Publishing Other Comics

Aardvark Vanaheim Advert: Even More In '84 (backcover Cerebus #61, April 1984)
Art by Dave Sim, William Messner-Loebs, Arn Saba, Jim Valentino & Bob Burden

DAVE SIM:
(from Aardvark Comment, Cerebus #174, September 1993)

The last thing creative people need is a crutch as I learned in my experiments with publishing others. Most of them actively seek out crutches instead of working on building some muscle tone. 'Do something' isn't enough, I'm afraid. My motto is 'Do something constructive.' Turning Aardvark Vanaheim into a new haven for creators who want to make their career my responsibility would be destructive, both of me and them. I always liked Scott McCloud's image of Tundra (in the Kevin Eastman era) as the helicopter lifting off from the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon. All of the artists and their portfolios handing off of it. Ten million dollars (or whatever Kevin spent) is no replacement for creators who decide to grow some balls and a backbone and take control of their own careers.