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A review by mschlat
Cerebus by Dave Sim
3.0
The review is below. First this...
...Disclaimer about Cerebus: From the excellent podcast/essay Cerebus: Misogyny and Madness by Eric Rosenfield:
I started reading Cerebus as single issue comics around 1990 and started buying the collections shortly thereafter. I found the graphic novels [b:High Society|198463|High Society (Cerebus, #2)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388458651l/198463._SX50_.jpg|191978], [b:Jaka's Story|198470|Jaka's Story (Cerebus, #5)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364076045l/198470._SX50_.jpg|191985], and [b:Melmoth|198466|Melmoth (Cerebus, #6)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386920890l/198466._SX50_.jpg|191981] excellent, and while I thought the plot got a bit too cosmic from time to time, I looked forward to the next installment. That all stopped with [b:Reads|198467|Reads (Cerebus, #9)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389628150l/198467._SX50_.jpg|191982], where misogyny went from plot point and subtext to text and author commentary. I found it difficult to mesh the author of strong female characters like Jaka and Astoria with the Dave Sim who stated that women were irrational brain-sucking parasites.
Looking back, there are hints of Sim's beliefs. In the early Cerebus, no religious tradition is treated sympathetically, but the all female Cirinists are depicted as dour "let's end fun in our lifetimes" moralists. And then there's the rape scene in Cerebus #94, which can be read many ways (and was at the time of its publishing), but still shows an expansion of the anti-female thinking of Cerebus. But, until Reads, you could argue that the misogyny was an expression of Cerebus's character, not Sim's.
So, it's tough to recommend reading Cerebus now (especially if you're considering the entire 300-issue 6000-page opus). The collections I suggested above I will still suggest as good reads. And, echoing Rosenfield above, there is much to praise about Sim's craft. I can't think of a better letterer in comics, especially when it came to matching emotion with the shape of words. And I find it difficult to identify anyone as adept as doing comedy in comics as Sim --- his linework, panel construction, and pacing were top-notch. But if you read enough Cerebus, you'll hit the unsupported vitriol.
And now, a review of the volume in question: When this volume (which collects the first twenty-five issues of Cerebus) starts, Sim is doing a crude pastiche of the Barry Windsor-Smith version of Conan the Barbarian. There are thick lines everywhere and huge chunks of nearly unreadable prose, all leavened with the absurdity of a cartoon aardvark as the protagonist. When this volume ends, Sim has moved to a fine line approach that better accentuates the comedy, is delivering hilarious dialogue, and is confident enough to handle multi-issue storylines. He has introduced much of the supporting cast (the Roach, Jaka, Lord Julius, Red Sophia, Elrod the Albino) and has firmly placed Cerebus in the role of outsider in the comedic asylum.
So it's a weird read. Rarely have I seen a creator develop this much over 25 issues. And, after this volume, Sim will write [b:High Society|198463|High Society (Cerebus, #2)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388458651l/198463._SX50_.jpg|191978] (a twenty five issue storyline) and decide to use the title to write a 300 issue novel. But the first twenty issues or so do not in any way feel like the beginning of a novel. They're scattershot --- fun, but undirected.
Do you need to read this to appreciate future Cerebus? Well, probably.... There's a climatic joke in High Society important to the plot that only makes sense if you've read a story in this volume. And I don't know lost a newcomer would be to later volumes without the character introductions in this volume. (Mind you, there's a lot of confusion a newcomer might feel just reading this volume; you need to be fairly familiar with 1970's fantasy, comics, and animation to get all the jokes.) So, if you want to fully understand High Society or (Tarim help you) Church & State, read this. I *think* you can get a lot of Jaka's Story or Melmoth without reading this.
...Disclaimer about Cerebus: From the excellent podcast/essay Cerebus: Misogyny and Madness by Eric Rosenfield:
Cerebus stands as curious thing. It’s an indelible part of comics history by one of its most skilled practitioners whose whiz-bang pyrotechnics of graphical storytelling–framing of pages, sequencing actions, establishing a mood, communicating emotion, are virtually unrivaled. It’s plot seems to meander off into whatever Sim happens to be thinking about at the time and has very little relation to classical notions of structure or character development, with long textual passages and virtuosic pastiches of the styles of other writers and various comedians. It is the singular and untrammeled vision of a creator, and in a world where every marginally notable piece of art is hailed as unique, it can truly be said that there is nothing even remotely like it. And it’s an example of how someone can make it completely on their own, earning a good living creating precisely the art they want unencumbered by interference from major corporations.
It’s also thousands of pages of unbridled hate speech.
I started reading Cerebus as single issue comics around 1990 and started buying the collections shortly thereafter. I found the graphic novels [b:High Society|198463|High Society (Cerebus, #2)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388458651l/198463._SX50_.jpg|191978], [b:Jaka's Story|198470|Jaka's Story (Cerebus, #5)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364076045l/198470._SX50_.jpg|191985], and [b:Melmoth|198466|Melmoth (Cerebus, #6)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386920890l/198466._SX50_.jpg|191981] excellent, and while I thought the plot got a bit too cosmic from time to time, I looked forward to the next installment. That all stopped with [b:Reads|198467|Reads (Cerebus, #9)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389628150l/198467._SX50_.jpg|191982], where misogyny went from plot point and subtext to text and author commentary. I found it difficult to mesh the author of strong female characters like Jaka and Astoria with the Dave Sim who stated that women were irrational brain-sucking parasites.
Looking back, there are hints of Sim's beliefs. In the early Cerebus, no religious tradition is treated sympathetically, but the all female Cirinists are depicted as dour "let's end fun in our lifetimes" moralists. And then there's the rape scene in Cerebus #94, which can be read many ways (and was at the time of its publishing), but still shows an expansion of the anti-female thinking of Cerebus. But, until Reads, you could argue that the misogyny was an expression of Cerebus's character, not Sim's.
So, it's tough to recommend reading Cerebus now (especially if you're considering the entire 300-issue 6000-page opus). The collections I suggested above I will still suggest as good reads. And, echoing Rosenfield above, there is much to praise about Sim's craft. I can't think of a better letterer in comics, especially when it came to matching emotion with the shape of words. And I find it difficult to identify anyone as adept as doing comedy in comics as Sim --- his linework, panel construction, and pacing were top-notch. But if you read enough Cerebus, you'll hit the unsupported vitriol.
And now, a review of the volume in question: When this volume (which collects the first twenty-five issues of Cerebus) starts, Sim is doing a crude pastiche of the Barry Windsor-Smith version of Conan the Barbarian. There are thick lines everywhere and huge chunks of nearly unreadable prose, all leavened with the absurdity of a cartoon aardvark as the protagonist. When this volume ends, Sim has moved to a fine line approach that better accentuates the comedy, is delivering hilarious dialogue, and is confident enough to handle multi-issue storylines. He has introduced much of the supporting cast (the Roach, Jaka, Lord Julius, Red Sophia, Elrod the Albino) and has firmly placed Cerebus in the role of outsider in the comedic asylum.
So it's a weird read. Rarely have I seen a creator develop this much over 25 issues. And, after this volume, Sim will write [b:High Society|198463|High Society (Cerebus, #2)|Dave Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388458651l/198463._SX50_.jpg|191978] (a twenty five issue storyline) and decide to use the title to write a 300 issue novel. But the first twenty issues or so do not in any way feel like the beginning of a novel. They're scattershot --- fun, but undirected.
Do you need to read this to appreciate future Cerebus? Well, probably.... There's a climatic joke in High Society important to the plot that only makes sense if you've read a story in this volume. And I don't know lost a newcomer would be to later volumes without the character introductions in this volume. (Mind you, there's a lot of confusion a newcomer might feel just reading this volume; you need to be fairly familiar with 1970's fantasy, comics, and animation to get all the jokes.) So, if you want to fully understand High Society or (Tarim help you) Church & State, read this. I *think* you can get a lot of Jaka's Story or Melmoth without reading this.