shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,391
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Post by shaxper on Oct 12, 2021 16:23:48 GMT -5
If you want to get a big dose of misogyny, just ask a guy who just got divorced what he thinks about women. ANY guy. At the risk of veering far off topic, not every guy. I never went down that path.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Oct 13, 2021 11:42:07 GMT -5
Although I'm curious now. If this Oscar is meant to be some parody/caricature of the real Wilde, then should I take it that includes his *ahem* apparent personal preferences? If so, would that mean Oscar possibly fancied Rick previously, at the same time that Pud was fantasizing about Jaka? That would be an unusual but interesting dynamic.
I thought it was fairly clear that Oscar was attracted to Rick; on the other hand he never (a) tried to buy his way into Rick's good graces and (b) never came close to physically intimidating Rick.
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Post by brutalis on Oct 17, 2021 15:05:14 GMT -5
Finished off Church and State this weekend. I had read issues 50 through 60 through early September and dove into issues 61 to 80. At the time, it was like WOW, what an incredibly amazing concept far outside the normal superheroic fantasies. Today, it is still wonderful. Sim goes from funny as all get out to serious, to depressing, back to comedy, then politics/religion to bizarre dream sequences revisited to a true cliff hanger of an ending.
Our favorite snout and tailed one gets tossed on his furry bottom out of politics only to bounce right into religion where he outdoes himself and everyone else. Except Most Holy hasn't quite figured out all the finer points of his machinations. How does one get out of painting himself into the proverbial corner? Talk about your oy kevay moment.
Gerhard comes aboard with absolutely no fan fair or recognition but suddenly you know things have changed artistically. Those backgrounds are stupendously detailed and there is a sharpness and cleaner line to ALL the artwork. Things are looking up for us fans. Or are they?
The infamous divorce/splitting of Dave and Deni I will leave for others to discuss or debate. I will note much occurs here during C&S which mirrors the personal turmoil that Dave was going through. Characters suddenly appear or disappear with little meaning. A few characters make sudden actions and/or emotional turns without explanation. Myself believes this is directly proportional for Sim working out his own wildly tumultuous thoughts and circumstances.
Somehow Cerebus and his auteur continue to evolve and becoming a greater fan favorite to the masses. What a read and what a ride eh folks?
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Post by String on Nov 15, 2021 14:04:06 GMT -5
So, I've made it through both Flight and Women, rather quickly but also enjoyed both. Pace was much quicker as events moved towards a possible new ascension. But I really liked the tie-ins back to previous events and items, like the ancient gold coins, the Black Lotus Blossom, the Picts, King K'Cor & Imesh, for me this is why you really should start this epic with Volume 1 instead of with High Society, some really nice pay-offs splashed through these two volumes if you've been in this for the long haul.
The depiction of faith in these volumes is very interesting. On the one hand, faith is transient, whimsical, yes, even an illusion. The masses alternate their devotion (hopes & fears) from Cirin to Astoria to Cerebus and back. Redeemers, prophets, the true Messiah is whoever is up to the plate, it doesn't matter. On the other hand, faith can be sustaining, powerful, an agent of change. The final fate of Bishop Posey may appear to be trivial on the surface but I found it rather moving. He started off as comic relief, perhaps even a parody of blind obedience to church doctrine but he evolved into a man of faith who saw his faith redeemed by the re-appearance of Cerebus the Pope and that faith prompted personal growth which lead to his ultimate fate for which he did not fear.
The sheer look of dumb-foundness on Cerebus' face when he learned of this says it all. Loved it.
Actually, I think reading this saga sans the editorial rants of Sims to be more beneficial to me. I don't have that viewpoint to gauge against the philosophies and opinions printed on the comic page. For they are engaging and thought-provoking, from Po's Illusionism to the Kevillist vs Cirinist debates.
Absolutely loved Swoon and Snuffy, wonderful pastiche of Sandman, moments of which had me laughing out loud. We are the Clueless indeed.
Look! Something actually fell!
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Post by Marv-El on Feb 4, 2022 14:52:05 GMT -5
Made it through all of Reads though it took awhile frankly due to all the prose pieces.
However, first off, the surface story with Po convincing Astoria to quit this vicious cycle leaving Cerebus and Cirin trying to kill each other only to end up on their way to the moon. A drawn-out bloody fight, here, I didn't like all the wounds on Cerebus because in B&W, with the inks, Cerebus ends up looking like a grayish-blackish blob, off-putting to me. Although how and where exactly did Sims foreshadow what would happen to Cerebus' ear?
As for the prose pieces (which I gather is the heart and soul of this collection), I had no qualms with Victor Reid. I thought his sections were an allegory, if not on the pitfalls of comic publishing, then at least on the pitfalls of publishing in general.
Viktor Davis on the other hand, somebody may have to help explain this meta creation to me. Sims' in-book personality? I'll credit him for this, his views and stances on all sort of gender interactions and perceptions are seemingly well-defined. Do I agree with any of them?
Well, as a married man, it's hard not to see validity in some of his points but essentially women are the reason for all the evils that befall men? He can't get sex, he can't be happy, he can't be creative, etc due to the influence/manipulation of the women in his life? In the end, it all sounds highly cynical and thus I have to take a large grain of salt along with all this discourse.
It was a chore to get through really because I admit, some of the meta descriptions went over my head. Still, onward to Minds.
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