"With the long-anticipated launch of Dave Sim's HIGH SOCIETY DIGITAL and HIGH SOCIETY AUDIO DIGITAL only days away, and as a long-time fan of Dave's work, I couldn't be happier to have IDW here in the Ground Zero spotlight with Dave and CEREBUS in announcing this major publication event which fans have been clamouring for since CEREBUS came to an end in 2004," said Adams.
Dave Sim, president of Aardvark-Vanaheim, added, "I can't think of any other publisher than IDW and any other editor than Scott Dunbier to whom I would have entrusted this Herculean task. I'm working full-time with Scott, providing him with every imaginable raw material needed. Based on Scott's flawless track record, I think we're all in for a treat."
UPDATE:
Additional commentary at The Beat, Bleeding Cool, FPI Blog, Marvel Masterworks Messageboard and Sidebar Nation.
Additional commentary at The Beat, Bleeding Cool, FPI Blog, Marvel Masterworks Messageboard and Sidebar Nation.
20 comments:
Excellent news! Hopefully it is a large HC, full size prints. And what is this of the 'cover related material' that he is scanning in as well? Extras? Nice!
Great news! I've been waiting for this announcement for years! If I could pre-order it this second, I would!
Is that why Dave looks so happy while Cerebus looks miserable in the painting behind him?
This is fantastic - Can't wait!
Amazing news! I, like everyone else, always thought there should be a special book of just covers...and I always wondered who had the Bill Sienkiewicz cover for Cerebus Jam - it looks gorgeous.
Oh. My. God.
I think I fainted for a second...
I can't WAIT to get my hands on this!!!!!! Great, great news.
This is shaping up to be a VERY exciting time to be a Cerebus fan!
I just realized I've been subconsciously fondling my credit card. I am so ready to order this. Needless to say, just bookmarked IDW's website. I'm going to order this as soon as it's announced!
@sdunbier - Very excited about the Cerebus Covers project... even MORE excited if it'll be like the Artist Edition books!!!
Well, God bless him, he does look happy don't he?
This is an amazing bolt from the blue! I was not expecting anything like this news when I checked in for today's Sim Update. Fantastic!
This will certainly help me make my case more than any other product for Cerebus as fine art. Superb news!
Agreed. Fantastic news. And hopefully just the beginning of a Cerebus Renaissance. Sign me up for a pre-order!
Kudos to IDW for having the class and courtesy to meet Dave half way and help to make this piece of awesomeness a reality.
@ Adam P - "A Cerebus Renaissance" is just what the doctor ordered, that would be wonderful. I watched the brand new five minute excerpt of the forthcoming High Society download, and it was mesmerizing. Dave's voices are all so great, and the way the camera moves, and the music, and the sound effects all added up to me being totally riveted.
David Birdsong said... he said
Preorder, comic book store, internet sales, hawking it on the street? Just let me know. Yes! Yes! Yes!
Reaction to this news from Kim Thompson posted at TCJ.com:
"Evidently Dave’s thirst for public, transparent negotiations blows hot and cold, and his apocalyptic “I’m gonna cancel GLAMOURPUSS, quit comics and go eat worms” editorial that set all of this in motion was a little over the top. Anyway, our offer is on the table, and the fact that Dave spent the entire negotiations period wandering around the room idly looking at the drapery and examining the carpeting while studiously ignoring the table pretty much told me what I needed to know. I compared Dave to a squirrel-chasing Labrador Retriever at one point, but an even more apt comparison might be a Labrador Retriever who, when you try to point out to him where the ball went, instead becomes unshakably focused on your finger."
Okay, see, this is where the blades come out. Thanks for posting that, Tim. Speaking purely for myself, here: I have lost whatever shred of tolerance I had for Kim after reading this. What a complete waste of space. I think if Kim and Gary had Dave Sim erased from their minds, it would be the best thing that ever happened to Dave Sim, not to mention his fans. I understand that people are pining for a lovely fantagraphics Cerebus repackaging, but, from an energy vantage, why would you, if you're Dave Sim, want someone who is this completely insulting and disrespectful handling the publishing of your magnum opus? People are quick to say "it's a business decision, so the insults don't matter". It matters absolutely.
Let me say this, right now, directly to Kim, if he's reading: You are completely delusional if you blame Dave Sim (or, laughably, ME) for the 'melt down' in that thread. The blame is squarely on you. You made a stink, you made a mess, and then you kicked out the people that you blamed for the stink and mess, and then locked the door. Guess what, after reading this, it's clear that the stink and mess have become even worse, and the guests you kicked out can't be blamed now. So own up to it. If you had given the time needed to let the negativity die down, and time needed for Dave to go through his motions as he built toward considering the negotiation process, and not been a complete schmuck by locking down the thread before the dialog could get any feet under it, then who knows how it might have gone? After reading this bit of crap, who cares? Thank God you are not publishing Dave, as of this writing. Maybe, after a greater penetration into what's really happening, here - and I'm referring to the inner life of this dialog between you and Dave, the spirit of it - some progress can be made, and there can begin to be something that starts to resemble "the same page". As of THIS dialog, I have a difficult time visualizing that kind of positive outcome. If you want to compare one of the greatest modern artists in the Western Hemisphere to a hapless dog, then you're sure as #$%@ not going to do it as his publisher, because you'll never get that opportunity with this kind of abysmal attitude toward the artist in question.
I went through that thread and combed out all the insults hurled Dave's way, combed them out like bloodsucking fleas, and I think it's going to shock people when they see it all together. Just going through, and taking one line here, one line there, from the 700 some odd posts, it adds up to pages and pages in insults and name calling and truly degrading commentary. It's really a sad thing to see one of the few living, seminal artists spoken of this way, particularly by the people who are offering to publish him. And trashing him in their own forum? It's ridiculous, it's shameful, and it's devoid of anything resembling professionalism or class. Thankfully, there are a very small handful of great publishers out there who will NEVER treat Dave this way, and I don't say that lightly. I say it with real gratitude.
More thoughts from Kim Thompson yesterday on the IDW book deal posted at TCJ.com:
"Actually, if you’re going to reprint the comics in a more accessible format, it would make more sense to come up with ancillary projects like a covers book AFTER you’ve re-established the franchise and broadened its appeal. I think Dave may be a smart (albeit maddening — and the crazy-or-devious? question remains unresolved) tactician but a terrible strategist.
I did turn out to be a little prescient in invoking IDW several times as an optional publisher for CEREBUS, though, didn’t I?
I would be lying if I didn’t say that a HUGE component within my reaction to the death rattle of this negotiation is relief. Good luck to all who get caught in the CEREBUS vortex in the future."
I would love it if this space was just used to celebrate the announcement of the CEREBUS/IDW project. If, however, the (negative) "thoughts of Kim Thompson" are going to be posted here, I hope it is considered fair game to respond.
Kim Thompson said:
"Actually, if you’re going to reprint the comics in a more accessible format, it would make more sense to come up with ancillary projects like a covers book AFTER you’ve re-established the franchise and broadened its appeal. I think Dave may be a smart (albeit maddening — and the crazy-or-devious? question remains unresolved) tactician but a terrible strategist."
Okay, first of all, this project is already long overdue, so it's VERY welcome. And with IDW and Scott on board, it's doubly welcome. Second of all, there's nothing wrong with getting it done now, and then keeping it in print as CEREBUS is "re-established", to use your term. Sorry Kim, but you can't take anything away from this. The fact that you would try and call Dave out for being a "terrible strategist" in light of this announcement is just totally pathetic on your part. This is an occasion to congratulate, celebrate and be excited. Anything short of that is your bs.
"I would be lying if I didn’t say that a HUGE component within my reaction to the death rattle of this negotiation is relief. Good luck to all who get caught in the CEREBUS vortex in the future."
So... Dave Sim's magnum opus is a "vortex" that other publishers would risk getting "caught up in" without "luck" on their side; a "vortex" that you were "relieved" to have been spared? Am I reading that right?
Kim? Don't project your negativity onto other human beings who are fully capable of working with Dave Sim, and with any portion of his work, including CEREBUS. There is nothing wrong with Dave Sim. There is nothing wrong with CEREBUS, including the final third. You were wrong 17 years ago, and you're wrong today. End of story.
Michael, I'm sure you've read the negotiations between Dave and Kim. Dave's rants and non sequiturs were frustrating and emotionally draining just to read. How frustrating it must have been for Kim to attempt sincere negotiations.
It's clear that Dave was giving him the runaround as revenge for a perceived slight years ago and to feed his own ego by being courted by the enemy.
Kim's comments were quite restrained considering the treatment he was given.
That said, I'm very happy that Dave has ended up at IDW, and hope it's the beginning of a long and successful collaboration.
Dave makes a lot of his own problems, and he did in this case as well. He still has his roots in the American comic book field, based in New York City, and considering the Comics Journal as some widely respected authority on anything. His insistence on referring to himself as "Dave Sim the evil misogynist" doesn't help, because most people don't have a clue what he's talking about in that regard. I think he's also influenced by the fact that Kim's review of "Cerebus" was the first positive review of the series.
I would never suggest he waste time on the internet (like, um, me) but perusing the Manosphere would help. It's a loose confederation of blogs and websites - I still can't tell if "manosphere" is just a label or there's an actual list of people in or out - of men (and some women) on the internet who compared notes and came to similar conclusions about women as Dave did. Men are this way, women are that way, exceptions are just that, exceptions. Some manosphere posters are religious, some are atheists, some fall in-between. I recently read an essay from a devout Christian who described applying "game" [the Pick-Up Artist's "how do I bang as many women as I want?"] to a proper Christian marriage, and it went into surprising detail about the similarities between serial fornication and a stable, loving marriage between a man and a woman. Not being a pick-up artist, a serial fornicator or someone who aspires to get married, it didn't do anything for me, but was interesting anyway.
[Interestingly, the manosphere blog I mostly follow began in March, 2004. Make of that what you will.]
Anyway, Dave is a stick-in-the-mud on certain things, which doesn't help him. Kim was not going to negotiate in public. I agree with Dave that creators' rights will be improved if such negotiations are made in public, but I see Kim's point that he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to and you can't make him, so there's no basis for negotiation.
I am surprised that Kim and others were so quick to dismiss the notion of a collection of Cerebus covers. Besides fitting the 'phone book' format (where I also agree with Dave is Essential [cf. Marvel Comics] to presenting the complete Cerebus) it tracks Dave and Ger's remarkable artistic maturation, a collection of incredible drawing, and probably a better summation of the series than anything else.
A book of covers could actually help restore interest in the series. "What's up with the covers that are just Gerhard's vacation photographs?" "Look at those cool Conan-esque covers!" "There are pictures of the Moon here, Jupiter there, and then Juno? Hunh?" "Movie posters?" "Pictures of Iestan currency and then reads?" If the technology exists and it's not too expensive, please, have the covers from 'The Last Day' fold out into one single image, the way God surely intended it.
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