Jeff Lewis Forum Index
$1.75 US
$1.95 CAN
Jeff Lewis
message board
 
  FAQ     Search     Memberlist     Usergroups     Register  
  Profile     Log in to check your private messages     Log in  

Cerebus the Aardvark

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Jeff Lewis Forum Index -> Comic books
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
kris



Joined: 02 Feb 2011
Posts: 97

PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:00 am    Post subject: Cerebus the Aardvark Reply with quote

Has anyone read any of this comic (Cerebus the Aaardvark)? I picked up no. 176 from the bookstore today and bought it mostly because I liked the "letter from the president" on the back of the front cover.. There are six pages of story before it becomes a strip and I haven't read a lot of it yet, but it looks promising. (I found a couple others that look like they might be worth reading, but they are all marvel, DC and vertigo, this is the only independant I found today) I always feel painfully self conscious about buying new comics because I know the guys behind the counter are judging me on my poor taste in comics. I usually just a grab a few with interesting covers and hope the content is as good, but i'm usually dissapointed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jefflewis



Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 1485

PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cerebus is a massive undertaking, the complete series is 300 issues long from beginning to end! Luckily you can buy the whole thing in these giant black and white collections, a chunk at a time. I think maybe there's about 12 of these collections? They are not expensive, and are quite entertaining, i just never had the time to read the whole series. I think I've read the first two or three volumes of these big collections, but haven't gotten further.

I'm currently reading "Wimbledon Green" by Seth, I bought it at the Here shop in Bristol, and I'm really loving it! I had given up on Seth after that "Clyde Fans" storyline got way too long and boring, but Wimbledon Green is really good so far.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kris



Joined: 02 Feb 2011
Posts: 97

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm browsing around for the complete reprinted black and white Cerebus stuff, and so far the best deal I've found is at http://spectrummagazines.bizland.com/cerebusgn.chtml# where it costs about $22-30 per stack (about 11-20 issues in each set). Is this a good deal? It's seems a little pricey, but i'm used to paying fifty cents each for used... of course i'd never be able to find them all on my own.
Also, I hadn't heard of Seth before, but I just looked him up and if I get a chance I'd like to check out palookaville/it's a good life if you don't weaken. I read the brief description of Wimbledon Green on the Drawn and Quarterly site ("Are Green’s intentions honorable? Does he truly love comics or is he driven by the need to conquer? Lastly, is he really even Wimbledon Green?") Sounds like fun....

Lastly, have you read "The Sandman" by Neil Gaiman? I found one of these yesterday and I'm pretty excited about it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jefflewis



Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 1485

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Sandman series is absolutely a must for anybody interested in reading great comic books... they are all collected into about 10 volumes now, the first one is not the best, but you will benefit from reading them all in order. Any comic book reader will give you their highest recommendation for the Sandman complete series (I think it's about 75 issues total, plus a couple side project things), it's unique and hard to describe and undeniably great.

Those prices for the Cerebus collections seem to be about right... not really a "deal" because I think that is what they cost in the store, more or less. Maybe you can find them cheaper on ebay. Finding all of the original issues will cost you a lot more money and a LOT more time.

For stuff by Seth, "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken" is definitely his best collection (it collects Palookaville issues 4 - 12 or something like that, it's his best storyline by far).

I've recommended this stuff before, but I'll do it again - you won't find better comics than Chester Brown's "Ed The Happy Clown" and "The Little Man", Joe Matt's "Peepshow" (original book) and "The Poor Bastard", Dan Clowes' "Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron" and every issue of his Eightball series.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kris



Joined: 02 Feb 2011
Posts: 97

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spent about 20 minutes typing out a really detailed account of my past experiences trying (and failing miserably) to find the type of comic books I hoped existed...and then deleted it because it was definitely more than anyone cares to know.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm really looking forward to reading these.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Smoo Comics



Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cerebus is certainly a slog - it starts out in the early issues as a parody of Sword and Scorcery/Fantasy comics, before evolving into a complex satire/rant against pretty much everything, from government, to religion and beyond. It is clever, and funny, and as the art/backgrounds develop it becomes a staggering work.

David Sim was also big on self-publishing, creating and publishing it all himself (and for most of its run with Gerhard, who did the backgrounds). He's an outspoken advocate of self publishing. However, David Sim got a lot of criticism for his political and personal views, as expressed through the comic, especially around gender equality. I stalled on getting more of his work because of this - should I support someone whose views I don't hold, or should I not? Do I need to read in more depth to understand them and have an opinion? etc. Google/wiki will give you lots of info, I'm sure!

My recommendation always goes to King Cat comics. I have no idea what sort of comics you might like, but in a similar self-publishing/autobio vein to Joe Matt and Chester Brown, and indeed Fuff, you might like it too. Not for everyone, but I love it! King Cat is by John Porcellino.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
kris



Joined: 02 Feb 2011
Posts: 97

PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Smoo (I feel weird addressing you as Smoo, but since it clearly is your given name, I'm hoping you won't mind.)
I just read the wiki page for John Porcellino, and I'm so excited to find about this guy, thank you so much! Can you recommend a good place to start with him? It mentions that he does a lot of stuff on zen and zen koans, which is pretty thrilling because I just finished reading The Three Pillars of Zen and have been so completely obsessed that I've been seeing it in everything and it's hard to tell when an artist has practiced or read a lot of zen philosophy or if it's just a coincidence... Anyway, thanks again. I'm going to surf over to his website now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Smoo Comics



Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Kris! My name is actually Simon, but I wasn't paying attention when I filled out the form to register, and now I can't change it I don't think!

Anyway, a good place to start with King Cat might be one of the collections out on Drawn and Quarterly. There is either King Cat Classix, which collects the best of his work from issue 1 to round about issue 50. That's a nice, big, annotated volume, and you can really see his style developing. His stuff starts out very raw, before slowly evolving into this beautiful, simple, spare style he has now.

A slightly better bet might be 'Map of My Heart', which is a slimmer volume that contains stuff from King Cats 50 - 60. That's the period where the zen stuff starts to emerge, and the art and stories begin to reflect those changes in his life. Some great stuff in there! Other than that, he has back issues on his website over at http://king-cat.net. You can't go wrong!

...and if you like his sort of stuff, he also distributes a bunch of other independent comics on his Spit and a Half distro (http://www.spitandahalf.blogspot.com/).

Hope that helps!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
jefflewis



Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 1485

PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like a lot of the King Cat stuff I've read... and somebody recently came to one of my shows wearing a great King Cat shirt!
BUT the stories and art are both SO simple that even if you buy one of the bigger King Cat collections, you will read it so fast... even the simplicity of Snake Pit comix provides more reading enjoyment/engagement time than King Cat, which I find a bit too sparse for its own good (tho enjoyable... and I know a lot of people love it).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Smoo Comics



Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha, feel a bit weird now: Hi Jeff - I think that was me, wearing the King Cat t-shirt. Cafe Kino, in Bristol?

Kris: Agree with Jeffrey that Snakepit is also cool - Also, try Clutch (a similar diary comic/zine). I also really want to look into getting some of the You Can't Get to There From Here zines as well, as they look aces. Microcosm Publishing are a good resource for finding those zine/comics.

The Comics Journal (not a usual haunt of mine) also have a three part interview up at the moment with Gerhard (of Cerebus fame), if your curious about all that drawing: http://is.gd/CHwMPS

Good luck with the comix search! The medium is such a broad church what floats your boat might not be the same as everyone else's, but it's fun looking, that's for sure! Let me know how you get on - and if you find any gems you can recommend, keep 'em coming!
_________________
(My username is a bit misleading: my name is Simon!)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Jeff Lewis Forum Index -> Comic books
 
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group