Customer Reviews

Reads (Cerebus, Volume 9)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the Big One. I could go on and on about WHY you should read this, but to keep this review from being too huge, I'll shift that to the comments section.

First off, what is a "read"? In the world of Cerebus, a read is a form of literature in which the odd pages are all text where the even pages consist of a single illustration. Dave structures the first part of this volume with about 16 pages of a read describing the life of reads author Victor Reid alternating with 6 pages of a continuance of the Cerebus story line. Like many things about Cerebus, this gives me another reason to be glad I didn't read the series "live." I personally don't mind this section; I find the Victor Reid story amusing. During this portion ***spoiler*** Po convinces Astoria to give up her ambitions for power. Philosophically speaking, this is not, as one might imagine, because Astoria is a woman, but because attempting to control others is ultimately self-defeating and pointless.

The second portion is essentially one extended fight scene between Cerebus and Cirin, interspersed with text from Viktor Davis, who is pretty much indistinguishable from Dave Sim. The text portions are essentially spiraling inwards until we get to the actual point, in #186. More on that infamous section in the comments.

Part 3 of the "Mothers and Daughters" four-volume series within a series.

I can appreciate a great deal about this book. For one thing, the narrative in the first portion is well crafted and interesting. I think it's fine and dandy to make a comic that is so heavy on text. I think it's fine for a comic to be a polemic. It is certainly self indulgent in the style (he uses and reuses some rather silly literary devices) as well as much of the content (his portrayal of himself s some sort of smoking Socrates.) What I can't really get behind is the vitriol with which the author attacks women. Okay, so MAYBE he's making a point about inflammatory writing (although what point? That it exists? No kidding.) but I don't see how that matters. It doesn't read as satire, and if it is suppose to, then it fails. He is, of course, entitled to his sexism, but it disappointed me as a reader. The arguments (in regards to women) are not only conceited and venomous, they're poorly reasoned. Furthermore, the author suggests over and over again that any man that disagrees with him is fooling himself and must be under the influence of a pernicious vamp.
I don't want to truly delve in to the many issues that I have with this work, because really, who cares? There is a lot to like about this book, and I will finish the series, and Cerebus will remain one of my favorite comics, but in the end "reads" just left me feeling mildly insulted. It's a lot of fairly dry reading to get through to be left feeling insulted.

These later collected volumes are not for the uninitiated. Collecting as they do issues from the late 100s (of a proposed 300 issue run), they require a knowledge of a large majority of the previously published issues of volumes. Cerebus itself is not necessarily enjoyable by those without some familiarity with its peer comics, fantasy novels by Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, the Marx brothers' films, and the writings and lives of Oscar Wilde, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards, to enumerate only some of its influences.

Reads is one of the more unusual of the published volumes. Containing almost as many pages of pure text as traditional picture/text combination, it challenges the assumption of what a comic is. The story itself is highly irregular as well. Although it continues the ascension (where the previous volume left off), the text portion is a thinly veiled satire about a "reads" author and his publishers. I say thinly because even I could recognize the references to Kitchen Sink, Dark Horse and Vertigo, their publishers and editors, and I was not following comicdom in most of the 1990s. The satire works itself into a chaotic manifesto on the nature of art, the distinction (as Sim sees it) between male and female, and the moral rights of creation. Heavy stuff for a "funny book," especially one initially a Conan parody with an aardvark as the barbarian. I don't think Reads is quite as effective as Sim thinks it is, but it scores major points for chutzpah.

New to Cerebus? Don't start here. Find the first eponymous phone book and try that. It gets both better and worse after that, but this is truly one of those cases where you have to take the good with the bad.

If you are reading the series, then you will have to read "Reads" unless you have given up already. The continuation of the Cerebus storyline is only a part of the contents of "Reads" and is worth reading. There are several revelations in "Reads" that are pivotal to the storyline. The rest of "Reads" is a barely coherent narrative that serves as "insight" (?) into the background and mind of the author. There are several interesting points made within the text, such as a discussion of "birth vs death" (which I think came out of a converation with Kevin Smith) and the nature of stories (from a conversation with Alan Moore), but most of the text is irrelevant to anything but the world of comic books - oh, sorry...."graphic novels"...and far too self indulgent to contribute to the artistry of Cerebus. I am obliged to mention that friends of mine think "Reads" is a genius masterpiece, so you will probably either love it or hate it.........

Yes, I do give this book a ten. Yes, I think it's the best thing Dave has done since blah, blah, blah. Yet this is a work that in itself might need some "preparation" on the part of the reader in order to enjoy it more fully. If one is familiar with the subject of "Reads" as discussed in previous issues of "Cerebus", you may wish to know that this book is, in a way, itself a "Read". There are many "controversial" and "unpopular and shocking" views expressed therein and in a way it tends to become the very thing that it purports to parody. This is, of course, just a singular view of a fanatic of Daves, not Dave himself. He may completely disagree. However, if you have an open mind you will find much enjoyment in this continuing story. (If you think this is BS Dave, email me.)

If you are looking for superhero fights and tights, you are looking in the wrong place. Dave Sim takes the form of the comic book to the next level. With his prose sections, you can read them with the comic art or by themselves. They intend to provoke the reader into thinking about different gender issues. They might offend and shock you, but that is what is intended. For only then will you start a discussion about them. As for the sections that deal with Cerebus, Cirin, et al -- at first I read the collection together (prose & comics) and then alone. Reading the comic sections alone even again for the second time still leave me clinging to the edge of my seat and gasping for breath. Dave Sim does get better during time. If you enjoy his prose in this book, check out Jaka's Story and Rick's Story. Some great stuff there!

Okay, so having just completed reads, i have to say that this is probably the most entertaining cerebus book in the series since the end of church and state 2. The reason for this being that so many of the loose ties are brought to a head. While the series may have slowed from, say melmoth on, no, jaka's story even, the series does continue, and if you bare with dave sim for awhile, you will see so.

While the majority of this book is written in text format, there is a great visual story displayed. And even despite the lenghty text involved in reading this tradepaperback/novel, there are many (and I emphasize many) keen insights and literary treasures too be found.

Finally, If unimpressed with the previous few "phonebooks" I urge you to keep with the cerebus storyline, simply for the reason that it is a story, and while it may lag at parts, there is a great intellectual, insightful story here for all those willing to continue on.

not only did the tone of this book totally turn me off, but - let's be honest - if i want to read a book, i will buy one. i have heard there are millions of them; some quite good even. but when i buy a comic book, i would like words associated with pictures - not just words for many, many pages. stopped reading cerebus after this one - which is a shame, as i liked it a lot up to here.

I know, thought provoking, yadda yadda yadda...

I'd been a fan of Cerebus since 1990 or so. I was excited to finally have enough money to buy the whole series...and guess what! I stopped it here. I was so disgusted that I couldn't go on.

I enjoy reading differing points of view. I could deal with Sim's "woman problem" in the Cerebus stories - they were a part of it, it was a POV not my own, and that was fine and interesting. However, once he started going off into half-cocked "theory", I got angrier and angrier until I had to let it drop.

The mask of the character doing the narration slid further and further off his face, until he was writing as a comics writer, who referred to other contemporary writers and artists, and could no longer be in the Cerebus world. He presented the sort of misogynist argument that, since it's not based in any reality I know, essentially screws us any way we try to argue it - say one thing, you're proving his point in his world. Say something else, you're still proving his point in his world. The more I read, the more furious I got.

I can deal with the fact that not all women are nice. Not everyone is nice, male or female. There are plenty of users in this world. I can also deal with the fact that he doesn't like us - all 51% of the population - very much. I was dealing just fine with the fact that Cerebus doesn't like us very much, either. It was still a fabulous story, with great illustrations, fascinating machinations, and hilarious guest-appearances.

What I can't handle is that I invested my time and my hard-earned money - still 75 cents on the dollar last I checked - to buy NOT the further adventures of Cerebus, but instead the gynophobic ramblings of a very disappointed man.

I feel betrayed. I spent years invested in an intelligent comic that, once I caught up, called me and my kind leeches, monsters, uncreative beasts that live to feed off of men, and worse. It's hard enough for women to find a toehold in the comics universe, as readers as well as creators, without the supposedly "good stuff" tearing into us like this.

Sim is, of course, free to write and do as he wishes. You are, of course, free to buy and read what you wish. But as a longtime fan turned ex-fan, I wish I could take both my money and my time back from him and give it to other comics creators more worth my investment.

volume 9 of the "cerebus phonebook collection" - so don't even think about it unless the eight first are already standing on a shelf...

in the intro dave sim suggest that a paperknife might be needed - and he is partially right. half (or is it more?) of this volume is text/musings/retoric for mr sim (using two persona to do it). So, quite a break from the norm, and at times rather distracting from the (actual) 'toon storyline. A shame really, since there are some amusing points in his yapping, but for most of the time i found myself half-skimming it to get back to our furry hero.

almost reminds me of the "moral reflections" in the Drizzt book by RA Salvatore - they add voice and character/background, but can/should be skipped first time round (or if you find bashing to be offensive... ...but then why are you still reading Cerebus ?!?!)

overall this volume moves the story into gear, has some great sequences and a bit of extra fluff for those long lazy days of winter. A slightly weak 4 stars for now.