Cerebus the Aardvark

*Cerebus the Aardvark*
Cerebus the Aardvark
	Cover to Cerebus issues 112 and 113, from 1988. Art by Dave Sim and Gerhard
Publication information
Publisher	Aardvark-Vanaheim
Schedule	Bimonthly, then monthly
Format	Finite ongoing series
Publication date	1977 - 2004
No. of issues	300
Main character(s)	Cerebus; Jaka
Creative team
Written by	Dave Sim
Artist(s)	Dave Sim; Gerhard

Cerebus the Aardvark (or simply Cerebus) is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Now complete, it marks the longest-running originally English-language comic book series ever by a single creative team and one of the longest works of fiction in literature.^{[citation needed]} Sim began the series in 1977, running for 300 issues and 6,000 pages, through March 2004. As of 2005, it leads its closest challenger (Erik Larsen's The Savage Dragon, still ongoing) by over 170 issues. Sim considers Cerebus to be a single, 6000-page graphic novel.

Cerebus himself

The title character is a misanthropic three-foot tall bipedal gray aardvark. ("We're all funny animals in a world of humans," says Sim.) Through both his own actions and the schemes of others, Cerebus becomes intricately tied to the religious and political fate of the fictional world of Estarcion. At various points in the storyline, he is a mercenary, a Prime Minister, a Pope, a houseguest, a bartender, and a messiah. Cerebus refers to himself by name, in the third person, with occasional exceptions in the early issues. The name was originally an accidental misspelling of Cerberus.

Cerebus is a morally ambiguous character, at times sympathetic, at others unpalatably callous. He is often foul-mouthed and uncouth, has a vicious temper, and loves getting drunk, to the point where he could be considered an alcoholic. In the Guys story arc, Cerebus is described as having "a self-absorption that borders on the pathological." Church and State contains two notorious scenes where Cerebus, after becoming Pope, uses brutal methods to teach twisted morality lessons. After a mother begs Cerebus to bless her baby, he does so and then hurls it away, and later kicks an old man off the roof of a hotel. Despite his moral deficiencies, he is brave, crafty, and can show genuine affection to those he considers equals or those he has feelings for. He is also a skilled tactician and strategist, is very proficient at hand to hand combat, and has a knack for improvisation and for being able to talk his way out of sticky situations. He also has some skill with magic, although his talents lie mainly in recognizing magic and dealing with it rather than using it. Sim has described Cerebus's voice as sounding like George C. Scott's.

It is revealed in the Reads story arc that Cerebus is a hermaphrodite, possessing both genders' genitalia and reproductive systems. Theoretically he is capable of impregnating himself; however, a childhood injury to his uterus prevents him from becoming pregnant.

For most of the series' run, Cerebus's possesses an innate "magnifier" ability. This ability, which he shows little (if any) conscious awareness of, is a quasi-magical tendency for events to fall into place around him and become unusually focused and ordered, sometimes with effects that appear to be paranormal, then fall back out of place into chaos in his absence. This ability also affects the people around him to varying degrees, amplifying their personalities and abilities, and also amplifies any magic that is present.

A running gag in the early storylines was that if Cerebus' fur got wet, it gave off a horrible stench, which even he could barely tolerate.

History of the book

A comic defying easy categorization, Cerebus was self-published by Sim under his Aardvark-Vanaheim, Inc. publishing banner. For the first few years the company's publisher was Deni Loubert, Sim's girlfriend (the two would marry and divorce during the comic's run). Sim's position as a pioneering self-publisher in comics inspired numerous writer/artists after him, most notably Jeff Smith (Bone), Terry Moore (Strangers In Paradise), and Martin Wagner (Hepcats).

Inspired in some ways by the Steve Gerber character Howard the Duck, the earliest issues of Cerebus took the form of a parody of Conan the Barbarian and its genre. (Howard had even appeared on the cover of the first issue of his own comic (January 1976) as a parodic barbarian character.) The series developed artistic sophistication and originality very quickly. Citing as his self-originated commandment, "Thou shall break every law in the book," Sim has done everything from flipping the page from horizontal to vertical and all stages in between to alternating comics with prose narrative, to including real dead or living people (himself included) in the storyline, all in an effort to explode the conventions of the North American comic book in every conceivable way.

In 1979, Sim, who was at the time a frequent marijuana user, experimented with LSD, taking the drug with such frequency that he was eventually hospitalized. It was this incident that Sim claims led to the inspiration to produce Cerebus for 300 monthly issues. The episodic adventures strayed further and further from heroic fantasy, and the twenty five-issue graphic novel High Society segued the narrative into a complex political satire and drama. Sim was joined by Gerhard, whose intricately rendered backgrounds became a visual hallmark, after issue #65.

When Sim published the first Cerebus "phone book," a paperback collection of the High Society graphic novel (issues #26-50), he angered retailers — who felt that their support had been instrumental in his series' success in an industry generally indifferent to small publishers — by offering the first printing via mail order only. The decision was a financial windfall for Sim, however, grossing over $150,000 in sales. Not long after, Sim became known for traveling to conventions and store signings in limousines (he spent $25,000 on limo service during his 1992 signing tour), and renting lavish suites at conventions at which he'd throw huge parties.

In the 1990s, Sim became an outspoken advocate of creators' rights in comics, and used the editorial pages of Cerebus to promote self-publishing and greater artist activism. Sim was also the biggest individual supporter of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; when he guest-wrote the 10th issue of Todd McFarlane's best-selling Spawn, Sim donated his entire fee — over $100,000 — to the fund. During this same period he started publishing his and others' experiments with 24-hour comics in the back of his issues, which created greater awareness of this challenge, now the subject of an annual event for creating them.

Jaka's Story (issues #114-136), a tragic character study dealing with gender roles and the political suppression of art, is generally cited as the series' pinnacle of narrative achievement. However, later issues of the series became highly personal and began to alienate many long-time fans, his female readers especially. Issue #186 (collected in Reads) contained a lengthy prose section that was roundly attacked by some readers and critics for what they perceived as overt misogyny, but which Sim describes as "anti-feminism." Influenced by writers such as Norman Mailer, Sim herein rejects what he believes are the basic principles of feminism and extols traditional values, which he characterizes as "male," though he is careful to qualify that women as well as men can be possessed of so-called "male" qualities such as reason, just as men can be possessed of so-called "female" qualities such as emotion. Throughout the series, he characterizes the genders as illustrative of opposing ideas; revising his earlier view as expressed in the end of the Church & State storyline that the universe was the product of the "female light" being raped by the destructive "male void," in issue #186 the universe is explained in terms of the "creative male light" and the "emotional female void." As Sim himself says in an interview with The Comics Journal, "Cerebus #1-200 [is] the completion of the story. The yin and yang. The ultra-female reading. The ultra-male reading. I'm attaching an allegory to the Big Bang. You make up your mind which one's the pit and which one's the top of the mountain." Yet by the end of the series, it must be noted, Sim returns to his initial view that the Void is male and that the Light is female. In Sim's estimation, it seems, Western society has capitulated to de facto acceptance of the feminist viewpoint and, as such, has rejected the very values upon which Sim believes society was built. By examining contemporary marriage, reproductive rights, alimony, and similar gender issues, Sim claims to find a complete obedience to feminist theory and a submission to the concept of equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity. Issue #186 was followed by an even harsher essay in the back of issue #265 called "Tangent," in which Sim identified a "feminist/homosexualist axis" that opposed traditional and rational societal values. Ever the provocateur, he also suggests that husbands should have the legal right to spank their wives and refers to women as "inferior beings." This material appeared as Sim was retreating from public life and becoming more marginalized by his peers in the industry.

Sim himself has appeared as a character in Cerebus, most notably to berate his creation in the graphic novel Minds. A writer entering his own fictional universe is not an idea which Sim can claim to have invented (see Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four, Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, Paul Auster's New York Trilogy and Grant Morrison's comic Animal Man), although he claims to have planned the encounter as early as 1979, more than a decade before it actually took place.

He reportedly cut all ties with his family and virtually all of his industry colleagues apart from Gerhard in order to finish the work. He has had very public fallings-out with both Terry Moore and Jeff Smith, the latter of whom Sim challenged to a boxing match in an editorial published in the comic. Sim claimed Smith lied about an argument the two had had over the infamous essay in issue #186, during which he allegedly threatened to give Sim a "fat lip". Sim also developed an adversarial relationship with Gary Groth, the confrontational publisher of The Comics Journal, an independently published comics magazine known for punishing criticisms and a decidedly non-mainstream editorial slant.

Sim has also gained notoriety for his religious beliefs. Once an atheist, Sim became a believer in God while gathering research material for Rick's Story. However, rather than following one religion, Sim believes that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all equally valid and has formed his religious practices from aspects of all three, although he described himself in issue #8 of Following Cerebus as "mostly Muslim." A 2003 magazine interview describes Sim as reciting a prayer of his own devising five times a day (which was published in the back of issue #300), and as having sold much of his furniture to donate the money to charity as an act of religious asceticism. In an editorial contained in issue #297, Sim stated that he regards the production of Cerebus as of secondary importance to his religious practice. Sim's religious beliefs tie into his views on the genders, and the bulk of the Cerebus storyline after Guys deals with this, especially Rick's Story, Latter Days, and The Last Day.

The publication in March 2004 of issue #300 was met with a muted, rather than celebratory, response from the comics industry. Though Sim reports the print run for #300 was doubled from that of recent issues, that would still only come to around 16,000 copies, a far cry from the series' high of over 35,000 copies around issues #100-125.

A new quarterly publication, Following Cerebus [1] followed in August 2004, featuring correspondence, essays and previously unpublished artwork from Sim, as well as interviews with other comic writers and artists.

Sim was once quoted as saying that, had he died or otherwise chosen not to complete Cerebus prior to issue 300, that however many remaining issues there were left were to either consist of blank pages, or Gerhard was to have drawn his backgrounds only, leaving Sim's contribution blank. It is not known if this plan was ever serious, and it was obviously never put into effect. He has also confirmed that once he and Gerhard die, Cerebus will fall into the public domain. In the meantime, he has granted a general license for other creators to use the character of Cerebus in their own works.

Plot summary

Titles of the book collection in which given story elements occur are marked in bold.

Cerebus. This first volume, uniquely in the series, consists of one to three-issue storylines with only occasional back-references. Cerebus is introduced as an amoral barbarian mercenary, fighting (and betraying) for money and drinking it away. In one issue he meets and falls in love with the tavern dancer Jaka. The stories in this volume are primarily parodies of sword and sorcery fantasy, especially Conan the Barbarian, with comic appearances by parodies of Red Sonja, Elric/Foghorn Leghorn, Groucho Marx, and The Cockroach, a Batman parody who would be followed, in costume and personality, by The Tick and others. The series takes a sharp change in direction with issue 20 which is the first of the "Mind Games" issues that are a feature of the comic and introduces the Cirinists.

High Society. Sim's first venture into long-form comics, this is a continuous storyline made up of 25 issues of the original magazine. In the wealthy city-state of Iest, Cerebus finds himself being manipulated into the fast-paced world of business and politics, especially at the hands of the mysterious Astoria, who takes him under her wing for unclear reasons of her own. Comic tension is built through Cerebus's simple barbarian ignorance of the "high society" machinations going on around him. Eventually Cerebus finds himself elected Prime Minister of Iest, and launches a war that causes him to lose everything.

Church & State I. First half of a two-part storyline. After some travels, Cerebus returns to Iest and is manipulated into again becoming Prime Minister, now under the thumb of Adam Weisshaupt, who is promoting a federation of states as a bulwark against the Cirinists. Weisshaupt over-reaches himself when he has Cerebus appointed Pope of the Eastern Church of Tarim. Finally out from under anyone else's control, Cerebus lets absolute power go to his head and demands that all the citizens must give him all their gold or face the end of the world. Cerebus also discovers that Jaka is married and pregnant. He is finally ejected from the Upper City by the sudden invasion of the giant stone Thrunk, a character previously seen in Cerebus.

Church & State II. Cerebus returns to Iest's Upper City amidst portents and magical signs. He is forced to try Astoria for the assassination of the Western Pope, a trial that has echoes of events long past. The trial is interrupted when Cerebus makes the predicted Ascension to the Moon, where he meets the Judge, a timeless, godlike being who has watched over history from the very beginning. The Judge explains his version of the Creation Myth of Cerebus's Universe, before warning Cerebus that he will live only a few more years before dying "alone, unmourned and unloved." Cerebus is finally told to remember his second marriage (when, as Pope, he married himself to the imprisoned and shackled Astoria, raped her, and then granted himself a divorce) if he ever questions his suffering. Cerebus then falls back to earth, where he discovers that the Cirinists have invaded, and his empire has collapsed.

Jaka's Story. Under a brutal Cirinist dictatorship (which lasts until half-way through Latter Days, most of the remainder of the comic's run), the fallen Cerebus runs into his love Jaka again. She is illegally working as a dancer in her landlord's tavern; he treats Jaka kindly but secretly spends his days lusting after her. Cerebus agrees to live with Jaka and her husband Rick as their houseguest. That story is interwoven with unreliable tales of Jaka's childhood told by a writer, representing Oscar Wilde, using notes and stories provided by Rick. In the end Cerebus disguises himself and travels to the Lower City, and Jaka and Rick are captured and jailed by the Cirinists. Jaka is made to sign a confession of immoral behavior, and is reunited with Rick; however, the Cirinists reveal to Rick that Jaka aborted the son that Rick always wanted. He strikes Jaka and is allowed to divorce her, but not without consequences. Jaka returns to Palnu. Cerebus returns to the inn to find it in ruins.

Melmoth. Believing Jaka to be dead, a catatonic Cerebus spends his days mourning on the patio of a café. Meanwhile a fictionalized telling of the death of Oscar Wilde is given. At the end, Cerebus overhears a conversation by two Cirinist jailers rudely discussing Jaka. In a fit of anger, he violently murders one of them.

Flight. Cerebus's slaughter of Cirinsts leads to a very brief failed revolution. Cerebus ascends into darkness and speaks with Suenteus Po. Meanwhile, Cirin works to manage her sect and arrange her own ascension. The Cockroach also stages his own impromptu revolution, under his new persona, PunisherRoach, a parody of the Marvel character The Punisher.

Women. Cerebus crashes back to earth. He is assisted by two women who send him to a bar to hide. This series includes a parody of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, with The Roach playing Swoon, a parody of Dream. Astoria and Cirin symbolically duel in a dream realm. The book includes excepts from books written by Astoria and Cirin that describe their differing beliefs. Cerebus flies across the city to slay Astoria, but is interrupted by the physical arrival of Suenteus Po.

Reads. This book primarily consists of two long text pieces. The first revolves around an author of "reads", heavily illustrated books in Cerebus's world. In this story, there is a strong thread about the dangers of commercial success and "selling out". It is generally viewed to be Sim's treatise on why independent comic publishing is preferable to publishing houses. The series moves from this storyline to a long essay attributed to Viktor Davis, a fictional "reads" author. This essay puts forth a theory on the nature of the genders, describing "the Female Void" focused on feeling, and "the Male Light" focused on reason. These two stories are accompanied by a long discussion between Cirin, Astoria, Cerebus, and Suenteus Po. Po gives information about aardvarks, including that all aardvarks have Cerebus' "magnifier" quality, and attempts to convince each of the others to abandon their pursuits of power and return to what they enjoy doing most, then leaves them to their fates. Astoria is convinced and also leaves, but not before giving Cerebus information about her history with Cirin and also informing him of his hermaphrodite nature. Cerebus and Cirin then engage in a long and brutal fight, which leads to the beginning of another ascension.

Minds. Cerebus and Cirin ascend, then are separated by a mysterious force. As Cerebus flies through space, he is shown images from his past and is forced to reconsider his past and his faith. He then encounters a disembodied voice calling itself "Dave" that acknowledges itself as Cerebus's creator. "Dave" shows Cerebus Cirin's history, including her original identity as Serna, an assassin who usurped the real Cirin's sect. He then shows Cerebus visions of possible futures between himself and Jaka; none go well for Cerebus. After a period of penance and self-reflection on Pluto, Cerebus asks "Dave" to place him in a bar he remembers from his mercenary days.

Guys. Cerebus hangs out in and eventually becomes bartender in one of the Cirinist's bars. Various characters come and go while Cerebus remains stationary. One of these characters is a woman named Joanne, who was first introduced in one of the possible futures with Jaka that "Dave" showed Cerebus in Minds. Enjoyed by a number of fans as a return to the "earlier, funnier" Cerebus.

Rick's Story. Eventually Jaka's ex-husband Rick arrives at the bar. He has significantly aged, and the mental and emotional scars from the events at the end of Jaka's Story have left him somewhat insane. Rick is working on a book, which gradually becomes a religious work in which Cerebus is a holy person and Rick his follower. Joanne returns and taunts Cerebus by courting Rick. At the end of the book, Rick departs, for reasons not entirely clear, and tells Cerebus that he will see Rick only once more in his life. After Rick has left, Jaka shows up at the bar, and she and Cerebus depart together, heading for Sand Hills Creek.

Going Home. After Jaka arrives at the bar and Cerebus leaves with her, they travel across land, then on a river boat. Along the way they encounter veiled hostility from the Cirinists, and Jaka is almost tempted away by F. Stop Kennedy (a fictionalised F. Scott Fitzgerald).

Form and Void. Cerebus and Jaka continue their journey towards Sand Hills Creek, in the company of Ham and Mary Ernestway, characters based upon Ernest Hemingway and his fourth wife, Mary. They arrive to find Cerebus's parents are dead. Cerebus drives Jaka away, blaming her for keeping him away too long.

Latter Days. After a prodigious leap in time over two issues, Cerebus returns from the north intent on provoking the Cirinists into killing him. Instead, he is captured by a trio of characters based on the Three Stooges, who await a religious revelation from him. While Cerebus was in the north, a religious movement developed out of the teachings of Rick and his writings about Cerebus. Once Cerebus supplies the required revelation, he inspires a successful anti-Cirinist rebellion and a subsequent reordering of society. Much of the second half of this chapter consists of Cerebus giving a highly idiosyncratic analysis of the Torah. Lasting nearly a year (in publishing terms), this section, called "Chasing YHWH" (presumably a reference to the Kevin Smith film, Chasing Amy) threatened to alienate even more of Sim's followers. This section was presented almost entirely in text format, with minimal art. This story arc is unusual in that disembodied thought balloons give the impression that Cerebus is speaking directly to the reader at times; it is revealed in the last issue of the arc that Cerebus has been talking to a woman reporter, who bears a striking resemblance to Jaka. He eventually falls in love with the woman and marries her.

The Last Day. The conclusion of the series. In the first 40 pages Cerebus has a dream or vision in which cosmology is seen as a reflection of theology, complete with explanatory footnotes by Sim. Upon waking Cerebus — now incredibly aged, decrepit, pain-ridden, and mildly senile — makes the laborious trek to his writing desk to write down his new revelation. He then hides the manuscript, and it is implied that nobody will find it for two thousand years (a possible homage to I, Claudius in which the dying Claudius does the same thing).

Cerebus spends most of the rest of the book trying to persuade his chief of security, Walter O'Reilly (named after Corporal Walter (Radar) O'Reilly from M A S H) to admit his son, Shep-Shep, with whom he remembers sharing an idyllic father-son relationship. However, the Sanctuary is under lockdown due to opposition from a new and even more rabidly "feminist-homosexualist" group — ironically led by Shep-Shep's mother, whom Cerebus refers to as "New Joanne" — which favors such "rights" as pedophilia, zoophilia, juvenile recreational drug use and lesbian motherhood. As a result, social values have undergone a complete breakdown.

Cerebus finally goes to bed despairing of seeing his son again, but Shep-Shep — or more correctly, Sheshep Ankh — sneaks into Cerebus' room late that night. Their subsequent conversation shatters Cerebus' last illusions about his son, who is planning to have himself cloned with a lion's body, marry his mother, and rule Egypt as a sphinx-like god.

As he leaves Cerebus grabs a knife, intending to kill him, but falls out of bed and dies of a broken neck, alone, unmourned, and unloved, just as the Judge had predicted. His life flashes before his eyes in a series of flashback panels and his ghost sees many of his old friends (and enemies) waiting for him in "the Light". At first he eagerly rushes to join them, thinking they are in Heaven, but then he notices the absence of Rick and realises that the Light may in fact be Hell. He calls out to God for help, but is dragged into the Light anyway.

Supporting characters

Astoria: A beautiful political manipulator and the main driving force behind Cerebus' campaign to become Prime Minister in High Society. Leader of the Kevillists, a feminist sect which opposes Cirin. The Kevillists mirror the Cirinists philosophy, but would prefer power in the hands of daughters instead of mothers. Lord Julius' ex-wife. Named for actress Mary Astor, inspired in some ways by Sim's ex-wife Deni Loubert.
Bear: Cerebus' best friend from his mercenary days and main drinking buddy. In Guys there are hints Cerebus is suppressing a homoerotic attraction to him.
Cirin: Leader of the Cirinists, a matriarchal fascist sect who conquers Estarcion at the conclusion of the Church and State storyline. Originally named Serna, she took the name and effectively exchanged identities with the real Cirin, whose views were much less militaristic. The sect honors mothers primarily, also giving high honors to daughters (potential mothers) and children. Men are tolerated. Like Cerebus, she is an aardvark.
Elrod the Albino: Essentially Michael Moorcock's Elric with the voice and personality of Senator Claghorn (or Foghorn Leghorn), Elrod is an almost purely comic character whose main purpose is to frustrate and enrage Cerebus. In Women it is revealed that he was created by Cerebus' proximity to a magic gem, and after learning this he vanishes from existence.
Joanne: Introduced in a possible future for Cerebus and Jaka by "Dave" in Minds, Joanne is a bored housewife who has an affair with Cerebus, prompting Jaka's suicide. After Cerebus returns to Estarcion, Joanne reappears and becomes Cerebus's lover, only to be spurned by Cerebus. She later seduces Rick as a way to taunt Cerebus. Joanne is in many ways an opposite of Jaka, and Cerebus bases much of his post-Guys views on how to deal with women on his experience with her. After Sheshep's mother leaves Cerebus, he labels her "New Joanne."
Lord Julius: Grandlord of the city-state of Palnu, who exercises control by making the bureaucracy incredibly dense and incomprehensible. Julius is crafty and intelligent, but often plays the fool to confuse and baffle opponents. His character design and behavior is based on Groucho Marx, including snappy insults, a constant cigar, the chicken walk, and a painted-on mustache.
Bran Mac Mufin: Originally a barbarian warlord whose people worshipped an idol who looked remarkably like Cerebus (and which the aardvark destroyed). He later turns up quite unexpectedly, in civilized clothing, to act as an advisor to Cerebus in two separate occasions, first in Cerebus' campaign and first reign as Prime Minister of Iest and then arriving after Cerebus is Pope to observe the miracles and give Cerebus advice, though he seems to have a hidden agenda. During the Iest campaign Cerebus states that he trusts Mac Mufin's military advice more than anyone else's. When Thrunk deposes Cerebus, Mac Mufin commits suicide by stabbing himself in the chest with a sword. Mac Mufin is a parody of Robert E. Howard's celtic barbarian Bran Mak Morn.
Rick Nash: First introduced as Jaka's husband in Jaka's Story, Rick is a friendly, gentle ne'er-do-well, whom Sim described in the introduction to the "phonebook" of Jaka's Story as "the nearest I will ever come to the portrayal of a good and thoroughly decent human being; completely without guile or malice." After his marriage to Jaka is dissolved, he becomes somewhat insane. He eventually goes on to become the prophet of a religion centered around Cerebus.
Suenteus Po: Estarcion's third aardvark, who has lived several lifetimes and has shaped the history of Estarcion. It is also a very common name and several people named "Suenteus Po" appear in the story in various roles — one as an enigmatic illusionist and another as a historian who narrarates a sizable portion of Cerebus' first reign as Prime Minister of Iest (though it is very strongly implied that both these Suenteus Pos are the aardvark). It is mentioned in High Society that some of the followers of the original Suenteus Po named their children after him. The name may be a playful mis-spelling of the name of Roman historian Suetonius.
The Regency Elf: A childlike, playful spirit who inhabits Cerebus's rooms at the Regency Hotel in High Society; at first, only Cerebus can see her. She helps Cerebus with some of his political scheming, though, as innocent as she seems, it's all just a game to her. It is discovered later that the Regency Elf who appears to Cerebus is a fake created by the Illusionists to influence him. The Regency Elf is inspired in part by Elfquest and its creator Wendy Pini.
The Roach: An incompetent superhero character. Sim used the Roach to satirise popular mainstream comic characters or industry publishing trends, beginning with Batman. His other guises have included Captain Cockroach (Captain America), Moonroach (Moon Knight), Wolveroach (Wolverine), the Secret Sacred Wars Roach (Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars series and Frank Miller's Batman from The Dark Knight Returns), Punisherroach (The Punisher), Swoon (Sandman), and Sergeant Preston of the Royal Mounted Iestan police (the main character of the radio series Challenge of the Yukon).
Jaka Tavers: The love of Cerebus' life. A dancer by profession, she is the niece of Lord Julius and (ex-)wife of Rick Nash.
Adam Weisshaupt: Introduced in High Society, he is a ruthless political opponent of Cerebus throughout the Church & State storyline. His manipulations of both Cerebus and the Roach lead to his pawns eventually growing more powerful than he ever hoped to be. Weisshaupt is named after the historical Adam Weishaupt but drawn to look like George Washington (a connection well known to Illuminati conspiracy theorists).

Various other characters in the series were designed to resemble famous actors, politicians, and other personalities and comic in-jokes, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Professor X (with a bit of Chris Claremont thrown in), Canadian Member of Parliament Sheila Copps, director Woody Allen, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Chico Marx.

Cerebus collections

The various story arcs have been reprinted in collected omnibus editions of usually 200-400 pages each, all of which are presently still in print. They are generally referred to by fans and retailers as "Cerebus phone books" due to their size and the fact they are printed on similar paper to telephone directories.

Cerebus (ISBN 0-919359-08-6) Collects issues 1-25 (1977-1981)
High Society (ISBN 0-919359-07-8) Collects issues 26-50 (1981-1983)
Church and State I (ISBN 0-919359-09-4) Collects isses 52-80 (1983-1985)
Church and State II (ISBN 0-919359-11-6) Collects issues 81-111 (1985-1988)
Jaka's Story (ISBN 0-919359-12-4) Collects issues 114-136 (1988-1990)
Melmoth (ISBN 0-919359-10-8) Collects issues 139-150 (1990-1991)
Flight (Mothers and Daughters vol. 1) (ISBN 0-919359-13-2) Collects issues 151-162 (1991-1992)
Women (Mothers and Daughters vol. 2) (ISBN 0-919359-14-0) Collects issues 163-174 (1992-1993)
Reads (Mothers and Daughters vol. 3) (ISBN 0-919359-15-9) Collects issues 175-186 (1993-1994)
Minds (Mothers and Daughters vol. 4) (ISBN 0-919359-16-7) Collects issues 187-200 (1994-1995)
Guys (ISBN 0-919359-17-5) Collects issues 201-219 (1995-1997)
Rick's Story (ISBN 0-919359-18-3) Collects issues 220-231 (1997-1998)
Going Home (Going Home vol. 1) (ISBN 0-919359-19-1) Collects issues 232-250 (1998-2000)
Form and Void (Going Home vol. 2) (ISBN 0-919359-20-5) Collects issues 251-265 (2000-2001)
Latter Days (Latter Days vol. 1) (ISBN 0-919359-22-1) Collects issues 266-288 (2001-2003)
The Last Day (Latter Days vol. 2) (ISBN 0-919359-21-3) Collects issues 289-300 (2003-2004)

A 17th collection, "Collected Letters" (ISBN 0-919359-23-X), collects Sim's responses to readers' letters (the original letters are not included) after the publication of Cerebus #300.

Miscellaneous stories not appearing in the above collections have been reprinted in the short collections Cerebus World Tour Book and in Cerebus Number Zero, which reprints issues #51, 112/113 and parts of issues #137 & 138. A few standalone, uncollected stories have appeared in various collections and magazines over the years, and Cerebus has made cameo appearances on the covers of magazines such as Comics Revue. Sim also marketed a set of "Diamondback" cards (based upon a game seen in early issues) in the 1980s.

Notes

Book 2 was actually published before Book 1.
Much of the material in Book 1, the original Conan-style parody, was reprinted in smaller collections called Swords of Cerebus before Sim decided on the "phone book" format.
Unlike some glossy graphic novels, the Cerebus collections use the same newsprint paper as the original comics.
The titles of books 8 through 11 could be read as a sentence (i.e., "women read minds, guys" - the concept of women reading minds is a key plot point).
Beginning with Going Home, the first storyline begun after Sim's religious conversion, the covers of each collected volume are printed in full color, with "Going Home" and "Form and Void" using Gerhard's scenic nature photography as covers, rather than the drawings used on past books.
To the annoyance of many fans, issue #51 was not included in any of the phone book collections. Sim stated that because it was a transitional story not associated with either the preceding High Society or the following Church and State I, it had no place in these collections. It was reprinted in Cerebus Number 0.
Unlike other cartoonists, Sim has refused any official translations of his work, stating that a translation would dilute the original intended meaning of the work and since he only reads English, he could have no way of confirming its correctness. Instead, he had proposed a collaborative fan-based effort as an alternative: [2]

Parodies and appearances

In Marvel Comics' The Uncanny X-Men, Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson created a demonic character named S'ym, a large muscular creature but with a tail, pointed ears, clawed toes, snout, and black vest similar to Cerebus', and who similarly refers to himself in the third person.

In Exhibit A Press' [3] Supernatural Law #33, Batton Lash featured a demon called Huberis the Dybbuk, who discovers religion and retains the legal services of Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre to sue for the right to pray in a house of worship. The misogynistic demon runs afoul of female attorney Alanna Wolff as she and her partner Jeff Byrd prepare his case. Sim and Gerhard contributed to the cover art, mimicking the style of their Cerebus covers.

In the first volume of Mirage's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cerebus made a guest appearance in #8. In the story the four turtles are transported to "anyplace on Earth before humans recorded time!". The turtles meet Cerebus, and after a misunderstanding helped the aardvark and a group of mercenaries invade a castle. Sim wrote and lettered the dialogue for Cerebus and he and Gerhard inked/toned the aardvark. [4] An episode of the 2003 cartoon series called "Time Travails" was based on that issue. When the turtles first go into the past an aardvark resembling Cerebus can be seen.

In Todd McFarlane's Spawn #10, guest written by Dave Sim, Cerebus guest stars and shows Spawn the hell of comic characters (owned by Marvel Comics and DC Comics) whose creators had "forsaken" them by giving up their rights — unlike Spawn, who was still owned by McFarlane. It was a polemic on the virtues of creator-owned comics.

In the "Fears" chapter of Jeph Loeb's and Tim Sale's graphic novel Batman: The Haunted Knight, someone attending a Halloween costume party hosted by Bruce Wayne is wearing a Cerebus costume, complete with sword and medallions.

In Starchild, there is a character named Serbius, a midget with a bulbous nose and Wolverine-style haircut whose personality is just like Cerebus.

In Savage Dragon #41, Cerebus is one of many comic book characters invited to the wedding of Barbaric and Ricochet. The wedding's guest list rivals that of the Fantastic Four's Sue and Reed Richards.

The limbo story arc of Flaming Carrot shares its character of Beanhead with Cerebus, and features a one-panel cameo of Cerebus. "Adventures in Limbo" (in which Beanhead appears) originally appeared in the Cerebus comic as a back-up in a series called "Unique Stories." Flaming Carrot himself appears in Cerebus #104.

In an issue of normalman by Jim Valentino Cerebus also makes an appearance during a dream sequence. normalman was published by Aardvark-Vanaheim at the time by Dave and then wife Deni. Since the normalman books had parody covers this particular issue resembled a Cerebus cover too.

The Roach, along with Fleagle McGrew and Dirty Drew McGrew, appeared in a Sim-penned story in the anthology title AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia). With the title-sized speech bubbles "Terror in a Turgid Tool!" and "By my Loins- Betrayed!" it indicated the Roach was homosexual.

The webcomic Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan features as a secondary character "Scarabus the Earth-Pig," a parody of Cerebus.

In the webcomic Impy and Aevy, Impy directly references a scene from the end of Cerebus.

"Cerebus Syndrome"

The comics review site Websnark uses the term "Cerebus syndrome" to describe the situation when a light, gag-a-day comic adds layer after layer of sophistication to its characters and set-up. Eventually, the strip comes to the point where the strip bears little resemblance to its roots; whether the transformation is successful is another matter entirely. [5]

External links

Cerebus Art Site This is Dave and Gerhard's site for selling original Cerebus art, prints, limited edition issues, etc.
Cerebus Fangirl Has a multitude of essays by Sim including the Notes From the President, has a large links collection, a checklist of Cerebus, Dave Sim and Gerhard items, a Cerebus Wiki, et al.
Cerebus Archives Includes plot overviews, character profiles essays and many other Cerebus related items.
Cerebus cover gallery Reprints Cerebus covers for entire original run.
Andrew Rilstone: Arts, which contains several critical articles on Cerebus. Search in this page for Aardvarks.
The Cerebus Companion, in compressed PostScript format. A thorough summary of Cerebus through Jaka's Story.
Neil Gaiman's Blog details Sim's offer of a free issue which includes part of his Sandman parody (in which The Roach decides that he is "Swoon").
The Dave Sim Misogyny Page is the full essay by "Victor Davis" that appeared in the Reads trade paperback.
Cerebus Live! Dave gives explanations of the voices he hears for various characters in Cerebus through readings of key sequences in various story arcs.
Requiem for an Earth-Pig Essay in The American Spectator magazine on the end of Cerebus.
Cerebus The Aardvark Fan website featuring information, artwork, audio/video, an interactive world map and more.

Reviews:
- "Thus Endeth the Aardvark", a review of the final Cerebus story
- Review of Cerebus 300
- "The Little Aardvark Who Could..." Extensive examination/review of the entire Cerebus series from a fan's point of view.