Content warning: Sexual assault

It's finally happened! After 10 years and more than 250 episodes, we finally get around to discussing the elephant (or, rather, the aardvark) in the room: Dave Sim's 300-issue magnum opus, Cerebus! And to help us grapple with the weight of one of the longest-running, most creative and most controversial comics in the history of the medium, we're joined by longtime friend of the show Bryan Stratton of Marvel by the Month!

Self-published by Sim's Aardvark-Vanaheim, Cerebus paved the way for many other independent comics creators to self-publish their work. And its ambitious, experimental approach to comics storytelling expanded the artistic possibilities of the medium, as it grew from a parody of swords-and-sorcery comics into a complex, sprawling saga that would take on politics, religion, and other weighty issues.

But while there's a lot to recommend Cerebus, there's also a lot to give potential new readers pause—namely, Sim's contentious, divisive views on women, which ultimately begin to exert greater and greater influence over the series itself.

As the Will Eisner Comic Awards prepare to induct Sim (among other creators, including Gerry Conway and Rick Veitch) into its Hall of Fame at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, we take the opportunity to dive into this massive work, touching on topics including:

• What exactly IS Cerebus?
• Our personal histories with Cerebus
• The detailed background artwork of Gerhard
• The "Walking on the Moon" arc and the Cerebus creation myth
• Would we recommend that you read Cerebus?

We also share suggestions for other long-running, impactful series (in comics and otherwise) you might enjoy.

For further reading on the subject of Cerebus, we recommend:

Tom Ewing's great and insightful blog Aard Labour

Curt's 2004 Slate article on the endings of Cerebus and Bone

The Onion A.V. Club's notorious 2004 interview with Dave Sim

Join us in two weeks as we return to our regular format with a look at Sex Criminals Vol. 1: One Weird Trick, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!