GIVE DAVE MONEY!!!
And as always, check for bonecrusher86 on the eBays if I missed something.
Anyway:
"Say kids, what time is it?"
"It's time to get ILL!!!!"
"Sorry Mike D., it's not. It's "Reading Cerebus" Time!"
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| It's "READING CEREBUS" time.
It's "READING CEREBUS" time.
Kevin reads Cerebus for you,
It’s such a nifty thing to do.
Let’s give a rousing cheer,
Cause "Reading Cerebus" is here,
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Kevin Kimmes:
Welcome back to “Reading Cerebus”, a new (some-what) weekly column here at A Moment of Cerebus. The goal of this column is to bring a fresh perspective to the 300-issue saga of Cerebus as I read through the series for the first time and give my insights into the longest running independent comic book series of all time. Think of this as part book club, part lit-crit, and part pop culture musing. Oh, and they told me Dave Sim himself may be reading this, so I hope I don’t screw this up. Let’s continue.
This week, I'm going to finish looking at the short material that fits in between the first 12 issues of Cerebus. Again, for each story, I am including where it was originally published and where it fits in the overall arc of the story thus far. Credit goes to Cerebus Companion #1 for helping to place these stories in chronological order as they do not appear in the first phone book.
One thing I want to add before we get too far into this weeks column is that Will Eisner did not in fact draw Cerebus in the "Cerebus Versus The Spirit" story. While he did contribute on the final art, his contribution was to adding Dolan and The Spirit into the final story in both pencil and ink. He also inked the window on page two panel one, much of the bric-a-brac on page three and the last two panels of the story. Thank you to Kit for the clarification.
"Elfguest" (Cerebus #52) [Available at the link, you're welcome-Matt]
This short finds a hungover Cerebus meeting the cute and precocious characters of Elfquest who have used dimensional travel to land in "our world". Not a lot transpires here as the elves are here and gone as quick as a hiccup, but Cerebus does decide to swear off mixing ale with apricot brandy.
This 4 page story fits in between issues 11 and 12.
"The Morning After" (Swords of Cerebus Volume 2, Reprinted in Cerebus World Tour Book 1995)
Possibly picking up directly after the events of "Elfguest", "The Morning After" finds a hungover Cerebus trying to cure a pounding headache any way that he can. He drinks from horse troughs, eats a bag of eggs, has his head set in a vice, and even has his head wrapped in a screaming hot towel. Finally cured of his malady, Cerebus sits outside the tavern and waits for it to open. Some aardvarks never learn.
This 6 page story also fits in between issues 11 and 12.
"Cerebus Dreams" (Swords of Cerebus Volume 5, Reprinted in Cerebus World Tour Book 1995)[Full story at the link, you're welcome-Matt]
A David Lynch-ian dream sequence done in the style of Barry Windsor-Smith [I should hope so, since it's done BY Barry Windsor-Smith -Matt] that opens with a rain of diamonds. That's weird. Then a chicken appears and begins eating the amassed jewels. Ok, weirder. Then Cerebus is attacked by a violin playing jester. What would Freud say about this? On second thought, it's probably best not to ask.
This 6 page story also fits in between issues 11 and 12.
"A Night On The Town" (Swords of Cerebus Volume 6, Reprinted in Cerebus World Tour Book 1995) [Full story at the link. Everybody thank Tim. "Thanks Tim" -Matt]
A drunken Cerebus finds a corpse in the snow and sets about on a silent farcical adventure akin to "Weekend at Bernie's".
This 7 page story also fits in between issues 11 and 12.
Final Thoughts
This weeks shorts offer a view into the ills and weirdness that come with tying one on. Did Cerebus really meet the elves, or was it just a drunken illusion? Who was the weird violinist? Do chickens really eat diamonds? It's a lot to think about.
Join me back here next week as we look at the short story "Magiking" and it's follow up in issue 13, "Black Magiking".
Currently Listening To: The Best of the Grateful Dead Live
Kevin Kimmes is a lifelong comic book reader, sometime comic book artist, and recent Cerebus convert. He can be found slinging comics at the center of the Multiverse, aka House of Heroes in Oshkosh, WI.
1 comment:
Um, yes, theoretically chickens might eat diamonds (small ones), as they occasionally eat gravel (something about it helping their digestion. What backup story was it that Marshall Rodgers did around the same time as he was screw...er...having an affair with Deni? Oh, and Kevin, don't forget about "Bigger, Blacker Kiss".
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