19 Dave Sim: Cerebus
-
Eric Hoffman
Abstract
This chapter provides an introduction and an overview of Dave Sim’s monumental graphic novel Cerebus. It starts by pointing out some of the contexts of Cerebus’s creation, such as the direct market distribution method and Dave Sim’s growing engagement with creators’ rights. Readers are introduced to the comic’s emerging plot developments in their ever-increasing complexity, as well as to the gradual broadening of the narrative, satirical, and philosophical scope of the whole project. Cerebus is an expansive text, ranging from humorous to extravagant to violent and grotesque. Furthermore, its distinctly postmodern foregrounding of its own apparatus allows Cerebus the method - as satire, as parody, as an act of autobiography, as a black and white comic book that, for most of its publication, existed in a literary ghetto - to revel in its outsiderness, to comment on everything from comic books to politics to religion to gender, and to criticize society for its immorality and for its social transgressions, real or imagined. The chapter finishes with a critical look at the still highly controversial legacy of Sim and his major work, which has been hailed both as a ground-breaking milestone for comics history and harshly criticized for its misogyny.
Abstract
This chapter provides an introduction and an overview of Dave Sim’s monumental graphic novel Cerebus. It starts by pointing out some of the contexts of Cerebus’s creation, such as the direct market distribution method and Dave Sim’s growing engagement with creators’ rights. Readers are introduced to the comic’s emerging plot developments in their ever-increasing complexity, as well as to the gradual broadening of the narrative, satirical, and philosophical scope of the whole project. Cerebus is an expansive text, ranging from humorous to extravagant to violent and grotesque. Furthermore, its distinctly postmodern foregrounding of its own apparatus allows Cerebus the method - as satire, as parody, as an act of autobiography, as a black and white comic book that, for most of its publication, existed in a literary ghetto - to revel in its outsiderness, to comment on everything from comic books to politics to religion to gender, and to criticize society for its immorality and for its social transgressions, real or imagined. The chapter finishes with a critical look at the still highly controversial legacy of Sim and his major work, which has been hailed both as a ground-breaking milestone for comics history and harshly criticized for its misogyny.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635
