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...
Huh. I thought the “starting with GOING HOME” notion had been squelched; we must be talking at cross-purposes. To be clear, I have zero interest in starting with GOING HOME, really none whatsoever. Either the first phonebook or possibly HIGH SOCIETY. Also, I’m not at all interested in racking up a new celebrity intro writer for each volume. (For the first one, sure.) Read the full post here.
...It’s my fault, I missed the “covering GOING HOME and FORM AND VOID” line in Dave’s email, maybe through wishful thinking (or because seemingly everyone else seemed to agree that was a terrible idea). But the four books I meant was CEREBUS and HIGH SOCIETY each split in two. And yeah, it is a redline/dealbreaker. I wouldn’t start with any book after HIGH SOCIETY, so if that’s a redline/dealbreaker on the other side for Dave who wants to start with a later book or no deal, we can call it a day. Read the full post here.
...(1) I think Dave sincerely believes the GOING HOME strategy would be the best way to proceed. I would never cite a lack of sincerity as a failing of Dave’s. (2) Moving to accepting the idea of another publisher (let alone his longtime nemesis Fantagraphics) doing a CEREBUS edition is a huge enough shift that I wouldn’t rule out a second shift from “start with GOING HOME” to “start at the beginning,” especially given the overwhelming chorus from fans, other cartoonists, and retailers favoring the latter option as the only sensible one. (3) If Dave remains adamant, there ARE other publishers one of which perhaps might be open to his release strategy where we aren’t. Calling IDW and Top Shelf! (I doubt those uppity bastards at Drawn + Quarterly — who probably fit Dave’s semi-imaginary profile of NYT-validation-hungry prigs than Fantagraphics does — are interested, fellow Canadians or no). Read the full post here.
Don't miss all the action, as it happens, at TCJ.com.
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