| Dave Sim | |
|---|---|
 Dave Sim at Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon 2007 | |
| Born | (1956-05-17)May 17, 1956 (age 69) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Area | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist, Publisher,Letterer |
Notable works | Cerebus |
| Collaborators | Gerhard |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (1981) |
| Spouse | Deni Loubert (1978-1983)[1][2] |
| cerebus | |
Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic bookCerebus, his artistic experimentation, his advocacy ofself-publishing andcreators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical beliefs.
Sim rose to prominence withCerebus, which began in December 1977. Sim initially conceived it as a parody ofConan the Barbarian and othersword and sorcery comics, but after two years he began to consider the series a self-contained work that would run for 300 issues and be subdivided intonovels. By the time the 6000-page work was completed in March 2004, Sim had delved intopolitics, and an examination offeminism and gender, while becoming progressively more sophisticated and experimental in his storytelling and artwork. Sim worked onCerebus Archives afterward, and he produced the comic booksGlamourpuss, which examines the history of photorealistic comics, andJudenhass, about theHolocaust.
Sim co-founded thesmall press publisherAardvark-Vanaheim with his wife-to-be,Deni Loubert, in 1977. Most of the titles it published moved to Loubert'sRenegade Press after the couple's divorce in the mid-1980s. The publishing company later was co-owned by Sim's creative partner,Gerhard, who dissolved their partnership and sold his stake in the company to Sim in 2007.
Sim helped create theCreator's Bill of Rights in 1988. He has criticized the use ofcopyright to restrict creators, and has arranged for his body of work to fall into thepublic domain following his death. Sim has already released one of his works,Judenhass, to thepublic domain.[3]
Sim was born on 17 May 1956.[4] His father was a factory supervisor atBudd Automotive and worked as a labour negotiator.[5]
Sim became interested in comic books when he was eight. He had a letter published inIron Man #37 (May 1971).Bernie Wrightson'sBadtime Stories (1971) inspired him to devote himself to drawing.[6] Sim also found inspiration inMad magazine, particularlyHarvey Kurtzman andWally Wood's "Superduperman" parody, as well asunderground cartoonistJack Jackson'sConan parody.[7] He wrote and drew comics throughout his adolescence, and he began submitting work tofanzines. His first published work was some articles in the comicsfanzineRocket's Blast Comicollector. He had submitted artwork as well and, although it was rejected, Sim struck up a relationship with editor Gabe Quintanilla, who encouraged him to continue submitting material.Now & Then Books owner Harry Kremer allowed him to produce a newsletter calledNow & Then Times. The first issue arrived in summer 1972. Sim produced another issue in 1973, but he had begun devoting his time to John Balge'sComic Art News and Reviews, another Canadian comics fanzine. ForCANAR he interviewed subjects such as Barry Windsor-Smith.[8]
Inspired byCharles Schulz'sPeanuts andOuthouses of the North (a small book of cartoons published by the Highway Bookshop innorthern Ontario), Sim spent 1975 and 1976 developing a comic strip calledThe Beavers. Highway Bookshop published the strip as a book in 1976. A second book failed to materialize when the publisher shut down. Sim then pursued syndication, pitchingThe Beavers to theKitchener-Waterloo Record. With Day inking the strips, a year's worth was produced in three days.[9] Sim also wrote or drew stories published in anthologies such asPhantacea[10] andStar*Reach.The Beavers also saw print inStar*Reach's sistertalking animals comicQuack!.
Around this time, Sim's work was published byCharlton Comics andWarren Publishing.[11] In 1976, Sim took the only job he ever held outside of comics: an employee atNow & Then Books.[12] He also wrote and drew parts of "Ali Baba" #1 for Gauntlet Comics.
In December 1977, Sim began publishingCerebus, an initially bi-monthly, black-and-white comic book series. It began as aparodic cross betweenConan the Barbarian andHoward the Duck. Progressively, Sim shifted his narrative style to story arcs of a few issues' length. Soon he moved to longer, far more complex "novels", beginning with the 25-issue storylineHigh Society which began in issue #26. Thesword and sorcery elements in the series, prominent up to that point, were minimized as Sim concentrated more onpolitics.
Cerebus was published through Sim's company,Aardvark-Vanaheim, which was run by his wife,Deni Loubert. The two met in 1976, married in 1979, and divorced after nearly five years of marriage.[2]
In 1979, during a time when he was taking large doses ofLSD, Sim was hospitalized for treatment ofschizophrenia-like symptoms.[13]
"Arnold the Isshurian", a two-page parody ofConan andLittle Nemo, ran inEpic Illustrated in February 1982.
Beginning with issue #65 (August 1984), Sim began collaborating with the artistGerhard, who drew all the backgrounds while Sim, who continued to write the series himself, drew the foreground figures. Gerhard and Sim continued to work together onCerebus until the series concluded with issue #300, in March 2004.
Although Sim did not maintain a consistent monthly schedule for the entire run, which at times required an accelerated production schedule to catch up, he completed theCerebus series on schedule in March 2004. As the series progressed, it was noted for its tendency towards artistic experimentation.[14] Sim has called the complete run ofCerebus a 6,000-page novel,[15] a view shared by several academic writers[16][17] and comics historians.[18]
He purchasedGerhard's stake in Aardvark-Vanaheim[19] and has made arrangements for thecopyright ofCerebus to fall into thepublic domain following his death.[20][21]
_Judenhass_00A_(Front_Cover).jpg)
Beginning in 2006, Sim began publishing an online comic-book biography of Canadian actress Siu Ta titledSiu Ta, So Far.[22]
In late 2007, Sim announced two projects. One, which he initially referred to only as "Secret Project One", wasJudenhass (German for "Jew hatred"), a 56-page "personal reflection on The Holocaust" which was released on May 28, 2008.[23] The other isglamourpuss, a comic-book series which was a combined parody of fashion magazines (wherein Sim traces photos from real fashion magazines) and a historical study of thephotorealist style of comic-strip art, for which he did a promotional "tour" of comics-related forums online in February 2008.[24]
In 2009, Sim began publishingCerebus Archive, a bimonthly presentation of his work before and surroundingCerebus.[25]
On October 23, 2009, the first episode of the web seriesCerebus TV premiered. The show aired new episodes Fridays at 10 pm Eastern time, which then stream continuously throughout the week. Credits list Dave Sim as the executive producer. Sim was often the primary feature of the shows, either interviewing comics legends or showing behind the scenes at Aardvark-Vanaheim. As of early 2013, there were approximately 115 episodes of Cerebus TV.[citation needed]
In 2011, BOOM! Town announced that in 2012 it would publishDave Sim's Last Girlfriend, a collection of letters between Dave Sim and Susan Alston originally intended for Denis Kitchen's Kitchen Sink Press.[26] A collection of academic essays aboutCerebus was published in 2012 by McFarland.[27]
It appeared that the 2012 end ofGlamourpuss would mean the end ofThe Strange Death of Alex Raymond, a running feature in that book. In 2013 it was announcedIDW would publish the series in a reworked edition, as well as handle a number of other projects, including aCerebus cover collection.[28][29]
In 2001, Sim and his then-collaboratorGerhard founded theHoward E. Day Prize for outstanding achievement in self-publishing, in tribute to Sim's mentor,Gene Day. Bestowed annually at SPACE (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo) inColumbus, Ohio from 2002 to 2008[30] the prize consisted of a $500 cash award and a commemorative plaque. The recipient was chosen by Sim and Gerhard from a pool of submitted works. Beginning in 2009, the Day Prize was replaced by the SPACE Prize.
In 2017, Cerebus returned in a series of one-shots collectively known as Cerebus in Hell? Presents. Each title presented as a #1.[31]
In 2020, Sim ceased work onThe Strange Death of Alex Raymond. His collaborator on the project, Carson Grubaugh, finished and published the work, which saw release in 2021 through Living the Line.[32]
Sim's use of an extended, multi-layered storytelling canvas, divided in large arcs divided in mostly self-contained issues, was acknowledged byJ. Michael Straczynski as his inspiration for the structure ofBabylon 5.[33]Neil Gaiman named Sim as one of his two biggest influences within comics.[34][35]
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Sim used hissales leverage fromCerebus to act as a major proponent and advocate of creators' rights andself-publishing. AfterthePuma Blues distribution incident, he helped write theCreators' Bill of Rights[36] along withKevin Eastman,Peter Laird, andScott McCloud. In addition to speaking on these topics atcomic book conventions (as in his 1993 PRO/con speech[37]), Sim also published the seminalThe Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing in 1997, which instructed readers on the practical matters of how to successfully self-publish their own comics, and which promoted other creators' fledgling work.
Sim has criticized the use ofcopyrights to restrict the use of creations which would have more quickly become public domain under earlier copyright law.[20] He has stated that other creators are free to use his characters in their own works, which he characterizes as an attempt to be consistent with his own appropriation of others' works.[38][39]
In the course of writingCerebus, Sim expressed opposition to feminism and made controversial statements regarding men and women. Sim expressed his views on gender in issue #186 ofCerebus, in a text piece as part of the story arc "Reads" (one of four books in the larger "Mothers & Daughters" arc), using the pseudonym Viktor Davis. Among the various theories expounded upon in the piece, Sim's alter-ego Viktor Davis categorizes humanity into metaphoricallights, which tended to reside in men, andvoids, which tended to be in women. He characterized Voids as "without a glimmer of understanding of intellectual processes" and declared that "Light does not Breed".
In 1995,The Comics Journal #174 featured aBill Willingham caricature of Sim on one of the covers, bearing the title "Dave Sim:Misogynist Guru of Self-Publishers". Inside was a lengthy article written by Jonathan Hagey andKim Thompson that published responses from comics creators such asAlan Moore,Seth,Rick Veitch,Steve Bissette, and Sim's friend and fellow CanadianChester Brown. The responses ranged from anger to a belief that Sim was joking. Others would later speculate that Sim had a mental illness related to his heavy drug use in the late 1970s.[13] The article also included a short interview with Sim's ex-wife, wherein she described the essay as evidence of Sim being "very scared". In the essay inCerebus #186, Sim characterized fellow self-publishing cartoonistJeff Smith as an example of a man dominated by his wife. When Smith contested this,[40] Sim accused Smith of lying and challenged Smith to aboxing match, which Smith declined.[41]
In 2001, Sim published another essay, "Tangent", inCerebus #265 (April 2001).[42] In it, Sim furthered the themes from "Reads", describing the tangent he contendswestern society has taken due to the widespread acceptance and proliferation of feminism, beginning in 1970.The Comics Journal posted the full essay on its website, although a short introduction by staff distanced theJournal from the ideas therein, calling them "nutty and loathsome". The following issue included a rebuttal to the first "Tangent" by "Ruthie Penmark". Several years later, in issue #263, theJournal devoted a section to discussion ofCerebus. It reprinted a 2001 essay by R. S. Stephen—"Masculinity's Last Hope, or Creepily Paranoid Misogynist?: An Open Letter to Dave Sim"[43]—addressing the "Tangent" controversy. Sim's reply to Stephen, and Stephen's subsequent rebuttal, were published inThe Comics Journal #266.
Despite the description of his views and his reputation as a misogynist,[41][44][45] Sim maintains that he is not one.[46] In 2008, Sim sent out a self-written form letter to individuals who had sent him mail, detailing his disagreement with being called a misogynist and disenchantment with what he perceived as a dearth of support in refuting those claims to his character. Contending that society perceived misogynists as the "lowest, subhuman form of life in our society", he mentioned that few, if any, people had defended him, allowing him to be called "the lowest, subhuman form of life in our society with impunity." Sim's letter ended with anultimatum, requesting that those who wished to receive his return correspondence reply with a letter or online posting and the statement, "I do not believe Dave Sim is a misogynist." All others were asked not to attempt to contact him again.[46]
The coverage of Sim's writings about feminism was not the only subject of Sim's conflict withThe Comics Journal. He andGary Groth, theJournal's editor-in-chief, developed a combative relationship. In December 1979, the magazine published a review of the first dozen or so issues ofCerebus byKim Thompson, who calledCerebus "a true heir toCarl Barks' duck stories".[47]
During a panel discussion at the 1999San Diego Comic-Con the editorial staff ofThe Comics Journal indicted Sim in what Groth characterized as a "Nuremberg-style tribunal designed to bring to light the most deserving criminals who had over the past decade and longer besmirched the good name of the comics art and industry". Groth took issue with a 1992 speech Sim had given toDiamond Comic Distributors, which, at the time, was the exclusive distributor of most major U.S. comic book publishers. In his speech, Sim unabashedly advocated for thespeculator boom occurring at the time, a position that Groth felt personified the worst aspects of capitalism and greed.[48]
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In September 2018, Sim publicly voiced support forEthan Van Sciver, a leading figure in theComicsgate movement.[49][50] Van Sciver hired Sim to write a story for Van Sciver's creator-owned bookCyberfrog. In the wake of this announcement, statements Sim had made about dating a fourteen-year-old girl resurfaced. Although Sim claims that the relationship did not become sexual until just before her 21st birthday, Sim conceded that his interest in her had been immoral, and that he had violated theMann Act when he transported her across state lines during a 1985 convention. Van Sciver initially defended the relationship but subsequently canceled the project.[49]
On February 27, 2015 Sim suffered a wrist injury, and was physically unable to draw.[51] In a September 28, 2017 video on his Cerebus OnlineYouTube channel, he revealed that he had been showing some signs of recovery and was able to create his first new drawing of Cerebus.[52]
Three complete comics stories in this issue: " The Necromancer", "The Company Man" and "Gravedigger's Banquet" -- just to prove that the creator of the world's only 6,000 page graphic novel USED to know how to "cut to the chase".
Media from Commons
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