Cerebus

Cerebus begins as a wandering, combative aardvark in a fantasy world. Across 300 issues the story changes scale and genre, drawing politics, religion and publishing itself into its orbit.

Dave Sim began the self-published series in 1977; Gerhard joined in 1984 to draw backgrounds.

Its long independent run is a landmark of creator-controlled comics production. The format allowed Sim and Gerhard to pursue a continuous work far beyond conventional issue-length planning.

The later series contains divisive ideas that should be considered as part of any assessment of the whole.

Cerebus moves through parody, satire, fantasy and philosophical argument. Its protagonist can be comic, cruel or vulnerable depending on the stage of the journey.

The work’s changing interests are part of its identity.

Sim’s figure work and lettering vary with tone, while Gerhard’s detailed environments give later stories architectural solidity.

The contrast between elastic character drawing and precise background spaces is visually distinctive.