RETRO: CEREBUS: HIGH SOCIETY
An Aardvark that took the comics world by storm. No, really.

Writer and Artist: Dave Sim
Trade Paperback
Published by Aardvark-Vanaheim 1986
$25

Reviewed by Antony Johnston

For those who don't recognise the name or title, a little background is in order. CEREBUS THE AARDVARK is probably the most successful self-published comic ever. Planned from the outset as a 300-issue, finite series, it follows the exploits of Cerebus (imagine an Aardvarkian version of Conan the Barbarian and you're not far off) throughout his life. Practically his whole life. Issue 300 (Only a couple of years away at time of writing) will deal with Cerebus's death, and that will be the end of it.

As if that didn't make it unique enough in comics, it's written and drawn by the same guy, Dave Sim, every month. Month in, month out. For 300 issues. Now that's a schedule. (Shortly before the series reached the halfway mark Sim secured the talents of the inimitable Gerhard to draw backgrounds, though popular consensus has it the decision was made for artistic rather than deadline reasons -- Gerhard is simply a much, much better architectural artist than Sim ever was.)

OK, so it's unique - so what? Does that mean you should read it? Should you really spend $25 (and potentially a lot more if you decide to read the rest of the series) on a black-and-white self-published comic?

Yes.

"HIGH SOCIETY lampoons Republicanism, Capitalism, Anarchism, Capitalism, and several other -isms which I've forgotten"

HIGH SOCIETY is the second CEREBUS trade paperback, collecting issues 26 through 50. It is a much better starting point for newcomers to the series than the first issues, as by here both Sim's storytelling and artistic skills had matured. He had "hit his stride," and HIGH SOCIETY is to CEREBUS as "The Doll's House" (See PI passim) is to SANDMAN. Even Sim himself recognised this, as HIGH SOCIETY was collected a year before the first 25 issues.

The story starts with Cerebus arriving at a hotel in the city-state of Iest, fresh from leaving the city of Palnu, where he was "Kitchen Staff Supervisor" to the city's ruler, Lord Julius ("Kitchen Staff Supervisor" was actually the title for Julius's personal bodyguard). Technically, therefore, he is a visiting Ambassador and finds himself lodged in the hotel's finest suite, all expenses paid. Quickly garnering support and favours from various City dignitaries who wish to trade with Palnu, he eventually falls in with Astoria, a manipulative and selfish power monger. Astoria sees Cerebus as her meal ticket, and so the story begins.

The ostensible plot revolves around Cerebus's ambitions, scaling up from Ambassador to Prime Minister to invading General. At one point he even contemplates the position of Pope, as the seeds for the next two volumes ("Church & State") are sown. And all for money -- Cerebus cares little for power for it's own sake, only as a means to amassing his dream fortune.

But the basis of HIGH SOCIETY is definitely political satire, as Sim takes us through Cerebus's unlikely (but unnervingly plausible) rise to power and inevitable fall from grace. It lampoons Republicanism, Capitalism, Anarchism, Capitalism, Theologism, and several other -isms which I've doubtless forgotten. And it does all this with a sniper-like humour the TV show YES, PRIME MINISTER would be proud of.

Lord Julius, you see, is a caricature of Groucho Marx (Groucho's real first name was Julius). A comic relief character, with enough one-liners to make you laugh out loud, he is also paradoxically responsible for much of the plot in this collection -- an odd juxtaposition, but one which sums CEREBUS up very well. Sim constantly walks a fine line between drama and satire, action and outright farce. There are also more than a few utterly surreal moments, again which (in hindsight, curiously) set up long-term plotlines.

It's a tightrope Sim walks extremely well, switching moods and techniques from page to page, let alone issue to issue. The one moment Cerebus is so taken with self-importance that he spurns the only woman who loves him; the next he is desperately trying to salvage a farcical "summit" between himself, Lord Julius and another local ruler as they feed one another straight lines and gags.

Even when the humour is not so blatant, there is still enough well-observed political satire to raise a smile. In the latter stages of the book dark, humourous pathos positively oozes from the pages as Cerebus's ambition outstrips his abilities, and his advisors begin to turn on him and themselves.

CEREBUS as a whole has many strengths, and HIGH SOCIETY (along with CHURCH & STATE) is probably the best example of them all. Sim's humour is barbed and acidic without the vitriol for which he would later become known. His storytelling techniques make masterful use of between-panel closure, and his character portrayals are quite simply spot on.

Sim's dialogue is occasionally a little wordy, but only deliberately so -- when economy is called for, and clipped sentences abound during arguments, he rises to the challenge with seeming ease. Even farcical, outright parodies like the Moon Roach (a misguided buffoon who thinks he's a superhero) have excellent dialogue, not to mention a tender moment or two.

"CEREBUS shouts the values of creator ownership and no editorial interference from the rooftops"

The art is also an excellent example of graphic storytelling -- Sim's aforementioned limited ability with backgrounds is only really visible if you know about it, as much of the art is focused on dark conference rooms and crowds of people. His eye for facial expressions and body language, both subtle and outrageous, is impressive and enables much of the subtext to shine through without drawing attention to itself.

CEREBUS has been responsible for many things. For one thing, it was started when the very notion of a self-published black-and-white comic becoming successful was laughable. But succeed it did, and during the boom period of the early 90s CEREBUS drew attention to the idea that a self-publisher can, indeed, make a living from comics. It shouts the values of creator ownership and no editorial interference from the rooftops. It supports the increasingly popular proposal that comics as an artform are most successful when they are designed as a finite series.

And it has inspired legions of hopefuls, with varying degrees of success, to follow in Sim's footsteps and take the plunge. KANE, EXIT and STRANGEHAVEN were all directly influenced to some degree by Sim's manifesto. Doubtless many other self-publishers of today would at least give a nod to CEREBUS's success as inspiration.

There's no denying CEREBUS as a whole isn't for everybody. It's idiosyncratic, an acquired taste, whatever you want to call it. And in recent times Sim has come in for a lot of flak (some of it justified) for unashamedly using CEREBUS as a personal soapbox. But the fact remains that however Sim is regarded now, HIGH SOCIETY (and the following "Church & State" collections) stands the test of time. I hadn't read the book since 1991 before doing so for this review, and as before I simply could not put it down.

It's impossible to say whether or not you will like CEREBUS. But if you've never tried it, you owe it to yourself to at least give this book a read. There are few better examples of comic storytelling on the market.

Recommended

Antony Johnston is Reviews Editor of PopImage.

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