A big thank you to all the Cerebus supporters out there! Also, a complete edition of The Puma Blues is now available!
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
Are you a qualified medical practitioner? If so, here's A LINK to Dave's recent MRI and X-Ray of his damaged right hand. It's a zip file with two folders
(MRI and X-Ray). Each one has some a small proprietary viewer with which
you can see the files. Note, it's PC only. Send in your diagnosis to: sandeep.s.atwal [at] gmail [dot] com
SUPPORT THE CEREBUS RESTORATION PROJECT!
Cerebus Archive Number Four on Kickstarter
Only 8 Days Left To Make Your Pledge!
Cerebus Archive Number Four on Kickstarter
Only 8 Days Left To Make Your Pledge!
26 comments:
What happens in nine days?
The latest kickstarter campaign ends.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/c-minus-kid/can4-cerebus-archive-number-four?ref=project_link
The old canard rises again, The lack of a signature doesn't equate agreement with you self described premise.
Yes, sorry. I recorded the update on Thursday and was thinking of that date when I said the "nine days".
I appreciate the occasional support here in the comments section and I appreciate the support with the Kickstarter campaign. Whatever it ends up being, it's going to help with the enormous financial weight involved in digitizing the next batch of negatives and original artwork. And setting up the Cerebus Foundation.
I'm certainly well aware that the populist sentiment is to get a creative work AWAY from its creator -- i.e. STAR WARS -- if that creator doesn't match the populist template his fan base desires. It's one of the big reasons that I always made sure not to get over-extended -- as George Lucas did -- so that the pressure becomes inevitable: you WILL sell out your creation. The question is only "TO WHOM" will you sell out your creation.
CHURCH & STATE I looks really good. TWP is projecting it arriving in the US just before Christmas and Diamond is tentatively projecting a mid-January street date. The timeline is severely stretched given that Sean gave them the final digital files sometime in late July. It means that all of the money has to go out and then there's a six-month lag before any money comes back in. We need to have a FINAL TIMELINE so we can guess more accurately when CHURCH & STATE II is going to be back in print and then look and see if the overhead is covered in the interim. Once we have a FINAL TIMELINE, we give that to Diamond as a template and they can do the math on when they think they're going to need the next book and which book they want it to be.
The restoration of the CEREBUS volume is probably always going to be their priority, which is why Tim F's latest $10K donation will be going there, mostly. But some of it has to go for basic expenses. READS is still out of print which is problematic for Diamond because it means none of the books AFTER READS are going to sell if a retailer can't get READS for a customer reading the books volume by volume. They've boosted their orders and are willing to work with me to make this work, but it is a very complicated math problem.
I don't picture a George Lucas Ending on my story -- i.e. finding someone to sell CEREBUS to.
I mean, it's not as if this is a surprise to God, right? He knew that the production of the book was going to bridge the publishing age into the digital age. He knew when Gerhard was going to ditch and how much money it was going to cost me. And He knew that the Absolute Digital Age would begin right around then. And how much THAT was going to cost me. So, I'm where I'm supposed to be as far as I can see: 60 years old and with nothing between me and the grave but another insurmountable challenge. I get up every morning and do "the next thing" whatever that is. I do that all day and I go to bed. And I get up and do "the next thing" all day and I go to bed.
I've been TRYING to show CEREBUS fans what's going on, but STRUCTURALLY I don't think that works. All you do is provoke the Angriest Fan to Get Angry publicly and that erodes the support.
Of course it also provoked "E" into donating $3,500 and Tim F into donating $10,000 -- and Diamond is insisting that they owe me $7,000.
So, my internal personal jury is still out. Maybe honesty IS the best policy. Even with CEREBUS fans.
See you tomorrow, God willing.
I think that Dave's place in the history of comics was assured long ago because of the work, but what is written as footnotes to history will unfortunately focus on this deliberate and intentional self-destruction through slow-motion professional suicide. Every time I have been willing to slide back to a benefit of the doubt position on sticking with the current public presence of Cerebus (AMOC, Archives, etc), in deference to my strong, strong nostalgia for the series (both writing and art), Dave opens his mouth again and I think I have wasted my time and, in times past, money. So, thanks to Dave for the additional 2-5 minutes every day that I will now have, from here on out, once I delete the AMOC link from my browser. I am writing this all off and will just keep Cerebus alive in my memory. I'll look for whatever comes out from AV, in terms of new product, on the comics solicitations. So, you win, Dave. Congrats, because I'm outta here. Add another notch to your belt. See ya jn the funny papers.
Gao Bo Le
WOW... I feel like I've been missing A LOT in these past few weeks.
AM- is there some wording you would ACCEPT to sign the petition? Or is it the signing of things that you are against, as it has been implied in other situations?
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
-- Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Gao Bo Le,
I get it and I truly understand and would not endeavor to change your mind. I have felt the same at times. I recently searched out Cerebus on the internet to find like minded individuals with whom I could share common experiences of reading Cerebus with. Having started back in '82 and staying with the book until the end, I felt invested in it. After the series was done however, I chose not to read or follow anything else Cerebus or Sim related. I was burned out. I would occasionally re-read some of my favorite books, which almost always included Lord Julius or the roach and I would laugh as I had always done . But eventually I just packed them away. I would google Cerebus and Sim just to see how the world at large was treating them. I saw nothing much had changed.
But as time passed i felt that pull from the books -the time and money that I had invested meant something and the entertainment and at times utter frustration I derived from them meant even more.
Deciding to search out like mended folk I knew I would have to confront the 800 pound gorilla. Dave's views on women. I have said before and will say I again, I strongly disagree with his views. But I never felt his views were harmful ( to anyone other than Dave that is).
But I get it that his views and comments grate on those who either don't share them or don't just choose to just ignore him as some old crank who happened to produce some fantastic work at times.
I am still straddling that line and I frankly do not know on which side i will eventually fall, but i came here to marvel in the work and share that with like minded folks.
The work can not be divorced from the man who created it.
I wish Dave could continue on with his remarkable performance of the staves from A Christmas Carol that were left unfinished annually on CerebusTV. If not on CerebusTV, which is still possible, then here on Tim's site.
What say ye?
A Christmas Carol - still a triumph of the Sims - Alastair and Dave!
Doing STRANGE DEATH OF ALEX RAYMOND research online and have a half hour or so before my sunset prayer time, so I decided to check in.
See, this is why I think AMOC is more of a Matrix gig. If I'm here, it's always either the angriest, most resentful CEREBUS fan who posts or a "designated therapist" determined to fix me: who then gets backup from someone else. The metaphysics of it seems...skewed...to say the least. Or at least tilted in such a direction as to indicate this is not somewhere Dave Sim would want to be posting his views -- in other words no different from anywhere else in the G7 in 2015. Which is likely the sensibility behind it.
I will be persevering through next Saturday but I think I'll try to end the Kickstarter campaign in a comparable way but slightly retrenched from the unwelcoming nature that seems to be inherent in the context: basically posting private answers to individual pledge partners next Saturday so as to keep from creating this...Matrix effect...that always results if I try to address the audience directly and collectively.
Presumably, me answering individual questions that only go to the individual who posed the question won't...VIOLATE...whatever it is that I always seem to be...VIOLATING. And then leave it up to the individual if they want to post their question and my answer somewhere else after the fact.
See you tomorrow, God willing.
The question is: has this particular discussion on Feminism played itself out? Dave's position seems pretty much unchanged since the late 90's, and everything he's written here is essentially a restatement of things he's already said or written. And, as many people have noted, pro or con Dave Sim and Cerebus, Dave's views in this area are pretty much at the top of any Google or Bing search.
Maybe an effective strategy, given that this is an archival project in support of remastering of a historically important graphic novel, would be to move the discussion over to other areas where Dave has clearly shown a lot of knowledge. These are publishing, the direct market, and the history of the medium, both since the late 70's and before. Dave has proven to be one of the most deeply insightful analysts of comic art, and since that's largely what's being SOLD (sold, remember?), perhaps for the remainder of the campaign that's where the discussion might go?
Another bit of reasoning behind this is that Cerebus the comic largely ends with these philosophies as the big 'reveal' - so there's something of 'giving away the ending' in having Feminism be the primary point of discussion. You don't discussion the meaning of obsession in class until after you've read "Moby Dick," after all. Give people a chance to chart the organic change in Dave's views as they appeared in the original timeline of the series.
Anyway.
Hey Dave,
Matt Dow here. I've been reading the comments and generally lurking around. Just thought I'd pop up, break cover, and say, "hey."
I was thinking of making the "Great Cerebus Giveaway", since it was closer than Salt Lake City, but I used up most of my vacation time because...
Paula and I bought a house. And I needed a week to move. (Plus I wasn't sure if I'd have off from the second job.) (Also also, did I really NEED the next best copies, when I could BUY the best copies from you later?)
Anyway, I appreciate your postings, but Neo-luddite that you are, you gotta remember that any comment after the top three or four are probably totally worth ignoring. By the six or seventh comment you're not even talking about the same thing anymore.
Also, it's the internet. You're gonna meet a lot of douche-knuckles. They're douche-knuckles. Nothing you say or do will change that. Arguing with them is like banging your head against a brick wall, fun at first, then a headache, then fun for a little bit while the ambulance takes you to the ER, then A HEADACHE.
But I digress...
Anyway, hope all is well,
Matt
PS: Paula and I are expecting another girl around valentine's day. (I tried to get her to agree to naming kid two after one of the women from Cerebus, but...NO DICE!)
And dear everybody else,
I know you're worried about Dave's hand and wondering why he's not doing ANYTHING to get it fixed. You have to remember, Dave's right hand is The Money. And rule number one is: YOU. DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. THE. MONEY!
If Dave does ANYTHING to the hand and it DOESN'T work, it's not like he has a backup. If he does surgery and the hand isn't able to draw ever again, Bye-Bye.
So he's being extremely cautious. I know it annoys some of you, but again, IT'S THE MONEY! And what do we do with The Money kids? That's right! We DON'T fuck with it. Ever!
Okay, I gotta go do a thing.
Don't take any wooden nickels. Never piss upwind. And last one out get the lights.
And please, please, PLEASE! Don't be douche-knuckles...
Matt Dow
We are all fans of Cerebus. Some of us are fans of Cerebus and Dave. Whatever the case, I think it's far, far more productive to focus on the areas where we agree. I think Dave K. has some good ideas there. And, as Matt notes, lets at least try to keep our criticisms civil, I don't think that's too much to ask.
And, I hope it goes without saying, but THANK YOU from me to all the Cerebus and/or Dave fans who help out, in whatever way you do, whether it's contributing financially or just sharing posts and commenting....it is very much appreciated.
Ah, my old friend, the great, magnificent, munificent (hey, you just bought a house [yay for you guys!], so you gots money, right?), Matt Dow. Good to hear from you, you stalk...er...lurker, you.
Folks, LISTEN to this guy. He's the most common-sensical guy I know (well, except for his self-professed "more-money-than-brains period).
And, he REALLY needs to chime in more often. Or, um, make that: WE really need him to chime in more often.
I LOVE Cerebus, and, although I don't know him personally, I like Dave. I did meet him once at a con and he was super nice and it is one of my most cherished memories of meeting a creator. Keep on, keeping on, Dave! Fan for life!
Drew, you are spot on about Dave. He really is "super nice", although I'm guessing that description just made him throw up a little bit in his mouth.
He is also the most direct and to-the-point person I've ever known, a personality trait that usually gets people into trouble. God knows, it has for me.
Anyway, Drew, keep supporting Dave, please, not just Cerebus. Keep on keepin' on!
Oh, and BTW, yay Puma Blues!!! I can't wait to get my copy. I've had a standing order at my comics store since around July. It was (and is) a seminal comic magazine.
Menachem Luchins said...
"AM- is there some wording you would ACCEPT to sign the petition? Or is it the signing of things that you are against, as it has been implied in other situations?"
In my case, I just think its weird to sign a negative petition, I ,don't believe Dave Sim is a misogynist just seems backwards in its phrasing
I would be more inclined to sign something with a positive inclination, with a statement of what I do believe.
I do believe Dave Sim is a fantastic artist and author.
I do believe that Dave Sim is a good person.
I don't agree with all his ideas, and don't think that is a bad thing. I wouldn't expect him to agree with all my ideas. I get frustrated with him because in my mind I see what I perceive as they way I would do things as being more efficient and better for him. I get frustrated because I truly care. I want his hand and shoulder to feel better. I want him to reach his goals. I'm not trying to fix Dave, I'm not angry at Dave. I'm just bewildered when something seems so obvious to me and his view is 180 opposite. However in the context of what is going on in the wider world these differences are irrelevant. It may appear that I am just a heckler in the peanut gallery but that's not the intent. That is just the nature of impersonal internet communication.
I think because Dave is so public I feel that I know him, but I don't really, and thats where the communication breaks down. Im not part of the Hive or the Matrix. I am a regular Joe who picked up the Swords collections out of Bud Plant and then started in on the comic when I got to a place that actually had a comic shop, Novel Ideas in Gainesville Florida. Dave and Ger even spent some time in Gainesville if I remember correctly. But I didnt know it at the time. Cerebus meant a lot to me as I grew into a adulthood, and I kept buying it up until the end, phone books and monthly phamplets.
I just think it's terribly sad - but given the nature of the Interwebs, if comments aren't carefully monitored, inevitable - that as soon as Dave Sim starts commenting here, the trolls come out in full force. I mean, what about basic manners? It does remind me more than a little bit of Aardvark Comment: People who do not write and draw telling Dave how to, and how not to, write and draw his comic. Now it's people telling Dave how to, and how not to: Take care of his drawing hand; Interface with the medical establishment; Present himself so as to promote his work; et cetera et cetera. (I've been guilty myself, as I was a promoter of the failed physical therapy project.)
It's just sad, that's all. (You know what's NOT sad? Puma Blues is out!!!!)
@Tony Dunlop:
I agree that the comments ought to be civil, and there have been some notable failings in that respect in these comments.
So with that said, I think you've missed a few problems with your analogy.
You're right that people who don't write and draw comics should not presume they know more than people who do write and draw comics about how they ought to write and draw comics. So, it would follow, by analogy, that "People who aren't medical professionals should not presume they know more than medical professionals about how to practice medicine".
I think Dave has presumed that he knows more than medical professionals. I think the advice to Dave on this blog has been to seek out medical professionals, to use the system set up by medical professionals, and to defer to their advice.
I think Dave has refused to do that. I think Dave has repeatedly assumed, despite evidence to the contrary -- namely, his own successful surgical treatment this year, which medical treatment he also resisted obtaining at first! -- that the medical system in Canada will fail him. I think Dave has instead based his decisions on a series of conclusions that he has reached without evidence.
For instance, Dave has said that doctors who treat sports professionals for injuries will not be able to treat him because drawing comic books is different from playing sports and therefore a comic-book-related injury (if that's what this is) must involve different medical expertise.
Dave has no evidence for this belief. It just makes sense to him and so no further evidence is necessary. I believe he has one anecdotal example of another comics professional who had a surgery that was not successful. Dave has in the past condemned anecdotal evidence so it is hypocritical to then rely on such evidence when it confirms his beliefs, and in any case he lacks the information about this man's particular case to draw the far-reaching conclusions he does.
In fact, Dave's behaviour is even worse than those that criticize comics professionals, because at least in art, people can be said to be entitled to their tastes and opinions. But medical practices are empirical, so one really needs to be informed to comment, and Dave is not and doesn't take proper steps to make himself informed.
- Reginald P.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Reginald. I do have one key point of disagreement: you say, "...Dave has presumed that he knows more than medical professionals." The way I'd put it is, Dave doesn't think medical professionals know as much as they think they know. In some areas I have no doubt that's true, and in those situations medical science/practice has a well-documented trail of having done more harm than good (cf. all those "sue your doctor" ads on late night TV). I don't blame Dave for treading very, very cautiously.
I really have a monumentally difficult time with people that can't, or refuse to, separate the artist from the art. Whether or not you like Dave (I do), is irrelevant to Cerebus or SDoAR, or anything else, IF YOU LIKE THOSE WORKS. If you like the work, support it. If you don't, then don't, and don't bother posting on a message board full of people whose opinions are deeply held and which you won't sway. Know your audience, read the room, etc. You're wasting your own time.
@Regnald
Dave is doing his medical treatment the hard way. He is receiving cortisone shots in Kitchener, MRIs in Chicago in which the test results are examined by a doctor friend in Texas. Not to mention relying on Cerebus fans to give him advice on how he to proceed with his wrist by releasing the MRI images online.
Who does this?
Sandeep said something very intresting that made me think.
Everyone who visits this site shows by default that they are more interested in Cerebus than Dave's opinions.
This site is made to persevere and discuss this work of art, it's made only for the open minded fans.
Everyone else looking for a fight,argument, or to change Dave's opinions should be given the silent treatment.
P.S : I'm not trying to brag, but Dave, I was planning on going to the Cerebus giveaway in Leamington, but then I found out a family friend actually lived there!
I made out with 140 comics and all I had to pay was $37 shipping!
Talk about, as the Hebrew for divine providence goes- Haschgacha Pratus!
Geese Louise, I didn't realize I was offending anyone. Sorry.
Yes this group leans towards emotional that rational. Contrary opinions are "attacks". Everyone with a differing opinion is "angry" or a "troll".
- Jeff C.
Post a Comment