I have about 40 pages of Women left, but three of us are sick and my step son is in the hospital, so things are a little crazy right now.

So then, finished the 1st 25 issues of Sim's Cerebus. Uncertain that I can supply insights in tune with what Sim was trying to create or attempt other than providing my own singular thoughts. To begin, I was instantly sucked into the little gray one's world. Similar to my finding Howard the Duck and loving it. Something differently unique where it seemed nobody questioned the presence of a talking anthropomorphic animal in the world. They are just there and accepted for being there.

Both Howard and Cerebus are actually more intelligent than most believe them to be and both are significantly cantankerous in knowing they are smarter and saner than all those around them. Both take full advantage of any and every situation that arises with their only intention for survival and for reaping any benefits of their own. Both of them play straight man to the loonies which seem destined to finding their way towards involvement with the irascible small not so funny animals. Most characters end up as fall guys or comedic relief adding humor and exclamation points to the adventures.

I never considered Cetebus (or Howard) as being humorous or comedic driven. While humor plays a part in their stories it just is there as a common focus in the start. I believe Cerebus more than anything is placing classic film Noir on the comic book page. Look at Sim's art and tell me that he isn't influenced by playing with light and shadows and tough guys and dames? Cerebus is every silent, griseled, brutally tough lead looking out for himself hoping to score it big and ends up losing it all in the end, usually from his own mistakes or greed.

I imagine Sim had no real clue what he had created or stumbled upon as each issue in the beginning seems to be a one and done as Sim works through an idea or joke. There is things he sorts out along the way in his world building growing as writer/artist so that by issue 8 there does seem to being a change in tone and process.

Sim the artist is amazing. Starting as the BWS clone (in relation to BWS start as a Kirby clone) and doing a pretty darn fine job of aping Smith. The Aardvark himself evolves as Sim's cartooning turns Cerebus from a caricature into a believable living breathing character. Everything shortens on Cerebus, tail, ears, body, snout and even his attitude as Sim grows into and allows himself to recognize Cerebus is himself on the comic page.

The art is what grabbed me in the very 1st issue I picked up. Sim's people looked like people in reality. Mixing of looks and body types creating individuals and NOT the atypical cookie cutter good looking folks found in most superhero comics. Like Gene Colan did in Howard the Duck, Sim puts more emphasis on characters providing them all being standouts of design and only creating "beautiful" as when necessary. Slowly you see Sim developing and adapting background to enhance the panels, creating detailed, intricate viewing pleasure even while using stark blacks and whites.

With the Palnu trilogy Sim starts to show us that he is thinking and planning more long term than issue to issue. Lord Julius is perfection from the very get go. He has the smarts and quirks of Groucho as well as the singular style. Lines delivered like: Find out what he's been smoking and have a few ounces sent my chamber. Or: When you're running a bureaucracy, the best way to safeguard your job is to make sure you're the only one who knows how the whole thing works. Laugh out loud yet poignant and remarkable and eerily enough I can almost imagine the Trumpster spouting Julius lines today.

Issue 20's Mind Games is a stand out which delivers Cerebus drugged interaction with his own mind and delivers a taste of what Cerebus can and will become. Readers were fully joining in troves at this point if only in recognition of the psychedelic and non-mainstream conscience Sim was creating.

Even issues 23-25 shows Sim developing his chops as writer delivering multiple facets of character interaction between the lily's gray manipulator and those he is becoming involved with. Adding depth to our favorite Earth-Pig in absurd moments. Wordplay and art play we get with Madame who is actually Charles X. Claremont creator Woman Thing who eventually meets Sump' Thing.

And what can you say about Sim crafting such memorable tertiary characters that will become more than their parodying beginnings? Red Sophia, The Cockroach who goes from Batman archetype to Captain Cockroach? Taking along, I say listen up son when I'm talking to you...taking along for the ride, Elrod the Albino of the important tall pointy hat changing into Bunky the dead sidekick tacking over other people ala Deadman schtick?

All this potential created bi-monthly in the beginning written, drawn, inked, lettered, laid out and created from the mind and hands of one tortured soul going by the name Dave Sim? Who would of think it was going to be a 300 page individual's journey as his alter ego on the comic page explores the man? What a start and what a journey to come...

This will be my 2nd time reading since 1st purchasing new. I "found" Cerebus in July of 1980. I was 17 turning 18 on August 7th, working my 1st real job since graduating High School in June and starting Freshman year at the local Community College as of the 1st week of August. I went the 3rd week of July to purchase books and saw a sign across the street on a window which said new comics on sale here.

Went in with my left over $ in my pocket and walked out with several new Marvel and DC issues and Cerebus #8 which was the most current issue on the shelf. Read that comic over and over the next week so on my 1st day of College I went back in buying up all the prior issues 1-7 which luckily were still only cover priced.

I am a big history and fantasy buff so already that aspect appealed to me. Adding in the dry, caustic humor Sim was doing in his parodying of CONAN I was the targeted young reader market. As I said before, many a time I found myself chuckling or laughing out loud during those initial readings. As Elrod, Cockroach and Julius developed I was hooked by the time High Society comes along.

Strangely, Cerebus was a real hard sell at this shop by the College. Think you could count on 1 hand those of us collecting it on our pull list. Maybe as it had that amateurish look at the start? By the coming of Church and State the "fan" following had grown so large many times the LCS had no copies on the shelf and the owner would pilfer from slow buying subscribers to sell to those looking for new issues. As I had a well paying job and hit the LCS EVERY week this was never done to me.

Once I got past all the text in numbers two eighty nine and two ninety I found that last arc to be very compelling. I read the last ten issues in two days.

Yeah there’s a bunch of stupid stuff in there as Sim let’s himself loose with his ranty anti woman silliness. It frequently looks more like someone making fun of the men’s movement.

But the drama of Cerebus in his old age is alternately funny and sad.

I guess I shouldn’t say more about it because of all those who haven’t read that far yet.

Now I’m going back to Guys. I’ll probably start it in a week or so.

I’m kind of eager to get started on the last hundred issues. One of the gaps in my collection is the last three or four issues of Going Home and I’m very much convinced I missed one of the most important scenes in the whole series.

I finished Guys. I’ll probably start Ricks Story in the next few days.

And I ordered a few more of the issues I’m missing.

I will probably be reading through to the end with short breaks between story arcs. Or when I’m waiting for an issue to come in the mail. Or when I hit a wall of text I don’t want to deal with just yet.

I was reading a few issues of Ricks Story and I hit one of those damn text barriers. It’s Part Six. I started it but it just goes on and on.

I’ll have to finish it later because I have to start getting ready for work.