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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 12, 2016 13:57:14 GMT -5
I've reread the first 6 issues. I forget how far I got the first time I read this, but I've read all these. I know I'm supposed to push through to the good stuff in High Socity and Church & State, and I intend to. But so far I'm left with the same impression I had the last time I picked this up a decade or so ago: I'd rather read Groo. Heh... I remember reading some Groo not too long ago and thinking I'd rather read Cerebus
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 13, 2016 15:04:47 GMT -5
The Animated Cerebus arrived today, and I read it immediately.
"Read" might be the wrong word, as it's a series of high quality single panel images that function much like film cells. You move through them quickly to get a sense of animated motion. In all, three short adventures are included. Printed in 1983, this is, perhaps, the first time Sim showcases his talent for telling non-linguistic stories and also his amazing understanding of motion and timing to convey comedy.
These are not the best Cerebus stories ever, and the $30 price tag probably wasn't worth it, but I'm glad I got to enjoy these all the same.
If you'd like to save yourself $30, I now see that all three adventures have been transcribed to Youtube. Sim's subtlety and sense of pacing gets ruined in these versions, but it's at least free:
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 13, 2016 15:41:29 GMT -5
Aha! It's a good day. Those three other stories Arthur told me about arrived today, as well. Since none of this is part of the reading schedule, and since they are not attached to any continuity, I'm assuming it's okay to talk about them here:
"The Demon Horn" (from Nucleus #1): Simple but amusing piece from very early on (written right after Cerebus #4) in which Cerebus enacts revenge on an obnoxious god that is toying with him. B+
"Cerebus Dream II" (from AV in 3D #1): A completely forgettable brief bit in which we watch Cerebus dream...in 3D. Really nothing more to it than that. This was written during the Church & State period. C-
"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" (from Anything Goes! #3): A text piece in which Cerebus flips out after being left by a romantic partner (I'd tell you who, but that will come up during Church & State...) Anyway, Cerebus puts on her clothes and attacks people with a cheese grater. Pretty fantastic. A-
Gah! I have now read every Cerebus story.
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Post by Spike-X on Jan 13, 2016 18:14:19 GMT -5
"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" (from Anything Goes! #3): A text piece in which Cerebus flips out after being left by a romantic partner (I'd tell you who, but that will come up during Church & State...) Anyway, Cerebus puts on her clothes and attacks people with a cheese grater. Pretty fantastic. A- I'm pretty sure I still have that.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 14, 2016 7:31:48 GMT -5
I found this in one of my minor long boxes
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 17:08:37 GMT -5
I'll be able to keep up through February, the rest maybe not so much.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 31, 2016 20:38:35 GMT -5
February's just about here. Everyone ready to start reading/discussing Cerebus vol. 1?
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Feb 1, 2016 10:23:37 GMT -5
I'm halfway through the first volume.
Do we include stories that saw print elsewhere ("the magicking" and "Silverspoon") and that fit chronologically between certain issues of the regular series? They were reprinted in the Cerebus bi-weekly reprint book, but I don't think they're in the phone books.
When read one after the other, these stories are striking: it's amazing to see how fast Sim develops as an artist. And he underwent a nervous breakdown between two issues without missing a beat? It boggles the mind.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 1, 2016 16:41:13 GMT -5
I'm halfway through the first volume. Do we include stories that saw print elsewhere ("the magicking" and "Silverspoon") and that fit chronoligacilly between certain issues of the regular series? They were reprinted in the Cerebus bi-weekly reprint book, but I don't think they're in the phone books. When read one after the other, these stories are striking: it's amazing to see how fast Sim develops as an artist. And he underwent a nervous breakdown between two issues without missing a beat? It boggles the mind. Silverspoon is the one done in the style of the Prince Valiant dailies, right? Yes, it's in the phonebooks. Anything published during that time is fair game.
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Feb 1, 2016 16:42:07 GMT -5
"Crack", says the stone. Yes, thats the one.
Good news!
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 1, 2016 18:22:14 GMT -5
OK, I'll start... this is not a review... just my comments as I read issue #1:
Issue 1: Flame Jewel
Cerebus himself far less polished and defined... his nose gets shorter and his ears get longer later. I kinda feel like he looks more animalistic in the proto-stage.
I never noticed before, but the first scene is totally the Mos Eisley Cantina Conan-ized.
Speaking of Conan, while this is a clear parody/homage to Tower of the Elephant, Cerebus' dialogue is much more Thor than Conan.
The wizard, meanwhile, drifts from pretty modern speech to using mayhap and thus... the inconsistency is a bit jarring.
The panel sequence with the petunias and the visual display of the distortion of senses is really cool... definitely my favorite page.
Cerebus is certainly more comfortable with (and, I dare say, more knowledgable about) magic than Conan was until MUCH later in his career.
The big Dragon thingy looks kinda weird... perhaps that's on purpose, since it's really an illusion?
It's interesting just how much Cerebus himself stands out, being colored gray in a black and white world. It's startling at some points, and seems almost 4th wall breaking at others, even though he is ostensibly talking to his thief-employers. In the few panels he's in the background, he's not gray. Nice.
Cerebus took an awfully long fall (at least 15 feet) and just got up with no problem... I'm pretty sure a skeleton doesn't cushion anything. While the sequence showing it was a cool page, I feel like that should have hurt. OTOH, we're TOLD the shadow beastie in the beginning hurts him, but we only SEE Cerebus slashing the crap out of it... that was less cool of a sequence.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 3, 2016 4:56:05 GMT -5
So I'm wrapping up reading the full run of Usagi Yojimbo again (will probably finish today or tomorrow), and then I intend to plow right into Cerebus volume 1. Where's everyone else at?
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Post by coke & comics on Feb 3, 2016 5:03:55 GMT -5
So I'm wrapping up reading the full run of Usagi Yojimbo again (will probably finish today or tomorrow), and then I intend to plow right into Cerebus volume 1. Where's everyone else at? Like 20 volumes behind you in Usagi. Read 10 issues of Cerebus. I'd read much (maybe all) of the first phonebook many years ago. No more impressed yet than I was then. Looking forward to Book 2.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 3, 2016 5:06:34 GMT -5
By the way, without even looking for it, I stumbled upon a brief and weird Cerebus story in Drawing The Line. Very pointless story that takes place following the final issue of the series, so I've put spoiler tags on it. It's a Cerebus story in the sense that it shows Cerebus in bed moments after his death and then makes some surprisingly insensitive comments about modern medicine and the pointlessness of its ability to prolong a lifeless life (in a cancer benefit book). As it shows Cerebus's dead face in every panel, it's technically a Cerebus appearance.
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 3, 2016 7:50:07 GMT -5
I am at what you would consider chapter #18 in the first volume. I have to say that I hate Lord Julius and his whole grocho shtick. I am impressed by how much better Sims art looks as compared to issue #1.
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