Cerebus: Book Seven

Ah, Flight. The beginning of the second half of the "longest sustained narrative" in comics. In some ways, a return to form after Jaka's Story and Melmoth. The beginning of a long, dense storyline (Mothers & Daughters) that will run monthly for four years, comparable in size and ambition to Church & State; and in some ways, a response to Church & State. This is also the point where Dave Sim's personal politics start bubbling to the surface of the story, but we won't see the full effects of that until two books later, in Reads, and the infamous issue #186.

Right off the bat, we're back in the action in Flight, with Cerebus continuing his escape from the Cirinists, through the Lower City of Iest, a bloody fight in the streets in full view of his former papal subjects. But this isn't a straight-up action sequence; interspersed between the scenes of carnage are reminders of old plot threads from the first book: magical artifacts and creatures that crossed Cerebus' path in the early days are shown to be dissolving, disappering, and behaving in odd ways. The demon Khem vanishes, the Pict tribe's Aardvark statue is mysteriously restored, and Death, who watched Cerebus from afar at one point, is told by the Judge that he is not, in fact, Death, and promptly vanishes. Magical entities and objects across the continent are reacting to...what exactly?

Well, the Roach (in his most previous incarnation as normalroach, all lowercase please) feels this too, and has a rare moment of self-awareness before becoming Punisherroach, complete with two semi-automatic crossbows.

The peak of conflict between Cerebus and the Cirinist sodiers (with the citizens of the Lower City watching and chanting his name) is somewhat anticlimactic: Cerebus declares that he has returned to retake his position as Pope, and that Tarim commands vengenace on tHe Cirinists. The few citizens who take up arms at this pronouncement are quickly slaughtered, however, leaving Cerebus' anger a little deflated. The Cirinists get ready to take him out with a well-placed crossbow shot, but at the last second, Cerebus simply....disappears.

And finds himself in the Seventh Sphere, a magical realm he's visited several times before, where he's had conversations with the Illusionist Suentues Po. Their discussions are heavily-weighted to Po's musings on the history and current affairs of Iest and it's surroundings, especially as related to the major factions vying for it's control (the Cirinists, Astoria's upstart Kevillists, the shadowy Illusionists, and the other, more pedestrian politcal factions).

But things are different this time, and Cerebus finds himself penetrating through layers of increasingly desperate attempts at deception from Po's impersonator. Tiring of the games, he decides to head "up"...straight up through the astral Seventh Sphere, against the false Po's persuasion and the increasing magical force, until he arrives at the Eight Sphere, where he meets Po face-to-astral face for the first time.

Po is the rumoured third Aardvark (along with Cerebus and Cirin), and he's very, very interested in what's going to happen with Cerebus taking active action against the ruling power of the Cirinists. They continue their discussion (mostly Po lecturing) over a game of chess on a massive chess board, which Cerebus loses quite quickly. Po returns him to the Seventh Sphere, where he plummets back to the physical world....but not before appearing as a brief vision before Cirin, and the still-imprisoned Astoria.

Most of this book is wrapping up old loose ends, and preparing for the coming conflicts in the next book, Women. Not to say that this book is uneventful or slow though, in fact, it's anything but. There are so many characters and scenes played out across this book that it can at times feel jam packed with information. There's this pacing technique that's used a few times, where several scenes play out concurrently, one panel at a time. There might be four panels on a page, each panel relating to a different scene entirely, and each separate scene might only use a panel every 2-3 pages. It's an imaginative method of stroytelling, and it works seamlessly here, assuming you know the characters going in. Of course, the first time I read this book, I didn't have a clue, but I still managed to muddle through.

The real action of Mothers & Daughters takes place in Women. This is where I started with Cerebus, so it holds some sentimental value for me, and it's also the last chance to read a full book of Cerebus without having to deal with Sim's....well, idiosyncracies is a polite way to put it. See you next time.