Jaka's Story (Cerebus, Volume 5) [Paperback]

Dave Sim (Author), Gerhard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Cerebus is a 6,000 page comics novel about the life and death of a warrior aardvark. But what started as a Conan the Barbarian parody has evolved into a brilliant commentary on politics, gender roles and the creative urge. Jaka's Story is the fifth book in the series, and it tells the story of a dancer (Jaka) stranded in a deserted town surrounded by her carefree husband, a lecherous bartender and Oscar Wilde. Rich and satisfyingly complex, this is well worth your time.

Product Details

• Paperback: 486 pages
• Publisher: Aardvark-Vanheim; First Edition edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0919359124
• ISBN-13: 978-0919359123
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combination of story and art make this one of Sim's best, July 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Jaka's Story (Cerebus, Volume 5) (Paperback)

While many people I'm sure enjoyed the huge storylines that both preceded and came after Jaka's Story, I think that this is probably the best that Dave Sim has ever written. Mind you, I loved Church and State, especially toward the middle and end when Gerhard's imput became more apparent, but the length of the storyline and the widely varying artwork due to sixty issues worth of practice made it a tad uneven at times.

Sim made the right choice in choosing to shuffle Cerebus off to the side for Jaka's Story and deciding to tell a story of real people facing everyday problems with only themselves and each other to rely on. Every piece of this story is a joy to behold, from the brilliant mixing of Sim's character drawing (he does great facial expressions and awesome dialects to boot), with Gerhard's backgrounds (how does he draw all those lines), to the text pieces that finally show Sim's ability to turn a phrase and not a little of his influence from Oscar Wilde.

The text pieces contrasting Jaka's rich life in Palnu to her current struggling dancing career are probably some of the best parts, for here we see Dave Sim's writing by itself, something we had only previously experienced in the introductions to the paperbacks.

Sim guides us through the story with a master's precision, making us care more and more about the characters, so when he finally drops the bombshell, it is quite a shock to the reader. The scenes in prison were unnerving and a little unsettling (makes one wonder when Sim ever spent time in jail). The end confrontation with Mrs. Thatcher, who is possibly the most unassumingly evil person I've ever seen, hits you like a punch in the gut for sheer emotional impact. After reading Jaka's Story, I didn't feel the least bit sorry for Mrs. Thatcher after watching what Cerebus did to her later in "Guys".

Sim has created a true classic that can be read by Cerebus fans and non-Cerebus fans, and even those who do not frequent the world of comics. It is a work on a literary scale that will be around for years to come

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sim's finest hour., September 7, 2008

By 

Sean Curley (Charlottetown, PE, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jaka's Story (Cerebus, Volume 5) (Paperback)

"Church & State II" ended with the omnipotent Judge character giving Cerebus a brief history of the universe, including the gory outline of said main character's own fate, which was not a pretty sight, and then saw Cerebus returned to Earth to find that his whole empire is in ruins and the land is ruled by an oppressive matriarchal religious group, the Cirinists. Where do you go from there?

In the case of Dave Sim and Gerhard, creators of "Cerebus", they go and spend some twenty-two issues focussing entirely on Jaka, Cerebus' sometime love interest (who Cerebus has just learned will ultimately never be with him until the end), a dancer and the daughter of the exceptionally erratic Lord Julius. Cerebus is a background character throughout, and, in the final third, is entirely absent. And this is in many ways very good, from a storytelling perspective, because Cerebus, while amusing and occasionally demonstrating real depth, doesn't have anything approaching Jaka's psychological complexity (perhaps because her personality was solidified after the series had switched from its initial form into the more sophisticated plotting).

The present day story takes place on a mountainside tavern near Iest, where Jaka, her dopey husband Rick, and houseguest Cerebus (on the run from the Cirinist death squads) reside, along with Pud Withers, tavern owner and secretly obsessed with Jaka, and Oscar Wilde. Yes, Oscar Wilde. Cerebu lusts after Jaka, while Jaka confesses she doesn't love him, and is happy with Rick, even though she finds his inability to find work or do housework frustrating. Meanwhile, we get the story of Jaka's childhood, as related by Rick (as told to him by Jaka) to Oscar Wilde, who then turns it into a new story (theses segments contain Sim's excellent mimic of Wilde's prose style). We see Jaka's upbringing under a puritanical nurse, her burgeoning interest in dance, and get a sense of the emotional effect on a small child of living in the household of someone as weird as Lord Julius.

Then, at the two-thirds point, the story takes an abrupt and devastating shift. Sim demonstrates a consistent ability in the course of this series to mix political satire with an understanding of how important politics and the like really is, and how it can affect people. Similarly, he on many occasions can effortlessly shift how we perceive a character; this happens twice here, with Pud to a certain extent, and with the nurse to a much greater one. And, best of all, the unfunny comic relief characters like the Moon Roach are nowhere to be seen.

The art by Sim and Gerhard continues at its normal standard of quality, this time using a generally more intimate setting then the epics of the past arcs.

Highly recommended; this is probably the best "Cerebus" volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 2, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jaka's Story (Cerebus, Volume 5) (Paperback)

A wandering Cerebus runs into Jaka for a while, who is working in a tavern. He ends up staying with her, and her husband Rick for a while. Jaka's backstory is divulged via an Oscar Wilde type parody.