Women (Cerebus, Volume 8) [Paperback]

Dave Sim (Author), Gerhard (Collaborator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Aardvark-Vanheim; 1ST edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0919359140
• ISBN-13: 978-0919359147
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The earthpig saga, September 26, 2006

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Women (Cerebus, Volume 8) (Paperback)

Much more than most comics, each issue of Cerebus has been one small slice of a long-lived story arc. It's never been easy to pick up one issue and jump into the flow of what's happening. This allowed Sim a lot more freedom in developing his stories and characters than has been available to mainstream writers, who need to hook attention-deficient new readers no matter what issue they start with. This collection, issues #163-174 of the eventual 300, shows just how well and how poorly that approach can work.

Cerebus, the earthpig born, has become involved in a standoff between the hard-line and the progressive elements of a matriarchal theocracy. Somehow, he navigates between the factions and factions-within-factions, battle-dazed from issues before this book and bottle-dazed because of issues he seeks to drown in scotch. While he plays tag with consciousness, the clock ticks onward toward a religious meltdown with potentially genocidal outcomes (this was written in 1994).

In the mean time, characters around the edges keep up humorous banter and brilliant satire. These issues of Cerebus were written around the time that Gaimain's "Sandman" was popular, even though I wasn't aware of Sandman back then. As a result, Sim posts two of his all-purpose sidekicks to satire duty, as Swoon, a wanking takeoff on the dreamlord, and a Death in drag, with a voice like Foghorn Leghorn. Lots of other characters, including the Regency Elf, fill in around the edges of this hallucinatory political drama. Yes, there are lots of different things to like in this story, even if catching up takes a bit of work.

It's an exaggeration to say that Sim defined the Indy comic market single-handedly, but no one can doubt his influence on it. The Cerebus comic went through many changes over it's 25-year (!) run, but always led the pack in many directions. And, if you allow for some insider jokes of the comic biz, it's still as original as ever, and that's saying some.

//wiredweird

4.0 out of 5 stars The saga continues..., November 13, 2010

By 

Cilantron (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women (Cerebus, Volume 8) (Paperback)

This volume moves the story along (as opposed to those volumes that don't move the story along.) We get a clearer idea of what Cirinism and Kevillism are through text pages from Astoria and Cirin (which Cirin?) Astoria begins to see that power isn't all it's cracked up to be. Typically with the Roach character, the first time I read each individual parody, it's funny, but the humor diminishes on repeated readings. However, the "Swoon" character (a parody of Neil Gaiman's Dream/Sandman/Morpheus character) still cracks me up. One of my favorite sections of this book is Sim's take on the Oprah Winfrey show. I think he has a point that the true purpose of the show is not to convey information or solve anyone's problems, but to establish a consensus reality in the minds of the audience. Audiences? No, not audiences. The goal is to create... ah, well, I'm starting to sound like Dave here; I'd better stop.