Cerebus: High Society
Published by: Aardvark-Vanaheim – 1981
Written by: Dave Sim
Illustrated by: Dave Sim
The comic Cerebus is well known among a certain segment of the comic-reading community for all the wrong reasons. Dave Sim, the creator/writer/artist/publisher of Cerebus, is notorious as a sexist misogynist with controversial views on the proper role of women in society and, for that reason, many potential fans of Cerebus boycott the series while knowing little of its contents, depriving themselves of one of the great achievements in comic art.
For centuries there has been a conversation about the role an artist’s personal life should play in the evaluation and enjoyment of their artistic accomplishments. For example: after all that’s come to light, can you still watch and appreciate The Cosby Show?
Luckily, it appears Sim’s flaws never trespassed from opinion into unconscionable action, and thus the conversation about his artistic work inhabits a more ambiguous, less-morally-obvious, grey-area. I count myself among the many whom decided long ago that patronizing the Cerebus comics was tantamount to subsidizing sexism, and, for that reason, decided it couldn’t possibly be of sufficient quality to convince me to even enter into that age-old debate on behalf of Sim or Cerebus. But it is. High Society is the first of the Cerebus graphic novels to warrant such contemplation.
At its completion, Cerebus was the longest-running independently published comic book in American history, lasting for nearly three decades—from 1977 to 2004—and spanning three-hundred issues typically consisting of twenty pages apiece, totaling roughly six-thousand pages. The entire series is collected in graphic novel volumes often referred to as “phonebooks” because of their thickness and paper quality (for those of you too young to remember, phonebooks were large books of flimsy paper containing the phone numbers, names, and addresses of all the people and businesses in a given town or group of towns; sort of like a Google search before there were Google searches).
During the completion of the storyline that would become the third graphic novel, Church and State I, Sim was joined by Gerhard (like Madonna and Cher, he has no last name) whom drew the often highly detailed backgrounds while Sim limited himself to illustrating the characters. Gerhard later also became co-publisher.
Starting as a shallow Conan The Barbarian spoof about the adventures of an anthropomorphic barbarian aardvark named “Cerebus” (commonly mispronounced as “Cerberus”), Cerebus the comic quickly became a more sophisticated, clever, and astute satire of everything from politics and religion, to popular culture and comics themselves, often experimenting with storytelling devices, page layouts, and unillustrated textual passages. The series often featured cameos by characters based on figures from popular culture—such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Woody Allen, Oscar Wilde, and an all-purpose superhero “The Roach” whom was used to lambaste the tropes of mainstream superhero comics.
In High Society, the series’ namesake, Cerebus the aardvark, finds himself in the city-state of Iest as an unwitting ambassador of sorts for a foreign power. Cerebus quickly finds a way for his newfound stature to benefit him monetarily and eventually surrounds himself with advisors and would-be puppet-masters aiding him in a bid for prime minister of Iest, running against a non-anthropomorphic goat backed by the Groucho Marx-inspired Lord Julius.
High Society features an intelligent satire of elections, economics, politics, politicians, ambitions to power, the military, military conflict, and international relations, and hints at the religious themes that would feature more prominently in subsequent storylines. Though this material could’ve bogged down the story into boring dryness, Sim manages to keep the story and characters interesting and humorous—including a character who is the spitting-image of Rodney Dangerfield, a spoof of the Marvel superhero “The Moon Knight,” and the very funny Lord Julius—as well as keeping the twists and turns coming around every corner. Despite some slapstick, the humor more often issues forth from the dialogue and the minutiae of political double-dealing.
Artistically, High Society is well-executed. The characters are each visually distinct and full of life. The backgrounds are, however, often minimal, relying on heavy blacks which aid the tone and mood of the story, but lack the realism and detail Gerhard would later bring to the series. The last several issues in the storyline require that the comic be rotated ninety degrees to read the pages horizontally. This can be interesting but also, sometimes, annoying.
Despite what one might expect from its reputation, there is little in High Society to cause offense—though it still likely won’t appeal to audiences of all ages. The satire lacks any particularly controversial points of view, sticking to well-trod criticisms of political corruption, collusion, conspiracy, greed, and opportunism. The violence is not graphic nor is there overt sexual content. Thus, High Society is mostly appropriate for a general audience but would likely confuse or confound a younger audience.
High Society is not necessarily the apex of the heights Cerebus achieves, but rather the beginning of its ascent and is an ideal place for new readers to jump into the series which, due to its length and complexity, can be intimidating and confusing for new readers. In fact, though High Society does build on what was introduced in the preceding, first, Cerebus graphic novel—aptly titled just “Cerebus”—it is actually a better starting point because it is not only a longer, deeper, and broader story but also possesses a clearer sense of purpose which is lacking from the less cohesive, more episodic tales which began the series. In the first Cerebus graphic novel, the series was still “finding itself.”
Other highlights of the series are the two Church and State graphic novels, which immediately follow High Society, and, a personal favorite from later in the series, Guys.
Since I haven’t read the entire six-thousand-page series, I cannot vouch for the final and most controversial graphic novels, nor can I opine on the letters columns at the ends of each original issue—omitted from the graphic novels—which were the outlet for much of Sim’s more incendiary rhetoric. However, if the last six graphic novels match the (admittedly uneven) quality of the first ten, they’re at least worth a look, despite what you may think of Sim.
Ultimately, Cerebus justifies its own existence by its quality in spite of its creator.
Recommendations:
Fans of Cerebus may also enjoy Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire—briefly published by Sim’s Aardvark-Vanaheim and later picked up by Fantagraphics—written and illustrated by William Messner-Loebs whose other series Bliss Alley—published by Image—is also worth a look. Messner-Loebs’ art is reminiscent of Will Eisner’s loose style from comics like A Contract with God. In its twenty-seven issues, Journey follows the exploits of a fur-trapper, Wolverine MacAlistaire, and the people he encounters in the American wilderness during the 1800s. Journey is disarmingly charming with memorable characters and an inventive use of historical context to create a storyline that rings true through small details.
Brian Bigelow
November 7, 2018
