tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post5650072748900387355..comments2024-03-28T21:17:45.398-05:00Comments on A MOMENT OF CEREBUS: Cerebus Anniversary-- Forty Years of a Cantankerous Aardvark Part the ThirdA Moment Of Cerebushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02718525538144698138noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-58182241776145997832017-12-22T20:07:55.675-06:002017-12-22T20:07:55.675-06:00Yes, well, to paraphrase one of the more popular r...Yes, well, to paraphrase one of the more popular recent U.S. presidents, "that all depends on what your definition of "comics" is."Tony one more timenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-57067817931142439152017-12-22T19:53:22.011-06:002017-12-22T19:53:22.011-06:00I believe 1982 Dave Sim was referring to no one ha...I believe 1982 Dave Sim was referring to no one having done it in comics. Sean Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794186823194520775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-59468706110929583422017-12-22T17:47:06.601-06:002017-12-22T17:47:06.601-06:00True enough, the Prince Valiant saga did not have/...True enough, the Prince Valiant saga did not have/has not had an end (currently in the very capable hands of Mark Schultz and, if I'm not mistaken, Tom Yates). But that wasn't what the 1982 edition of Dave Sim was claiming to be doing for the first time.Tony againnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-45439104958903071742017-12-22T14:20:16.681-06:002017-12-22T14:20:16.681-06:00Hey Tony,
Thanks for the kind words. My writing h...Hey Tony,<br /><br />Thanks for the kind words. My writing has predated my drawing, and my writing about comics specifically definitely predates my real technical knowledge about reproduction. Google "sean Michael Robinson" and you can find essays from me at the Hooded Utilitarian, TCJ, scattered other places. My site LivingtheLine.com has a section of links if you're interested.<br /><br />Hey Damian,<br /><br />Re: this -- "Dave was never an inventor "<br /><br />There's an argument to be made that radically reforming, exaggerating, or taking something out of its original context IS a form of invention. That being said, I'm mostly in agreement with you, as you'll see if/when you read my MINDS essay, to appear in the restored MINDS, solicited for in the February 2018 Previews. MINDS as a synthesis of influence. A lot of ground covered, including Dickens, Gerber, and Liz Phair.<br /><br />>>I'm curious: When do you think, Tony, that our Prince will meet his great reward and float down the river in his funeral pyre? Give me a heads-up--I'll buy several copies of that Sunday newspaper.>><br /><br />HAH! <br /><br />Tony, I'm not sure if young Dave really considered Prince Valiant comics per se. Interesting essay on the Valiant influence/non-influence in the Cerebus Archive Number Three notes.Sean Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794186823194520775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-55699263373775764392017-12-21T23:56:50.484-06:002017-12-21T23:56:50.484-06:00Okay, Tony, you're right, to an extent.
Dicke...Okay, Tony, you're right, to an extent.<br /><br />Dickens serialized (first) several, if not most of his novels, though he didn't draw them. <br /><br />I haven't read a lot of Prince Valiant, but I get the impression that there were a lot of tropes that were periodically rehashed over the years or decades.<br /><br />Sure, Dave repeated some stuff and "cheated" from time to time: four pages of Cerebus pissing in the dark (in the wind?), but he moved the story along. Sometimes, it moved incrementally; sometimes it moved at a head-spinning pace, but it moved.<br /><br />And, it moved ahead, Cerebus' life did, it moved ahead within the stated parameters: 300 issues, 26 years, dead at the end.<br /><br />I'm curious: When do you think, Tony, that our Prince will meet his great reward and float down the river in his funeral pyre? Give me a heads-up--I'll buy several copies of that Sunday newspaper.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-1371434853150670792017-12-21T12:37:34.231-06:002017-12-21T12:37:34.231-06:00Dave was never an inventor -- more a synthesist. H...Dave was never an inventor -- more a synthesist. He didn't come up with the idea of one consistent narrative, or lettering as a graphic and narrative element, or omnibus reprint editions, or length text sections in a comic book, or self-publishing, or any of the other artistic and business techniques he used. But he was masterful in selecting and deploying just the right tool to further his story and his comic.<br /><br />I am not damning with faint praise here. Dave was for a time the English-language cartoonist most in command of his medium.<br /><br /> -- Damian<br />Damian T. Lloyd, Esq.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15423589734839129158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837001751311078781.post-89132498870125960102017-12-21T09:43:32.119-06:002017-12-21T09:43:32.119-06:00Very concise and informative essay! Not only is Se...Very concise and informative essay! Not only is Sean a wizard with imaging technology, he can <i>write!</i> The direct market "revolution" that started in the 70s, and really took off in the 80s, made <i>Cerebus</i> possible, but it also gave us the entire "second Golden Age of comics," as I call it - giving a grateful world Los Bros. Hernandez, Joe Sacco, Seth, Dan Clowes, Donna Barr...I could go on, and no doubt others would have their own list, which is kind of the point.<br /><br />I have one quibble with the Sim quote, though: "...it’s reasonably coherent so far, why not have a consistent viewpoint, a consistent story? And be <b>the first one to do it</b>?" The "first one" isn't quite right. I'm currently reading the <i>Prince Valiant</i> epic, in the magnificent Fantagraphics hardcover editions; I'm up to Volume 4 so far, 1943-44. It's one, consistent, continuous life story, done by Hal Foster until (I'm pretty sure) the early 70s. In fact I think Dave himself referred to Foster as a pioneer in what he (Dave) was attempting, perhaps in one of the "Swords" essays. Of course Foster was doing 4 pages a month to Sim's 20, but still...Tony Dunlopnoreply@blogger.com