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I know Dave Sim is a polarizing figure, and I'm not sure if I can outright recommend this to anyone who isn't already vaguely interested in the mostly comedic adventures of an aardvark barbarian, but I can say that I genuinely enjoyed reading it, and nearly gave it 4 stars simply for being one of the best pre-Alan Moore comics I've read. It's smart, creative and original, and definitely improves over time (this collects the first 25 issues, which Sim began in the late 70's). I would certainly read further volumes (until the point when Dave Sim abandoned humanism in favor of his own brand of Abrahamic religions and wanton misogyny, and generally lost his mind, some time in the mid-90's).
And I don't go in much for comic book parody. This definitely transcends that pretty quickly, and I've heard it only goes bigger and crazier after this. Which intrigues me. I'll leave it at that.
And I don't go in much for comic book parody. This definitely transcends that pretty quickly, and I've heard it only goes bigger and crazier after this. Which intrigues me. I'll leave it at that.
I used to love these comics, but now find them mildly entertaining at best. I’m willing to admit that part of that possibly stems from what I know about the author today, but even taking that into account I feel that the only bits which really held up for me come after the introduction of Lord Julius. As an homage to Groucho Marx, he features in the only parts I still find truly funny. There’s also some interesting experimental artistic storytelling in the form of the first “Mind Game” story.
I had completely forgotten about the “funny accents” bits which stray into racist caricature.
It is still interesting to watch the development of Sim’s art style from issues #1 to #25. It’s also interesting to see how this all connects to his later stories in the series, especially when you remember that most of these stories were written before Sim decided he was writing a 300 issue epic story. Largely throwaway characters coming to play major roles later in that story.
I can’t recommend this work to anyone, but it was important to me when I was younger, and isn’t quite as bad as I feared it would be.
Spoiler
I can recall photocopying all the pages of that story to see the image that the gray portions make. They make a life-size picture of Cerebus, with only one or two spots that don’t quite match up.I had completely forgotten about the “funny accents” bits which stray into racist caricature.
It is still interesting to watch the development of Sim’s art style from issues #1 to #25. It’s also interesting to see how this all connects to his later stories in the series, especially when you remember that most of these stories were written before Sim decided he was writing a 300 issue epic story. Largely throwaway characters coming to play major roles later in that story.
I can’t recommend this work to anyone, but it was important to me when I was younger, and isn’t quite as bad as I feared it would be.
Tratando de imitar a Barry Winsdor-Smith y con tramas tremendamente simplonas empieza Cerebus.
Este primer tomo es una murga durante varios números, Dave Sim irónicamente sin rumbo alguno escribe historias sobre Cerebus viajando sin rumbo alguno mientras busca reliquias que valen fortunas o se ofrece como mercenario, sumado a parodias de personajes del género de la Espada y Brujería como Red Sonja o Elric, transformados en Red Sophia y Elric The Albino. A partir del número 13 es cuando se empiezan a notar cambios drásticos, mejoras en el humor y el ritmo de la serie así como un abandono casi total de la Espada y la Brujería. En teoría en el proximo tomo, High Society, es cuando Dave Sim comienza verdaderamente a exprimir todo el potencial de Cerebus.
De todas formas los últimos 10 números no tienen desperdicio alguno.
Este primer tomo es una murga durante varios números, Dave Sim irónicamente sin rumbo alguno escribe historias sobre Cerebus viajando sin rumbo alguno mientras busca reliquias que valen fortunas o se ofrece como mercenario, sumado a parodias de personajes del género de la Espada y Brujería como Red Sonja o Elric, transformados en Red Sophia y Elric The Albino. A partir del número 13 es cuando se empiezan a notar cambios drásticos, mejoras en el humor y el ritmo de la serie así como un abandono casi total de la Espada y la Brujería. En teoría en el proximo tomo, High Society, es cuando Dave Sim comienza verdaderamente a exprimir todo el potencial de Cerebus.
De todas formas los últimos 10 números no tienen desperdicio alguno.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just found out that the author is a self-admitter groomer. Also seems to think women are stupid. He can FO.
When I first picked this up I was really into it, I enjoyed the satire of the genre, I had recently read the Barry Windsor Smith Conan and so was exceptionally prepared for that aspect. About 2/3 of the way through though the issues got more political and I got bored, though it picked up again at the end. Possibly I just wasn't prepared to devote more attention though, and the first 2/3 I read in one sitting, the last one I dipped in and out of so didn't follow as closely
I like the style of the comic and will keep going, wikipedia seems to hint volume 2 is where the series found its footing, though I also expect less of the genre mocking that I loved.
I like the style of the comic and will keep going, wikipedia seems to hint volume 2 is where the series found its footing, though I also expect less of the genre mocking that I loved.
Went in knowing that its supposed to get a lot better but the stories were alrighish. 80s black and white art was fantastic style
I wrote the longest review in November after I finished reading the book, but managed to delete it. It seems like I was too depressed about what happened to write anything then, so here we are now, in January, to correct the situation.
I will make the review much shorter now, but in a nutshell my thoughts of the first volume of Cerebus were that...
a) I'm glad it took me this long to start reading it (I've known about Cerebus for almost 20 years), because I think I'm getting more out of it now.
b) maybe because it is a fantasy book, it feels very timeless for something that was written in the 70s. Obviously there are some references that I might not know (or know as well) as the people reading this series in the 70s, but there doesn't seem to be that many.
c) because it is an alternative indie series, Dave Sim could do pretty much whatever he wanted and he did, which is a good thing here. Some of the stories are told in such a novel way that they still seem inventive.
I definitely want to continue reading the (whole) series and therefore there will be a chance for me to write about many other things regarding the books, so this will suffice at this time, I think. But if you have been thinking about maybe reading Cerebus at some point, I'd suggest you start reading it already. Definitely worth it!
The next read book (I've actually finished it already, so the review will come out soon) will be part of the Helmet Reading Challenge (Helmet here meaning HELsinki METropolitan area library), in addition to the Goodreads Reading Challenge that I've decided to take part in: http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/Events_and_tips/News_flash/The_Helmet_Reading_Challenge_2018. You can participate, too!
I will make the review much shorter now, but in a nutshell my thoughts of the first volume of Cerebus were that...
a) I'm glad it took me this long to start reading it (I've known about Cerebus for almost 20 years), because I think I'm getting more out of it now.
b) maybe because it is a fantasy book, it feels very timeless for something that was written in the 70s. Obviously there are some references that I might not know (or know as well) as the people reading this series in the 70s, but there doesn't seem to be that many.
c) because it is an alternative indie series, Dave Sim could do pretty much whatever he wanted and he did, which is a good thing here. Some of the stories are told in such a novel way that they still seem inventive.
I definitely want to continue reading the (whole) series and therefore there will be a chance for me to write about many other things regarding the books, so this will suffice at this time, I think. But if you have been thinking about maybe reading Cerebus at some point, I'd suggest you start reading it already. Definitely worth it!
The next read book (I've actually finished it already, so the review will come out soon) will be part of the Helmet Reading Challenge (Helmet here meaning HELsinki METropolitan area library), in addition to the Goodreads Reading Challenge that I've decided to take part in: http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/Events_and_tips/News_flash/The_Helmet_Reading_Challenge_2018. You can participate, too!
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes