, the women characters of ‘Cerebus’ come to the fore. Astoria is rescued by her followers who hole up in the Regency Hotel. Cerebus meets a woman who tells him all women read minds to varying degrees. Some abuse this power. Punisheroach becomes Swoon after his heart is broken, and dresses up Elrod as Snuff, his “sister”. The Black Tower grows again, but falls on the Regency and Cirin’s headquarters. Astoria and Cirin are knocked unconscious and share a prophetic dream. Upon waking, both women realize their cravings for power will lead to mutual destruction, but Cirin later regards this as a brief spell of madness. Nevertheless, Astoria leaves the Regency to meet Cirin and accept her fate. Cerebus flies in, literally, after weeks of sleep, to kill Astoria. He’s stopped by the sudden appearance of Suenteus Po. The three of them go to meet Cirin.
The format of these issues is a little tricky to explain in words. Each issue is divided into text pages and art/story pages. The first six issues begin with the text story of a reads writer in Cerebus’ world. (Comic books are called “reads”, only with art and text on separate pages.) This writer found some success working independently and is now considering joining a large publisher. He has an idea for a historical fiction about Cerebus’ time as pope and his disappearance. Unfortunately, he ultimately compromises himself to produce cheap action-adventure stories with plenty of sex to maintain his luxurious lifestyle.
The ground Cirin and Cerebus are standing on rockets upward into space. There, they are separated and drift apart. 
Dave drops Cerebus into a small bar with his old friends Bear and Boobah, along with Mick Jagger, Marty Feldman, two Beatles, and visits from Eddie Campbell, Bacchus, and Margaret Thatcher. In Cerebus’ world, men are permitted to live in bars and drink for free until they get married. By the story’s end, everyone except Cerebus has left the bar. Cerebus has a brief fling with a typically manipulative woman named Joanne. It ends badly. 
Rick Nash, Jaka’s ex-husband, comes to the bar fat, bearded and happy. He’s writing a book about women based on what smarter men than he have taught him. During his stay, Thatcher stops by. This brings back painful memories and Rick is paralyzed with fear. When he sees Cerebus dismiss her with a word, it cements his growing belief that Cerebus is a prophet from Tarim. Rick goes to work writing a bible describing Cerebus’ tavern and “wisdom”. Cerebus just wants Rick to leave so he’ll have an excuse to go himself. Joanne’s timely return makes an impression on Rick who finally leaves, bitterly. Dave Sim pops in, giving Cerebus the chance to vent his frustrations at being in the same place for so many years. Finally, Jaka comes back, and she and Cerebus travel north to Cerebus’ hometown.
‘Going Home’ follows Cerebus’ and Jaka’s journey back to Cerebus’ Northern home in Sand Hills Creek. Cerebus’ takes Rick’s advice too literally and acts happy all the time. He ignores potential problems in the relationship, such as their differences in religion and Jaka’s trepidation at living in a blue-collar mill town. Cerebus, meanwhile, has visions of Rick’s new religion worshiping Cerebus and God.
Our happy couple goes camping with Ham Ernestway and his wife. Ham is Cerebus’ favorite author, although he doesn’t think much about his newest wife, who reads passages from her diary about their trip to Africa. He’s shocked when she helps Ham kill himself.
The current and final ‘Cerebus’ story arc. The trade Latter Days is only just out – the final volume will follow sometime in 2004 after the series concludes in March of that year. Cerebus is captured by the Three Stooges, adherents to Rick’s religion that names Cerebus as the Seat of Truth. After being forced to hear the bible read to him for weeks on end, he tells the Stooges how to defeat the Cirinists: Just get all the men together and shoot them. Being shot back isn’t a big concern, since women are terrible shots (as proven by Ham’s wife). 
