tim@k.cs.cmu.edu (Tim Maroney) (11/19/85)
I'M SO CONFUSED!
OK. I like enigma. I like Cerebus. I like weirdness. But Cerebus has
begun to really bug me. What is going on? There are all these totally
bizarre and inexplicable events happening, and seemingly no clues as to what
any of them mean. Here is a partial list:
(1) The fake elf.
(2) The flying gold.
(3) The fiery sneezes.
(4) The off-again on-again cold.
(5) Mysterious and impossible panels in Cerebus' walls.
(6) The ability of a bunch of half-starved, sickly peasants with no military
training to overrun a well-defended area of Estarcion.
(7) Incomprehensible dream sequences.
(8) Bran Mac Muffin's disappearance.
(9) Weishauppt's sudden death.
That's all I can think of without going back to the boxes (no! not that!),
but I'm sure there's plenty I've forgotten. Now what is happening? Is
there hidden coherence, or has Sim eaten ten too many hits of microdot? Has
his breakup with Deni made him lose whatever semblance of restraint over his
fervid imagination he once had? And what of the mysterious Connie Lingus,
whose name was stolen from the front cover of an old Bijou underground comic
(#3)? Has Mike Bannon joined Weisshaupt? Is Weisshaupt doing his thing
from beyond the pale? Or perhaps Henrot is just having fun? Does Tarim
cause the universe to become as disjointed as "Crisis on Infinite Earths"
when he gets mad at his duly appointed representative? Has Alfred Jarry
taken over Sim's plotting hand? Does Cerebus's aardvarkian "magic
magnifier" effect combine badly with the papacy? What of Suenteus Po (this
all sounds like something he would love) and the Cirinists? Can the world
really come to an end before issue #300? Since Sophia's mother is obviously
the Kidney Lady, could this have something to do with the friends she spoke
of in early issues of Howard the Duck?
And finally, what about Naomi, and where is Cerebus's tail?
-=-
Tim Maroney, CMU Center for Art and Technology
Tim.Maroney@k.cs.cmu.edu uucp: {seismo,decwrl,etc.}!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
CompuServe: 74176,1360 I am my own hunchbacked assistant.peter@graffiti.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (11/22/85)
> taken over Sim's plotting hand? Does Cerebus's aardvarkian "magic > magnifier" effect combine badly with the papacy? What of Suenteus Po (this I think you have it. I really think you have it figured out. That's why we've got all these dream-sequence issues: Gods and Magic seem to be pretty closely linked in the Aardvarkian Age. With an Aardvark as pope either Tarim's getting the power he's supposed to have had (remember that Tarim was once a man, who only became a God later), or (assuming Tarim was merely a heroic figure who has been given the stature of a god, which is reasonable in light of the fact that he never seems to do anything) Cerebus is amplifying people's beliefs. In either case, what's happening is that his dreams are becoming real. And we know how weird his dreams are. Of course I'm probably full of it. Dave Sim is as hard to second-guess as Lord Julius. > And finally, what about Naomi, and where is Cerebus's tail? I don't know about Naomi, but Cerebus' tail is tucked into his britches these days. Remember "Mrs whatvere-her-name-is' tea"? -- Name: Peter da Silva Graphic: `-_-' UUCP: ...!shell!{graffiti,baylor}!peter IAEF: ...!kitty!baylor!peter