Cerebus: Reads In Detail

[@haydenjohnw]

I’ve been absolutely fascinated by the strange tale of Cerebus over the past couple months and am now reading the series. This video couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

[@kylecarson5723]

I've literally have been watching the series by Santuray of reality, it explains every issue. His theory on reads is quite interesting.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@kylecarson5723 Sanctuary of Reality is a very nice channel: if anyone's really interested in Cerebus should refer to those videos instead of this ideological rant...

[@lucassiccardi8764]

Too bad, then, that this video turned out to be just a misleading political piece...

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@00Twister00 I don't think so. I say this is a political piece because the only interest in making a video like this is political. Of course it is legitimate, I sustain freedom of speech about all issues, but I want to warn people that this is not a neutral analysis. The viewer is brought to think that the video contains the whole of Reads, that the analysis is very thorough, that nothing else of interest is in the book, while the portrait of Sim's argument and of the whole of the book is misleading. As I said, there's no mention of the main event in the story and there's no mention of the link between Sim's essays and such story (instead it is repeatedly stated that no such connections exist); there's not the slightest recognition of the incredible momentum the structure of the book (and of this phonebook relative to the other phonebooks) gives to Sim's interruptions nor to the power of the duel scene, IMO the best fight in a comic book ever (together maybe with Batman vs Superman at the end of The Dark Knight Returns): there's nothing of the good stuff. I am not Dave Sim's relative nor do I agree with (most) of his ideas. But I've been a comic books reader for 35 years and Reads is my favourite: I shivered and I cried and could not keep my eyes off of it. Of course it is not meant for everybody, but it is a masterwork all the same and making videos convincing people that instead it is for nobody, that it has no intrinsic value, is absurd. This doesn't usually happen with reviews, but here there's a political reason. And this is why I feel obliged to write these comments, trying to get to as many viewers as possible and tell them to go and read the whole of Cerebus, ad then make their own minds about it. Don't just believe this guy.

[@bubbainc-k6u]

@@lucassiccardi8764 you wrote a whole ass essay go outside please

[@jamesedwardclard]

Blew through Cerebus when I was 16 and I got my wisdom teeth taken out. First 200 issues are some of the best comics ever made, The final 100 are some of the dullest, most self-indulgent dreck I've ever forced myself to push through. Even that said there are entire books of Cerebus in that final stretch I still haven't read.

[@Jeremyparker]

Well done for pushing through! I have to admit I gave up.

[@jamesedwardclard]

@@Jeremyparker honestly I quit half way through Form and Void lol

[@DonTheMoron716]

Guys!

[@foolwriter]

As a lifelong comic reader, I always wondered about the giant white Cerebus phone books on the shelf. The character drifted in and out of my periphery until in the mid-2010s a friend gifted me with the entire run. It was such a roller-coaster of a reading experience, from the full-on starving-artist Conan-parody beginning - and these were scans of the original floppies, something I'll get back to later, so they included all the back material that discussed Dave's life - to the self-indulgent, whimper-rather-than-bang ending. Once past the growing pains it was amazing to watch him experiment with the art form, even if some of the characters began to show red flags (almost literally in Red Sophia) of Sim's gender politics. And it would be shame to forget the impact of Gerhard's meticulous backgrounds. The Astoria storyline definitely bothered me, but Cerebus' subsequent condemnation by the Judge kept me hoping that maybe this was part of a growth story. And then Reads. By then the lettercol and back content had already been getting contentious, but this was too much. I did a little background reading on the feud with Jeff Smith (whose Bone collection was a recent and much more thoroughly pleasant reading project) among other things, and was so thoroughly disgusted that I had decide whether or not to finish the series. Ultimately, I reasoned that since I hadn't contributed to his well being in any financial sense - scans, right? - I decided to finish, both to get a complete picture and to see how his viewpoint played out both in the series and the back content. All I can say now is it never got better, and even with the occasional flash of the old experimentation, it was boring AF. There is some amazing work in the first half of the series, but I have to relegate it to the same space as Birth of a Nation - historically significant for the medium, but not something to really promote. Or in terms both emotional and rational, f*** Dave Sim.

[@ZillMob]

Boring AF is right. There were still some good drawings but God damn is it unreadable

[@lucassiccardi8764]

The last third of Cerebus is heartbreaking..

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@carsonsmith7314 What are the reasons for the last 100 issues of Cerebus being allegedly boring? For saying that the story "doesn't pick up"? Well, I would say the "problem" is that Cirin disappears on the background, that Cerebus gives up his ambitions. And, apparently even worse, in Latter Days he defeats Cirinism almost off screen and without real effort, without a mention of his arch-enemy. All the tension built around issue 200 is apparently lost. Cerebus becomes much more rational and seems to have complete control over everything. We are left with the idea that it's just a matter of watching him age and die, because every confrontational issue is now behind him. Moreover, the Torah commentaries and the intellectual cinematography seem completely gratuitous, floating in space without enough connections to the plot to hold any grip. That is to say, apart from some intense moments during Rick's Story and Form and Void, the final 100 issues really look like a failure. But there's something strange. When plots go wrong, usually writers overuse their elements or fall into the expected. Cerebus decline and anticlimaticity seem innaturaly planned, like the writer is still having full control. As you say, Sim seems to have simply gone mad. Then we get issue 288. And everything is turned on its side. We now understand the intellectual cinematography: it was meant to hook up with a girl. What are we witnessing? The triumph of old Cerebus? It looks like it: he's dominating, the girl is completely in his grasp. Or is she? Moreover, she seems to be a perfect substitute for Jaka. At this very moment (the conclusion of phonebook 15) the Viktor Davis section of Reads and the Torah commentaries should start to resonate. This is a mistake. This is "togetherness": however removed Cerebus thinks he is, this is a mistake. The only mistake that could make the plot work! Let's backtrack a little. We already know, as readers, that Cerebus is going to die at the end. We already know that he already had his biggest chance at defeating Cirin and failed. Moreover, Cirinist dominion is not even treated as a really dark dystopia anymore (as in the days of Jaka's Story), it is made fun of and everybody seems to go on with their lives. Bathos, the tension is lowered. How can the plot work in a way to surprise us? Then we get the insipid victory. The revolution is made after Cirinists had become so very little intimidating that it feels absurd plotwise. Everything is set to convince us that never again there will be real struggle for Cerebus. Bathos after bathos. Yes, there is at least some potential energy gained in the process: Cerebus now has something to lose. But this seems too little gained for too much lost. Someone, reviewing The Last Day, said that New Joanne being a feminist was not a surprise. He meant that it's not a surprise that feminism is the evil force, but, why should a 300 issue saga change its focus in the very last installments? No surprise is needed there. On the contrary, that New Joanne, the little Jaka look-a-like, were a feminist since before the interview well, this came as a surprise to me, and a very well conceiled one. As I said, after the ending of issue 288 one should know that Cerebus is making a mistake, because of Reads and of the Torah commentaries. But one (me at least) is completely wrong about the entity of the mistake. Since Cirinism being at that point a bad joke made us forget the idea that Cirin could return as menacing as before (and effectively she doesn't) we are blind to the fact that what was very serious about Cirin could return in any moment. Cirin was the only character that could give us resolution, and so we were (as readers) so readily expecting for her to come back that there was no effective plotwise way for Sim to do so. But he managed in doing what the great plotter does: he made us forget. He manages to get Cerebus in the trap without us really noticing it. And then issue 299. The bomb. To me the whole anticlimax of issues 201-287 is structurally justified by the triple (quadruple?) twist of number 299, prepared by issue 288. Cirin is still alive. New Joanne has Cirin. Genetics has reached futuristic levels. That future is our past. These reinforce one other: is New Joanne a clone of Jaka? Were the Torah commentaries interrupted at the time of Joseph (just before the end of Genesis) because this story is literally ending in the mysterious gap between Genesis and Exodus that Freud (who else?) analysed in his "Moses"? How many Islams have there been? Does this mean that Suenteus Po failed? Is Ham's African safari a premonition of the geneticist nightmare that is woman's final dominion over the lion? I could go on. What I mean, and I hope to have to a point expressed, is that the final 100 numbers of Cerebus are built (with a skill maybe superior to the first 200) to achieve the best possible ending, with the biggest surprise possible (since we already know very much), and it is done in a way that is only retroactively appreciable. It's impossible that he didn't plan and work out in detail such an interwoven constructon; still the question: since this method is the least enjoyable by the audience of a serial work, why on Earth should have Dave Sim opted for this cruel opposition to his own audience, this selection similar to the 2% of saved spirits (as neutrinos)? Well, because the death of John Lennon proved, to his eyes at least, that humanity is guilty. It meant that he was fully going to be a "right wing nut". That's why, at the apex of the fight between Cerebus and Cirin, exactly when everything starts to go "bathos" instead of pathos, "something falling" makes the noise of a gun shooting point-blank: BANG BANG BANG BANG. PS: it should also be noted that, through his idea of "echoes of history" described in Reads and elsewhere, the killing of John Lennon came as a confirmation, the confirmation of which the killing of JFK was the promise. It was not just a singular event to Sim, put the proof of incurable evil inherent to humanity. The thought of Original Sin that distinguishes left wing from right wing. That's why it was so decisive for him (IMHO). That something that fell with the noise of Chapman's shooting gun was Humanity, falling from Heaven in Dave Sim's mind.

[@OfLanceTheLonginus]

@@lucassiccardi8764 begone Dave

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@OfLanceTheLonginus What you mean?

[@helious5056]

This guy reminds me of John K, but for comics, both were incredibly influential and talented figures in their respected Fields helping to push boundaries and change stuff for the better but both are exceedingly troubled malicious and venomous individuals who shouldn't be in the industry that ended up destroying themselves, poisoned by their own venom in a lot of ways, they're all so both groomers

[@billyrice5573]

Yeah its really fascinating and disturbing.

[@pendafen7405]

Having mulled over Dave's frothing bitterness toward motherhood & womanhood for a long time, I've come to suspect that the root cause is banal--Dave's ex-wife wanting a child, that she'd naturally put first, and him resenting the idea of losing attention and coddling of a woman all to himself. It also explains his predilection for starstruck, easily-manipulated young girls with no dependents. Grown healthy women share attention between their family, neighbours and friends, not just male partners, and men like Dave Sim resent that.

[@zzamorano1717]

You can also suspect that Sims childhood was also a huge factor, you see his parents were abusive alcoholics. For some fucking reason; he was very forgiving to his father since he was the "breadwinner", this was not the case for his mother who he thoroughly despised, he saw her as a useless bitch. What do you think?

[@leroypreston2973]

I never thought about that with some misogynists. I often see them wanting teenage girls because of their inexperience and naivete. They want a woman who does what ever they want and they likely rant about feminism because it encourages women to have power in relationships, to not just settle with whoever asks them out. As well as to be more than a man's arm candy. These guys likely make young girls feel like they're special but they likely want to keep them in relationships where they have all of the power. The idea that they could dislike women getting older for broadening social circles is another good point. That they can't have a woman all to themselves when they grow up. As they have people who can influence them in ways they don't want. Having a child is another thing that takes a woman's attention from them. I also thought them hating them getting older is that they will realize how unfair a relationship is and want more for themselves.

[@pendafen7405]

@@leroypreston2973 it's all of the above, yes. You're right about lack of experience/naivete playing into the profile that these predat0rs look for, too. It's a minefield for young women to navigate.

[@stuartdunlop8834]

In one of the post-divorce notes he writes, he also suggests that his ex-wife was planning on expanding publishing duties to other works. I'm willing to be some possessive paranoia and jealousy was at play, as well.

[@johnwells4465]

I appreciated this account of what exactly happened in Cerebus that led to Sim's infamy. I'd been quite a fan of the comic in the 80s but drifted away in the early 90s when it wasn't clear to me that Sim had a clear plan, as individual issues seemed to be growing thin and the letters column in the back seemed to be taking up more and more space each month. For a while, Sim was even writing personal letters back to every person who wrote to him, and I still have several letters that he sent to me. I recall quite a few of Sim's readers expressing considerable misogyny in the letters Sim printed. At one point, guys were arguing about whether masturbation was better than sex. In a letter I wrote, I said that I didn't buy the argument that masturbation could rival sex. In his letter to me, Sim wrote that it's a chicken-and-egg scenario and that he has to play the same fantasy films in his head when he's having sex that he plays when he masturbates. Sim said he’d been printing a lot of letters as a kind of “Penthouse forum in reverse” from guys “fucked over by some chick, ignored by some chick, afraid of dying a virgin.” He also wrote, “Chicks don’t fuck guys their own age until they’re in their twenties, which means most guys spend at least four years beating off before they actually get some real pussy.” It’s not hard to see how the man wrote this on January 30, 1990, became the guy who destroyed his own career with a misogynistic rant a few years later.

[@exexpat11]

When Sim started doing a letters and opinion page in Cerebus he was married. He drug his divorce into the letters and opinion page of his comic. He really was bitter. Alone he started really tearing into some women who were fans toward the end of High Society. Then Church and State was a story was about people that are the Gate Keepers of Power and Women striving for Power. Toward the end of C&S Cerebus rapes a female character trying to manipulate him. (Women do this to men and this was a fantasy of Sim to get back at them when they do this - using their sex as a weapon.) Sim made both the protagonists in this story setting up a Feminist Theocracy to be the major villain for the next 3 or 4 chapters. Sim is sort of envious of a character he based on Oscar Wilde, a homosexual free of the influence of women, who is maimed and eventually killed by women (unlike in history). In this story he leaves the conventional comic format and goes into essay format which lost his customer base. Dave deviated from his plan because he stated after C&S Cerebus was going to roam his World eventually returning to his home to die. Instead he did not wander too much and Dave invented his own Jewish/Muslim/Christian hybrid religion based on the advancement of men and pushing aside women in general. To quote Dave Sim - "Something Fell..." Maybe his sanity at the time.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@exexpat11 That something that fell... was Humanity, in Dave Sim's eyes: together with John Lennon's riddled body.

[@zzamorano1717]

@@exexpat11 Do you think there's a bit of hindsight when you're observe Sim's past life before Cerebus? I asked this because after hearing about the Sim's upbringing, I had the sort of impression that from the very beginning he was always kind of a misogynist, arrogant, egotistical, and volatile prick (him groomed a minor in the past not withstanding). You see; throughout his childhood, he was a victim of abusive and alcoholic parents. For some fucking reason that I will never know, he was always very forgiving to his father since he was the "breadwinner." However, this was not the case for her mother who who deeply and thoroughly hated. When looking into this isn't no surprise that he was a woman hating bigot? Hell, isn't no surprise that a recovering addict would take up religion. To me it sounded pretty predictable. Honestly, Dave Sim kind of reminds me of Frank Miller, with the noticeable difference between them is Miller was not a religious nut and his targets was Muslims instead of feminist.

[@exexpat11]

@@lucassiccardi8764 Very good. I had not thought of that. I caught up with the remaining episodes after this post. His remaining run was positively tame to what is happening today in the World.

[@exexpat11]

@@zzamorano1717 I have no idea about his upbringing and anything could have formed his views on women. Until he is drug into a Court of Law by the victim he is not guilty. Even people that admit things sometimes do it out of other Mental Conditions. The Acid definitely did a number on him as far as Mental Illness problems.

[@suditeh]

Oh god, and now I remember that Reads is also the place where he retconed Astoria's rape into "ACTUALLY, it was ME who PLANNED you RAPING ME because I WANTED TO GET PREGNANT"

[@EHH246]

Even a wartime Disney cartoon with gender stereotypes knew men and women both had Reason and Emotion!

[@marthademovimaus5140]

World War II

[@holdenturner8190]

@@marthademovimaus5140what

[@TheSkaOreo]

Protip: whenever someone claims they have a platform of “reason”-assume the opposite.

[@patricksharpe1148]

And walk away. Don't even debate. You will just get dirty.

[@Black-1790]

So, Sim wrote a bunch of BS just to say "I'm a dirtbag and I'm bitter that my marriage fell apart".

[@lucassiccardi8764]

Yes, that's the interpretation given in the present video. If you want to understand anything about Cerebus, go read it for yourself!

[@carsonsmith7314]

@@lucassiccardi8764 No one should read cerebus. It, and Dave Sim, ARE misogynist. End of discussion. It’s not metaphorical or debatable, it’s an explicit and undeniable fact.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@carsonsmith7314 No one should read comments like yours. They, and you, are dogmatic and useless. End of discussion. It's not metaphorical or debatable, it's an explicit and undeniable fact.

[@carsonsmith7314]

@@lucassiccardi8764 wow, that is pretty pathetic of you. To literally paraphrase what I said for your own political crap. And frankly are you describing me or yourself? Edit: I feel like i should clarify, that what I mean by my question is… you’re literally describing me as “dogmatic and useless” when you yourself are making the dogmatic responses that are useless and quite moronic.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

@@carsonsmith7314 Not really man. Do you know what's the meaning of "dogmatic"?

[@psykomancer4420]

Sims, no! Put the red pills down! I was familiar with Reads before, but hearing it now and the events surrounding it takes me back to 2014-2016 internet. The whole thing is even predicated on "facts don't care about your feelings". Incredible.

[@ScaryStoriesNYC]

To me, Dave cancelled himself with that rape story. I lost interest completely and immediately. I had been collecting the series before then, autographed copies of the "phone books." I feel he has the right to say what he wants in his work but all the fun of Cerebus went away for me with that story. I know he was a mass-murdering warrior character, so maybe I'm a hypocrite, but I couldn't read it any more. I wish him well but had to stop reading it.

[@exexpat11]

Not all stories are satisfying. I struggled with Reads. I slogged through it. Cerebus was on the decline replacing Politics with Social Gender Politics and toward the end with Religious Politics. After Church and State it was all downhill. I don't think it was because of the Rape episode and more because of a total format change.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

Comics are not made for laughs only.

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

@@lucassiccardi8764 Yes, they're made to be enjoyed and not have a man literally write an essay on why women eat men's brains.

[@Jeremyparker]

@@exexpat11 Not sure whether Church & State was the dividing line. The first Cerebus graphic novel I read was Jaka's Story and I thought it was fantastic.

[@pendafen7405]

Men writing about the rape of women & girls just never sits right with me. Not sure it's really their purview to talk about it, let alone use it as a creative inspiration or jumping-off point, when according to criminal stats they're 90% of the time the perpetrators or abetters (or their fathers, brothers & friends are). Give women the space and respect to tell their own collective story of abuse.

[@LegoJunk128]

Thank you for the new Cerebus vid! I went down a rabbit hole with this comic after watching the first video you did with it. You explain the conflict between the actual story and Dave's kooky gospel very eloquently. Reading Cerebus has been an... interesting experience, but I recently passed issue 200 and I'm in too deep to jump ship.

[@gregstephens]

I haven’t read that stuff since it came out, but my recollection is that it maintains entertaining comic readability for quite a while, before turning into a stunning exposure of Dave Sim’s extremely broken psyche, which is very difficult to read, much less enjoy. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, but- boy!- it’s some next-level bonkers. Dave Sim is not mentally well.

[@Antonicane]

I think whatever else can be said about Dave Sims - and clearly there's A LOT - we'd have to agree he is an 'interesting' figure in comics, if only as a cautionary tale.

[@foolwriter]

I did the same thing, with the same kind of determination, and let me tell ya, that last third is an unholy slog. Although it might be kind of interesting to read alongside PBS's Hemingway right now...

[@ZillMob]

Been there. Sunken cost fallacy and all that. The comic strip bits of story can be worth reading, but you can really skip most of the giant text bits

[@shidiwen9329]

Thanks for summarizing Reads as I’ve often wanted to see what the fuss was about, but in no way do I want to actually read that wall of text. You’ve done us all a service by saving us the time.

[@ericnoble5194]

Another important point is that reasoning evolved OUT OF emotion. Our emotions exist to determine what we value, or what we see as good or bad for us. Reasoning exists to help us navigate around the elements we deem good or bad. This is a very simplified explanation of course.

[@carlosaromero5111]

A yes friday is getting better

[@theyobby]

when i was a kid i remember seeing cerebus on the shelf at my local comics store and thinking it looked important. i very much appreciate you disabusing me of this notion.

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

It is worth a read, just stop at issue 200.

[@arempy5836]

I mean, it is important but like... So is birth of a nation

[@theyobby]

@@arempy5836 haha, i amend my previous statement to this

[@timpletke9440]

Dave Sim is an original "Dark Web Intellectual". If he had Reddit in the 70s, he probably wouldn't have bothered with Cerebus in the first place.

[@billvolk4236]

If the anecdote about the seal being eaten by a killer whale had really happened, I doubt the killer whale would have considered it a waste.

[@nvonliph]

I read the whole 300, Reads included. While the art and the themes continue to develop, the fucking manifesto was an acid blot that was hard to recover from as a reader. There's breaking a wall, there's making a statement, and then there is this. Not even as coherent as the Unabomber. The final third is some really bleak stuff. Great art. Storytelling suffers under strained imported celebrity metaphors, but somehow I still cared about the miserable characters until the end.

[@Mateo-et3wl]

The unabomer's writing is quite intelligent

[@espurious]

Some pretty disturbing stuff in here. I had no idea about a lot of this side of Sim. Thanks for the video.

[@espurious]

@Immanuel Ntim-Addae You're absolutely right. I loved Cerebus for a time in my youth. I remember being excited at the Dave Sim issue of Spawn.

[@carlosangel3647]

Great Cerebus video. Thanks!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You are very welcome!

[@blackjacklover99]

Could you do a video on Grant Morrison's the Fith sometime? I just finished reading it. And there is litteraly nothing on youtube about it or what its about.

[@mariod1547]

Never heard of it. Did you like it?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

That is a fine suggestion.

[@blackjacklover99]

@@mariod1547 It's a part of something called Grant Morrison's hypersigil trilogy. Along with Flex Mentallo and The Invisibles. I read all of them and The Filth is my least favorite. But its still relay great as is expected from Grant Morrison.

[@mariod1547]

@@blackjacklover99 Thanks

[@foolwriter]

Seconded.

[@suditeh]

I will try to translate my feelings an thoughts of Reads into the english language. Apologies for typos. Ahem. Dave Sim wtf. In wich moment you said "Oh yeah, let's call women 'worst thing ever since the bubonic plage' in the middle of my comic" and decided to actually do it. In my two complete reads of Cerebus I couldn't read the entirety of Reads nor Tangent, because every time I tried I got absolutelly bored by Sim's rambling and reaaally mad about all the misogynist (and homophobic) shit he wrote. I remember a couple of years ago when you said that you would have liked to see a timeline where Sim keep all of this nonsense to himself, and since then I haven't forgotten that thought. Glad to see you didn't either. I'm really glad you decide to invest your time on making this video.

[@LiquidNCAK]

The controversy of Reads may have destroyed Dave Sim's career in the 90's, but I think Sim's self-isolation and refusal to engage with the internet destroyed any hope that he could salvage his career. There's a pretty infamous interview he gave with the AV Club around the end of Cerebus in the 2000's that wound up making him look unhinged as he accused the interviewer of harassing him, and since then he mostly only communicates through physical letters and media. Since then he has thrown away any friends he has had in the industry, even with creative titans like Alan Moore who might have defended him on *some* level. Sim's total unwillingness to engage with modern forms of communication I think really sunk any discourse that could've been circulated about Cerebus, which I still think is comic book classic that should be read if not also heavily criticized. I'll admit I supported some of his Kickstarters, but they are always ran very strangely. They are usually are ran by assistants, not him, so there's usually at least one instance of lapsed communication, such as with Sim's recent Spawn #10 Remaster Kickstarter that saw it get bloated with limited-time variant covers across multiple different websites. There was also another strange incident when Sim tried to publish, for years, a graphic novel called "The Strange Death of Alex Raymond" through Patreon and Kickstarter, only for an artist to walk away at the end and causing the book to get cancelled... only for the book to recently get uncancelled? If keeps only communicating through letters and assistants I'm not sure how he's going to restore his works fully. I wasn't aware about that situation with that 13-year old "muse", since I didn't bother with the prose parts of Reads. Turns me off from supporting him in the future. Most of the controversy I've read online about him has always been around his essays in Reads and onwards. And if you think Reads than it gets a lot worse in both Rick's Story and Going Home.

[@zzamorano1717]

Do you think there's a bit of hindsight when you're observe Sim's past life before Cerebus? I asked this because after hearing about the Sim's upbringing, I had the sort of impression that from the very beginning he was always kind of a misogynist, arrogant, egotistical, and volatile prick (him groomed a minor in the past not withstanding). You see; throughout his childhood, he was a victim of abusive and alcoholic parents. For some fucking reason that I will never know, he was always very forgiving to his father since he was the "breadwinner." However, this was not the case for her mother who who deeply and thoroughly hated. When looking into this isn't no surprise that he was a woman hating bigot? Hell, isn't no surprise that a recovering addict would take up religion. To me it sounded pretty predictable. Honestly, Dave Sim kind of reminds me of Frank Miller, with the noticeable difference between them is Miller was not a religious nut and his targets was Muslims instead of feminist.

[@DJTMANE]

Im so happy you covered this.

[@watchmanschannelofdespair]

Dave Sim was an important and influential self-publishing comic book guru back in the day. There was some great stuff in Cerebus during the first half of its run, but when it went off the rails it went right over a cliff too and without a parachute.

[@billyrice5573]

Thanks for the more extensive look at this work.

[@derekmann4397]

I used to read (and reread) Cerebus and Reads is where I finally gave up. Hints were there earlier but I still managed to enjoy the first hundred issues (the first several "phone book" collections were reread a few times) but by the time he got to Reads I just didn't want to participate in the bullshit any more. I met Sim and Gerhard at a convention and got a piece of original art signed by the both of them, but it's hard to get excited when you realize that Sim was an angry bitter old fuck bringing the rest of us into his personal drama. His politics went from satire to just bitter, unreadable garbage and it bums me out how much time I wasted reading the earlier stuff. I still have no idea how Cerebus ended and I don't even really care

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Cerebus dies alone, unloved and unmourned. That's really all you need to know about the ending. :)

[@macavitymacavity]

I LOVE you for this video!!!! BRILLIANTLY done!!!!!

[@EtcEtcEtcFilms]

Fantastic breakdown!

[@yuza1032]

I love this channel and appreciate the level of detail you've gone through, and having the patience to read through everything. I do want to read this series at some point because I find the artwork and panelling to be fascinating but I definitely won't be buying it. EDIT: I'm surprised that this many people have actually come out to defend Dave Sims.

[@SuddenlyComics]

I collected Cerebus from issue 1 right through to the last issue - but I have to admit that I couldn't stand it when it drifted into what I call intellectual wan*kery - I just kept getting it as my collecting gene needed me to complete the set. This was fascinating and well structured.

[@g.a.2997]

I kinda wouldn't mind seeing a video on Steve Ditko's characters and how they are reflections of his objectivist beliefs.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Already done, sir! There is one in the archive concerning Mr. A.

[@g.a.2997]

@@StrangeBrainParts I was referring to his Charleton/DC heroes actually. Mostly because those heroes were filter for mainstream audiences. Also, for most of these characters I'm more familiar with other modern writers' interpretations than ditko's original intentions.

[@marthademovimaus5140]

I read scans of some of the Mr A stuff and it's not the fascist rant everybody acts like it is. The main point is that Mr A sees things as they are while bystanders romanticize crime or make excuses for criminals. Mr A's enemies are the guys that steal based on their greed, not need. He's not vindictive toward ex cons that are trying to go straight.

[@smurphy8881]

Are we sure that Jordan Peterson isn’t just Dave Simms wearing a mask? All that is missing from his rambling essay is the mention of a chaos dragon to totally convince me of this.

[@NoOne-uh9vu]

He sounds exactly like modern feminists and their cultural marxists allies. Demonize everyone for having a penis and / or for being white and blame them for their own shortcomings in a global conspiracy exclusive to men that is targeted against them. Just replace the word woman with man and Sim is a stunning and brave hero of social justice

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

@@NoOne-uh9vu Any proof of that claim?

[@radicalstanza3614]

@@NoOne-uh9vu Using the term "cultural marxist" completely exposes your agenda and lack of education.

[@NoOne-uh9vu]

@@radicalstanza3614 you are projecting

[@NoOne-uh9vu]

@@KitchenSinkSoup learn to read

[@TheMightyPika]

He says he's not a misogynist, but an anti-feminist.... what? Hey, following Sim's logic, I don't have an addiction - I just have a dependency that inhibits daily life. Totally different, right?

[@Brilchan]

@@anyway-q9i Sure but saying his anti-feminist is like saying that women should be barefoot in the kitchen and subscribe to a 1920's societal role of homemaker there is nothing wrong if a woman chooses such a life but when a man feels the need to pronounce himself as an enemy of feminism his just an ahole with personal problems

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@anyway-q9i No more one-dimensional than your phrase "the radical feminism of our time."

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@anyway-q9i Weird that you are so empathetic to a wide range of anti-feminist opinions, but describe feminism itself as a unified monolith with a single characteristic.

[@rolandkatsuragi]

7:30 But aren't these diatribes basically him reeing for a couple hundred pages?

[@ZillMob]

Yop

[@residentgrigo4701]

Sim was a YT grifter before such existed. His columns on the response to 9/11 were also pretty bad. I don´t even like the last 3rd of the run or the first 2 or so years. What a mess.

[@ZillMob]

Wow I never noticed I started picking up new issues right at 187. I just now recognized the cover as the first one I bought. I didn't know about all the drama till waaaaayy later

[@michaelrodriguez1676]

This "essay" pretty much boils down to 'sexism, sexism, gynophobia, vague pseudo-philosophical ramblings.'

[@jessicaluchesi]

WOW... It has been years since I last caught up with Cererus, since college I believe... I just left a comment on the Mothers and Daughters video before this one... which lead me to view this video... and... wow. Just... wow. For someone who stopped Cererus ( for changes in life and income ) before Reads came out... I am... shocked. I will follow your links to read the text... when I can stomach it. Comes to mind that phrase, "How to love that which hates you".

[@orcwarchiefreviews]

I knew of the series but I never knew Dave sims did this WOW now the question is can one separate the art from the artist and if you're given the chance would you work with this man now

[@jakepalermo9181]

I believe separating art from artist comes from acknowledging love, empathy, and passion; not their vanity. For Sims accept the risks he took for pushing the comic book medium both as an art form and in publishing, because that stuff's universal. Everything else like his sexism and self-justification of it is something that should not be shared because of how it can traumatize and hurt people.

[@orcwarchiefreviews]

@@jakepalermo9181 I'm trying to create an indie comic group because a lot of people have a hard time doing stuff and as much as I'm trying to learn I want to help others learn and our first rule is all politics at the door I really don't care what a person's agenda is I want to work on stuff and make something amazing and something others will enjoy but no politics is our rule I don't personally care who you are I just want to make something that others enjoy

[@jakepalermo9181]

@@orcwarchiefreviews Would commentary or satire be okay?

[@orcwarchiefreviews]

@@jakepalermo9181 if all members to that team agree yes it all depends it's trying to get creators with writers and artists that's the idea with the discord as for my KZbin that's just an excuse for me and my friend to review stuff we like to watch

[@zzamorano1717]

@@orcwarchiefreviews Good luck with that, people nowadays especially in the internet are super defensive and are obsessive with not just with their politics but with everything they consume, any single solitary thing that you find even slightly "objectionable" is considered a personal attack towards them. It's pretty pathetic if you ask me.

[@jacob_ian_decoursey_the_author]

Damn. Didn’t know about his grooming a 13 year old girl.

[@Alex-17720]

Hey just a quick question, what happened to the thanks and Adam warlock videos that you put out a while back? I was rewatching the JLI video a while back and was trying to find those videos but they apparently aren’t here anymore. Just was curious as to what happened. otherwise great video, was pretty neat to see Cerberus again in the channel

[@Alex-17720]

Sorry autocorrect, the Thanos and Adam Warlock Videos

[@popecerebus]

As a fan i do have one strong feeling about the series. ... It should have ended at the last page of Church and State II.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I'd say issue 200 (that's, what? Minds?) is a good stopping point. At that point, basically everything that started in High Society is wrapped up.

[@popecerebus]

​@@StrangeBrainParts Flew through Jupiter, Watched Cirin get her greatest wish, Crash Landed on Pluto, Pink Floyd references, going loony enough to talk to the Secretary of Aardvark-Vanheim INC... Holy hell everything past Melmoth got weird the more i think about it.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I'd include Melmoth in that list. It was an odd non-sequitur that had nothing to do with the series.

[@popecerebus]

@@StrangeBrainParts The Death of Oscar Wilde, while good, you're right wasn't really connected to the story. (thinks harder)...Was Melmoth when NormalRoach/PunisheRoach Happened?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Yes, that's exactly when it happened. Then, during Mothers And Daughters, the Roach became Swoon and Elrod became Snuffy.

[@Antdevamp]

A buddy warned me and I skipped all of this. And clearly I was right. Yikes. I could have turned into this asshole easily in the early 90s had I admired him.

[@MrOtistetrax]

“Men are rational and logical, women are irrational and emotional. And I’m really MAD about how I’m treated for that opinion.”

[@jessicaluchesi]

Took me a moment to think of Sim in contrast to Rowling... and think Reads was his Twitter meltdown

[@simeonwildman788]

I've enjoyed your vids, and especially this series. At first, I thought "Cerebus, meh." But I got around to watching them, and have found them a thoughtful and informative analysis of this work. Thank you.

[@kgblagden]

TL;DR "It gets worse"

[@plasticojunk]

flat earthers are punching the air as they watch this

[@mr.sand7899]

Cerebus be like 45 pages of sexist essay 5 pages of comic.

[@NoOne-uh9vu]

So is every social justice warrior content. 100 pages of race and gender baiting. Blaming men and white people for everything then 5 pages of non sequiturs to cap it off

[@marthademovimaus5140]

Weird that a supposedly arch-conservative guy like Sim would use Oscar Wilde, a progressive who went to jail for havins $€x with teen boys, as almost a POV character. Haven't read most of this stuff yet myself.

[@marthademovimaus5140]

Read some of the early barbarian knockoff stuff, thought it wasn't that funny and the author had mommy issues. Then I wandered off. I like the later art.

[@alfredMonty]

I have the High Society phonebook. Never read it but have enjoyed randomly looking at a page or two. Art-wise, it is impressive. Having said that ... If Cerebus was a better work of art, I think many people would stick up for Sim. He is talented but he isn't so talented that people are willing to look past his jeus ne suis que. People are willing to talk positively about a great chess player and looney tune like Bobby Fischer. But outside of small portion of people (might be less than a thousand), would Sim's name be mentioned in the comic book world positively now. KZbin recommends me other comic book channels and a few are vocally anti-feminist but even they don't say women are just emptiness, fear and emotional hunger. I'm not defending anti-feminist comic book youtube channels, mind you. Just pointing out how far out there Sim's thinking is. I was never going to investigate Sim's writings. I'm not the right audience for it. Thank you for making this video. It made me think how sad it is that we basically lost Sim, his art and his publishing knowledge. Yes it still exists but no one would try to learn from a fool because that's just plain foolish.

[@ethantidlund6388]

David Sim is basically the Jkf of the comic book industry.

[@The_Practical_Daydreamer]

The Ren and Stimpy guy?

[@ethantidlund6388]

@@The_Practical_Daydreamer Yep.

[@ZillMob]

Such a bummer I spent so many years, like way more than ten, collecting cerebus. I had to finish, and I did. At least he lightened up for a second at the end. With some of the stooges stuff, and the spawn war. Too bad he was being serious with it all

[@ChocolateBar999]

20:47

[@Luis-jl6oh]

Only sith deal in absolutes

[@mathiaspraz6410]

Sim's what happens when you overdose on Red pills. Same because Cerebus 1-200 is my all time favorite comic. Honestly, the ideal way I recommend people read this is to get the first 10 phonebooks (covering up until the end of Minds) and pretend the story ends there, while skipping the text portions of Reads. Do that and you've got a 9/10 Epic Fantasy saga. Better than having your view of the comic degrade as you keep on reading

[@tombiby5892]

I mostly agree with you except Guys is also among my favorite Cerebus storylines. There’s lots of hatred against women in it, but because it’s all Coming from the mouths of barfly losers it’s funny and feels like satire.

[@jamesmeow3039]

The Ben Shapiro of comics. The tragedy is that some will think that title is a compliment.

[@NoOne-uh9vu]

More like the exact inverse of social justice. Just the word men replaced with women. Double standards much?

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

@@NoOne-uh9vu So... social injustice?

[@pendafen7405]

Reminder that the character Cirin (II) aka Serna started out as a vigilante who punished and killed only known rapists & domestic abusers, and even at the height of her power and mania limited most of her kills to fairly terrible men who probably had it coming. Also she had supernatural-strength, telepathic powers, and was ripped for a female (3 times the size of Cerebus). Sounds like a badass heroine to me🤷Her only flaw was eventually succumbing to extreme !deology, which can happen to the best of us, male or female.

[@joegahan7055]

Hardcore

[@kevinstrange6836]

6,000 copies per month as a stark condemnation of Sim's "controversial" views is hilarious when compared to the sales figures of the modern extreme Left's barely comprehensible mainstream comics of today. By that metric, Sim's independently released books, even his later works, are best sellers.

[@AngryPeopleStudios]

Bravo

[@countpicula]

Most books today don’t sell 2000 copies....marvel deemed Ms. Marvel a success on those numbers.

[@roguegallery7519]

About the autor...i would be surprise if his mom thinks exactly the same way as him about women and men. Men start being "men" since theyre created on the mothers womb. The same mom he is raised or failed to raise. The ignorance wich is a real plague is something that makes people separate man from woman even if they where one created for the other.

[@zzamorano1717]

To be honest with you, Reads reeks of "mommy issues." When you look into Sim's background, it's no surprise that he was a chauvinist misogynist.

[@roguegallery7519]

@@zzamorano1717 isnt that what you where looking for?

[@pendafen7405]

Sadly, female misogynists do exist aplenty, because there is nothing that the patriarchy delights in more and benefits from more than turning women on each other and on themselves. Internalised self-hatred is the greatest tool that men have to suppress women, hence the institution of the marriage as legally binding, industrialisation of the beauty/cosmetics/plastic surgery industries, tube p0rnography, the lionisation of the 'mean girl' and 'alpha bitch' phenomenona, and more recently the FTM movement and the rise of the 'Pick Me' and/or the 'Tradwife'.

[@roguegallery7519]

@@pendafen7405 1.those are a lot of subjects, i have to google everything because im normal.

[@roguegallery7519]

@@pendafen7405 2.okay first, all kinds of extreme ends (mysoginists, feminists, democrats, republicans, rich, poor, etc.) Are toxic. Human beings, and all life forms, must live in a balance. The brain of an animal is diferent from a human, but that doesnt stop the animal from looking every day for that balance, either in food, rest, etc. The human brain is more complex, we can admire concepts like time and space, so the road for balance in a human being might be more dificult, more complex, more spiritual.

[@richmcgee434]

I'm honestly glad I didn't make it through Jaka's Story. If I'd lasted to the point that this misogynistic idiocy came out I'd have felt like an utter fool for giving Sim even more money than I actually did. Cerebus was never any good at all except as a humor book, and by the time we got past the first 50 or 60 issues it wasn't even accomplishing that with any consistency.

[@kaotmus]

wow - this on the level of the Ultimate Warriors ramblings on Destrucity in his infamous comic book

[@williammcguire130]

Science does NOT produce "objectively true" results, the very concept of "the subject" is a necessary element of physics, the most fundamental of the physical sciences. Science is a method to confirm hypotheses, and rests upon its own set of first principles like any other intellectual endeavor. You need to brush up on the philosophy of science a bit.

[@mazimadu]

On a personal level, I feel this is an attempt by Sim to articulate the philosophy of Carl Yung and Sigmund Freud..... Without reading or understanding either. Fellow Canadian and psychologist Jordan Peterson would later better articulate this idea, without the blatant sexism or the destruction of his marriage.

[@pendafen7405]

Jordan Peterson is a shameless and avowed sexist/misogynist, though....

[@jamesross824]

Dave Sim is a God of independent Comics.

[@aurahoneydew9607]

Oddly enough these views are actually accepted and applauded these days all be it the inverse on who is to blame.

[@TheBobinstrumental]

I liked your video. But i will disagree on your point about science. We tend to get confused on science as a process without a system of believes, that is wrong. A system of believes is what actually produced science (the scientific method, was born from minds like San Agustín and Tomás de Aquino), we just have internalized it´s mechanics as something thruth, which it´s correct, but also, incorrect thruth it´s our way to cope with the fact that we can´t hold reality. In summary science it´s a process but does not achieve abscence of believes and it can lead to the same void of blindness as any other system of believes if it does not follow it´s very own principle, doubt. Excellent videos man.

[@TheBobinstrumental]

@@anyway-q9i Of course, youre right. That is why when we question the scientific method, we must attend to certain aspects, for example i said that "we can´t hold reality" but that doesn´t make the logic systems we create false. We must look for the contradictory aspects in our models, but never just point them as abscence of meaning or just as social construct... that does "jack absolutely nothing" our understanding of the world.

[@exexpat11]

Dave Sim, aka MGTOW#1. Dave Sim is most certainly mad however he does have some valid points.

[@iansmith8783]

His basic metaphysic of creation and void being tied to human sexual bipolarity is actually kind of interesting and is something I’ve thought about and considered. But doesn’t existence need non-existence in order to, well, exist? He seems to be very out of touch with his emotions other than those of hatred and fear of women. He clearly lacks an ability to empathize and copes with his resentment by rationalizing it, which is actually quite sad as he seems to be quite intelligent and talented.

[@kylecarson5723]

I started with reads and than issue one, so what if he has weird views? Bitch Planet has been preaching their stuff for years and she's an Eisner winner. To me this is the greatist series hands down, it's a creator going the distance of their creativity and exposing themselves to face their own redemption. I don't agree or disagree with everything he wrote, but the bravery and forsight of the current times. You see where Alan Moore, Mcfarlane, eastman all the modern artists and writers are looking at him for inspiration. Go ahead vote for the goat.

[@TheSkaOreo]

The sad thing is that if Sims released this now, he’d probably be inducted into the dark intellectual club among the likes of Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro.

[@TheSkaOreo]

@@anyway-q9i lol

[@TheSkaOreo]

@@anyway-q9i lol

[@zzamorano1717]

Personally, I doubt it. Sim has always been a very volatile to not just his credits but also his fans. It would be very hard for him to get a real sizable audience, let alone to avoid it excessive scrutiny.

[@tompuce84]

[@countpicula]

He equates science with faith, this is false” Author is clearly not reading much of today’s “science”

[@benb3316]

So the guy has a view the "Hipsters of Hate" disapprove of - therefore not fashionable to like him? Just as he was a proponent of direct to market and independent comics he's a victim of "Cancel Culture" then. And - well anyone wanting to 'cancel' him - I bet most of them love "The Wizard of Oz"

[@srnigromante9214]

Damn Objectivism really ruins everything

[@countpicula]

The author: “There’s no prof presented by sims.” Everyone in the comments: “sims is a idiot making no points!” Sims:points out politicians win based on popularity contests decided by female voters feelings” Me: looking at the last 5 presidential elections decided by the voting block of white suburban women who urged other women too withhold sex if your husband doesn’t vote right and other females who offered sex to vote democrat or the ones that sent free nudes to vote for biden. Also the idea that no seals saved have ever been eaten after release is juvenile. As well everyone freaking out that sims had sexual relations with a minor is prolly dead silent on Allen more and Neil gieman writing stories grifting it or the BILLIONS of authors or artists that have done the same or worse. Artistic types tend to hold outlier opinions.

[@pendafen7405]

'Lysistrata' was fictional. You...do know that, right?

[@timpletke9440]

Damn, if you're going to toss dirt on Moore or Gaiman at least learn to spell their names. Might make you look semi-literate.

[@mr.sand7899]

Dav Sim is based.

[@roguegallery7519]

Those writings are interesting but are a mere product of their time and an excelent progresive artist excersize. It cant be acurate because if you take a closer look at history (doesnt matter how far or near it is) it really doesnt tell us shit...not evedently anyhow. A bunch of dudes getting togheter to "write" the what was it? Declaration of independence? Or whatever--does not, tell us anything. For all we know they could probably be gathering to torture some sex slaves or something. Human history will start being important when who ever "governs" human race decide to start being honest and giving us the citizens a complete naked truth--the same exact truth and honesty they demand from their citizens...one they get out of them by force, using the worst sadistic tendencies anyone could thinkof.

[@BNK2442]

Neil Gaiman's support for heforshe was WAY more disgusting than this.

[@pendafen7405]

They can both be equally sick and wrong in their estimations, it's not a contest (just a sad race to the bottom of the barrel).

[@JudgementalGoat]

A flatearther is gonna watch this video and lose their shit 😂

[@RightTurnClyde]

You dismiss Dave's arguments as opinions but present your own opinions as arguments. This is a bit inconsistent, and it comes across as quite bitter, ironically.

[@OfLanceTheLonginus]

“Oh so you support this but say this! Curious! I am very smart” Please return back to your hole in the ground

[@pedrot.9569]

Dave Sim is one of the best of all time. It's the true.

[@lucassiccardi8764]

IMO Reads is the best of all the phonebooks. One might not agree with Sim, but your treatment of the matter is ideological and flawed. One example should make my point clearer for everybody: you don't even mention the "something fell" moment, which is the very centre of the story. You say that the part about comics being different from rock'n'roll has nothing to do with the rest of the essay, but that's not true, on the contrary it is fundamental to understand what is happening. The death of John Lennon (in our world) is what derailed Cerebus' intended course, sending him (and us) on a different route. All the parts of the essay in Reads are conceptually linked, but you seem far away from understanding half the facets of this unique work of art. Your know-all attitude in this video is very damaging for everybody watching it and making their opinions about Reads. This is not "Reads in detail", this is a fraud. Today, in our politically correct world, you may well receive support and respect for this kind of ideologically-charged critiques, but if this video stays up for a century or so, you will be mocked as the typical hypocrite.

[@Baraborn]

Oh, Snap! Dave Sim was/is Red pill. I'll have to look into his stuff.

[@bubbainc-k6u]

Nah just go outside