Cerebus the barbarian messiah : essays on the epic graphic satire of Dave Sim and Gerhard

In December 1977, struggling Canadian comic book artist Dave Sim self-published the first issue of Cerebus the Aardvark , a Conan the Barbarian satire featuring a foul-tempered, sword-wielding creature trapped in a human world. Over the next 26 years, Sim, and later collaborator Gerhard, produced an epic 6,000-page graphic novel, the longest-running English language comic series by a single creative team. They revolutionized the comics medium by showing other artists that they too could forgo major publishers, paving the way for such successes as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bone . This work, the first collection of critical essays on Cerebus , provides a multifaceted approach to Sim and Gerhard's complex and entertaining oeuvre, including their innovative use of the comic medium, storytelling and satiric techniques, technical and visual sophistication, and Sim's use of the comic as commentary on gender and religion. In December 1977, struggling Canadian comic book artist Dave Sim self-published the first issue of Cerebus the Aardvark, a Conan the Barbarian satire featuring a foul-tempered, sword-wielding creature trapped in a human world. Over the next 26 years, Sim, and later collaborator Gerhard, produced an epic 6,000-page graphic novel, the longest-running English language comic series by a single creative team. They revolutionized the comics medium by showing other artists that they too could forgo major publishers, paving the way for such successes as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bone. This in-depth work, the first collection of critical essays on Cerebus, provides a multifaceted approach to Sim and Gerhard's complex and entertaining oevre, including their innovative use of the comic medium, storytelling and satiric techniques, technical and visual sophistication, and Sim's use of the comic as commentary on gender and religion.

In December 1977, struggling Canadian comic book artist Dave Sim self-published the first issue of Cerebus the Aardvark, a Conan the Barbarian satire featuring a foul-tempered, sword-wielding creature trapped in a human world. Over the next 26 years, Sim, and later collaborator Gerhard, produced an epic 6,000 page graphic novel, the longest-running English language comic series by a single creative team. They revolutionized the comics medium by showing other artists that they too could forgo major publishers, paving the way for such successes as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bone. This work, the first collection of critical essays on Cerebus, provides a multifaceted approach to Sim and Gerhard's complex and entertaining oeuvre, including their innovative use of the comic medium, storytelling and satiric techniques, technical and visual sophistication, and Sim's use of the comic as commentary on gender and religion.

Cover 1 Acknowledgments 6 Table of Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction 14 Part One: A Map of Estarcion 74 Growing Complexity; or, the Cerebus Effect 74 Audacious Tenacity, Tenacious Audacity 86 Part Two: Ignore It, It's Just Another Reality 106 “Does This Seem Right to You?” Stories Within Cerebus 106 Aardvarkian Intertexts and True Stories 112 “Why Certainly Dear Boy...” 127 Part Three: Becoming Synonymous with Something Indescribable 136 Seeing Sound 136 Negative Space and Guttural Noise 157 Part Four: Mind Games 172 Testing the Limits of Genre/Gender 172 Anti-Feminist Aardvark? Gender, Subjectivity and Authorship 184 The Aardvark and the Beautiful Women 199 Part Five: Ye Booke of Sim 208 YHWH’s Story, or, How to Laugh While Reading “Chasing YHWH” and Still Have Enough Stamina for The Last Day 208 Appendix 226 Bibliography 230 About the Contributors 234 Index 236 "This in-depth work, the first collection of critical essays on Cerebus, provides a multifaceted approach to Sim and Gerhard's complex and entertaining oeuvre, including their innovative use of the comic medium, storytelling and satiric techniques, technical and visual sophistication, and Sim's use of the comic as commentary on gender and religion"--Provided by publisher.