“I’m not sure that I even knew what a succubus was at the time. My recollection of writing that segment was having the mental image of Cerebus’ head surrounded by a lattice-work of energy-draining tentacles and then having to come up with the name of whatever it was that was doing that. It’s actually interesting to me that I would have chosen “succubus” as a term, rather than coining a fantasy term like G’rikkha or something. “Oh No! A G’rikkha!”

“I went back and reread the section and it seems clear to me in retrospect that this was me unconsciously documenting what would have been, at the time, my overwhelming and all-encompassing connection to the female half of reality which resulted from my first non-familial exposure to it as a result of being in my first boyfriend/girlfriend relationship for about a year by this time.”

“Certainly all of the central YHWHist female realities are there: the living thing in the middle of the earth that’s a bright light, the rarest jewel, blah, blah, blah. And it certainly anticipates the ultimate conclusions I came to about the devouring, ensnaring nature of the light as presented in i’s289/290.”

Yeah, I’m rolling my eyes, too:)

The sexism is tricky to nail down (and vehemently denied by Dave and a few others), as it is more evident in his essays and such than the main story. But he was an anti-feminist in the early 90s and was “pretending” to be otherwise for years until he really dropped the bomb in Reads. You see glimpses of it in old interviews when he’s talking about how he had been sitting on that stuff for years and years.

You are 100% right that it didn’t just spring forth fully formed. It goes all the way back to his relationship with his mother (for which his accounts have changed drastically over the years), his ill fated marriage to Deni Loubert, etc, etc. Everything that has ever happened to Dave, every conversation — it’s all in Cerebus in some way.

So while you’re reading the evolution of his gender issues in the book, realize that he’s “faking it” for a while – probably all the way back to Jaka’s Story (which is, in a way, testament to his brilliance).

So, aside from Reads, you won’t really see much of what could be referred to as sexism in Cerebus until Latter Days (and, to some, in Going Home – but much of that is attributed to perceived changes in the character of Jaka).

You’re right, Laura, there is plenty of evidence of “Dave being Dave” long before 186, but the sexism (not misogyny, IMO) was not so glaringly evident.

(And there are funny asides, like the succubus Cerebus runs into in issue 2 – Dave didn’t even *know* at the time that a succubus is a specifically female demonic entity. Succubus just sounded cool, and it was a “known” word from other half-paid-attention-to fantasy works)

Still, 186 exists in the middle of the Reads storyline which is one of my favorites!

I envy you your fresh eyes! Enjoy!

Can’t but agree with the majority (agh, the pain) that this is a worthy undertaking and that you and Leigh are approaching the project with a balanced attitude toward criticism. Which doesn’t mean I won’t disagree with you here and there.

A number of people have also mentioned their interest (and/or concern) re:seeing me discuss issue #186 and Sim’s more overtly misogynistic writing. First of all, these tendencies surface in more subtle ways far earlier than Reads, so you won’t have to wait two years to see us address it. Second, I am all for calling a spade a spade (N.B. Dave Sim is a spade), but anyone expecting me to turn this into an opposite and equally histrionic screed against his more bigoted notions will be sorely disappointed.

On the issue of sustained narratives,

Wikipedia (for what it’s worth) tells us that (my emphasis):

“The American soap opera Guiding Light started as a radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s when Irna Phillips was in dispute with Procter & Gamble, The Guiding Light has been heard or seen nearly every weekday since it started, making it THE LONGEST STORY EVER TOLD. Other American soap operas that have been telecast for more than thirty years (and are still in rotation) include As the World Turns, General Hospital, Days of our Lives, One Life to Live, All My Children, and The Young and the Restless.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera#Daytime_serials

Not that that diminishes Sim’s achievement in any way, it just puts his claim in perspective.

Very insightful. Spot-on idea for a blog. Kudos to you both for even attempting it. I am instantly hooked. Good luck!

You seem like excellent folks and I really look forward to joining you on the journey to #300!

having once tried and failed (around one twelfth of the way through!) to accomplish this feat, I know you’ve got your work cut out for ya, but you can count on my undying support in the comment-threads!)

I’m also pleased that it seems you’ll be relying upon individual issues, rather than the “phone books”–will you be commenting on the lettercols as well? (having presented a conference paper on the subject, I had to ask!)

onward!

Dave

About Sim’s “longest-running” comment, I think he also tends to include “self-published” at times, which helps to narrow down the fields. Also, “Lone Wolf and Cub” was over 8000 pages and created by the same writer/artist team. And is very good.