In the final issue of his self-published Glamourpuss, Dave Sim included an essay reflecting on the end of the series, and the possible end of his professional involvement with comics. The reaction online was widespread, and soon turned to a discussion of the future of Sim's earlier work, Cerebus.
On a comments thread at TCJ.com, Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim
Thompson expressed his potential interest in republishing some of Sim's Cerebus material.
Sim, arguably the most iconic self-publisher in
comics history, responded to that 'open offer' in a lengthy article at TCJ.com, and indicated his willingness to negotiate with Kim on a possible publishing deal for Cerebus,
albeit in the public forum of the comments section at the TCJ.com
website. Got all that? Now read on for the highlights from yesterday's
postings...
Despite my reservations, much of [Form & Void] is dazzling
and compelling. I’ve never said Sim wasn’t a great cartoonist. Read the full post here.
KIM THOMPSON:
...By the way, I never addressed Dave’s concern
that we’d be uncomfortable with (what we and nearly everyone else feels to be)
the more problematic content of the later part of the series. (Thanks to Tom
Spurgeon for reminding me.) The short answer: No. I might at that point incline
to include at least a little something addressing and/or framing the
controversy, but maybe not even that. Read the full post here.
GARY GROTH:
...The Journal has
probably given Sim more space to air his views than any artist we’ve ever
interviewed. In fact, I asked Dave if he’d grant us an interview after Cerebus
300 and he declined! In the most recent issue of the Journal [#301], I ran the best critical assessment/appreciation of his work ever written (by Tim Kreider) -
which was specifically commissioned by me. The reason Cerebus didn’t make the Journal’s Top 100 list is because none of the critics who participated could
agree on what story line qualified. splitting the vote; that said, it’s not
“beyond opinion” (inelegantly put, as Mitt would say) that Cerebus belongs in
or is even too good to be part of the top 100 comics ever produced; there’s a
lot of competition out there. Citizen Kane (or Vertigo) it ain’t. The
proposition that the Journal single handily turned the comics world against
poor Dave and that Sim’s essays about women and politics or his jeremiads
against publishers per se or the disastrous consequences of his self-publishing
proselytizing had nothing to do with it is self-serving, scapegoating twaddle... Read the full post here.
KIM THOMPSON:
...I’ll accept that we were “part of a culture that
ostracized” Sim, not that we single-handedly engineered said ostracization.
There seems to be a belief among Sim fans that if that wicked, wicked COMICS
JOURNAL hadn’t brought all this gender-issue stuff in CEREBUS up and bullied
the entire industry, Dave would have retained all his cartoonist friends and
ended CEREBUS’s run in triumph and glory. I’d be curious to hear of a single
media outlet that was MORE respectful towards CEREBUS than THE COMICS JOURNAL... Read the full post here.
Don't miss all the action, as it happens, at TCJ.com.
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