I read Cerebus despite the fact that I didn't think I would like it. It had been recommended to me, of course, by many people but it just didn't seem like my type of book. I'm not really into the fantasy warrior genre. That's why I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It's very well written although the art is crud in places. Despite the slight falterings of the art, you can still tell that there is something there, something you can't put your finger on.
What I must say is that the book is very creative and its satire is dead on. Nothing is safe from the barbed pen of Dave Sim. In this trade alone he mocks Batman, Captain America, Deadman, politicans, Conan, the Marx Brothers, Red Sonja, Foghorn Leghorn, as well as the almost identical Swamp Thing and Man-Thing.
The trade, as a whole, has some focus problems. It lacks a coherent story for one, it seems to be just one random event after another. It's really not until about halfway through its massive five hundred pages that a proper story really begins to set in. It's about the same time that Sim's artwork really picks up also. With that said, it's a good trade. It's laying the groundwork for some work which I'm sure will be far above this.
At the end of the day, this is a damn fine trade.
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