Cerebus No. 166 is an issue of Cerebus published by Aardvark-Vanaheim.
Stories[]
"Mothers & Daughters 16"[]
Cerebus dreams and sleep walks. He is monitored by the Cirinists. He goes to the roof of the Tavern and raises his sword. The tower starts to grow. A belch causes a part of the outcropping to fall into the Upper City crushing part of the Regency Hotel. This throws the Cirinists into confusion. "Something Fell." Cerebus lowers his sword and still sleep walking, heads into the stair way and falls deep asleep.
"Don't You Want Me?"[]
- by DC Lagan & LM Carey
A young singer has a one-night stand with a famous soccer player. She carries a torch for him as his career and personal life spiral downward, leading to another meeting.
Additional[]
"Note from the President" by Dave Sim
Characters[]
- Cerebus (last seen in Cerebus No. 165; next appearance in Cerebus No. 167)
- Cirin (last seen in Cerebus No. 165; next appearance in Cerebus No. 167)
- Cockroach (last seen in Cerebus No. 165; next appearance in Cerebus No. 167)
- Elrod (last seen in Cerebus No. 165; next appearance in Cerebus No. 167)
- Filgate (last seen in Cerebus No. 59; next appearance in Cerebus No. 300)
- Harmon Blakely (last seen in Cerebus No. 157; next appearance in Cerebus No. 300)
- Judge (last seen in Cerebus No. 161; next appearance in Cerebus No. 171)
Locations[]
Story Notes[]
- Cover: The cover shows a sleeping Cerebus sitting in a chair which is hovering over a fracturing chessboard. On one side of the board, a Black Queen and a Red Queen stand next to each other. On the other, a Red Rook, Knight and Knight's Pawn stand (in their opening positions?). The Queens probably symbolize Cirin and Astoria, though it is far from clear which is which. The Red Queen has more forces on the board than the black, but s under immediate threat from the Black Queen, and her forces are in no position to help her. there is no King visible, unless Cerebus (off the board entirely) is meant to symbolize him. (Alexx)
- 1: Although it is probably still daytime (difficult to tell because of the rain in the following scenes), It is understandable that Cerebus would fall asleep, as he has had practically no rest since the beginning of this book (over 24 hours ago). (Alexx)
- 2-3: This image is full of details, probably all of symbolic importance. Cerebus stands on a chessboard, rocked by upheavals, a clear tie to his recent discussions with Suenteus Po. These upheavals are caused by (or causing?) a miniature version of the Black Tower to Fall on Po, who seems helpless to stop it. (Alexx)
- Around the rim of the board, the first signs of a new Black Tower can be seen growing. In the foreground, a Gold Sphere lies in a smoking crater. Three smaller spheres are off to its side. Possibly, these are planets to the Sphere's "sun". See issue 160, p.11, and note. (Alexx)
- Two of the three visible chess pieces are Julius as the White King, beginning to crumble a bit, and Astoria as the Black Queen, wearing the Sacred Cloth of Tarim. Julius is seen as losing power, while Astoria is taking on religious aspects normally given to her opposition. (Alexx)
- The third piece is Missy (a pawn?), crumbled and broken, while Cerebus now clutches a miniature Jaka. This is probably a dream reversal/wish-fulfillment; Cerebus believes that Jaka is dead, but saved Missy; in his dream Missy crumbles, but he has saved Jaka. (Alexx)
- Finally, overwhelming the entire background is an image of the sun, or possibly primordial fireball of Terim, which Cerebus was shown by the Judge in issue 109. (Alexx)
- 4-5: Note the odd angle of the stairs in the last panel of page two. Also note that although other events quite clearly show that Cerebus is going *up*, his dream image is *descending*. He dreams himself in his Papal robes, and holding the Gold Sphere of the Ascension. (Alexx)
- 6: This is the first sign of the confusion and conflicting orders that begin to plague the Cirinists; their source is unclear. See notes to pages 18-19. (Alexx)
- 7, 11: The layout of these pages continues the slow pan inwards to Cirin's window noted in the last issue. (Alexx)
- 8-9: The Cerebus figure is now in the foreground, not the middle ground. He is fully armed and armored, and stands ready for battle, to protect Jaka. (It is somewhat ironic that he holds his shield in front of her when he has previously claimed to use women as shields. Of course, she is still closer to the danger than he is.) (Alexx)
- The danger is that of flying demon heads and skulls, like those in the Black Tower, hurtling towards them. These heads are smaller than usual, and/or Cerebus has grown larger. Certainly Cerebus is now larger in relation to the chessboard than he was on pages 2-3, but so is the sphere, so perhaps it is the chessboard which has shrunk. These flying pieces of magical black rock are reminiscent of the "sorcerous watchdog" which Cerebus fought in issue 25. (Alexx)
- The Sphere is now itself a glowing, miniature sun, and Cerebus has anointed his sword with its power. The three "planetary" sub-spheres are still visible. The angle might lead us to expect further spheres in the sequence to be visible, but not necessarily; at any rate, none are. (Alexx)
- The Black Tower around the rim of the board continues to grow, and the massive Sun/Terim in the background has been replaced by the slightly less massive Moon (referred to by the Judge as Terim's "corpse" (111, p.2)). (Alexx)
- 10: From this moment forward, we are given no direct information on what Cerebus is dreaming. I think it safe to infer, however, that he has successfully defended his "Dream-Jaka" from the dangers assaulting them. (Alexx)
- Note that it starts raining exactly as Cerebus comes on to the roof. (Alexx)
- 12: This page pretty well echoes Astoria's statements in issue 96, p.7. (Alexx)
- 14: A spine of the tower is growing, somewhat similarly to the one in issue 153, p.15, only larger. (Alexx)
- Filgate and Blakely are members of Cerebus' cabinet, last seen in issues 157 and 59, respectively. (Alexx)
- Po seems remarkably unperturbed by this turn of events. (Alexx)
- The last panel of page 14 may show the point of view of "Vera's Prisoner" on the scene. (Alexx)
- 16: This spine rises with astonishing speed, apparently in direct relationship to Cerebus raising his sword, and falls at his belch. (Alexx)
- 18-19: It is difficult to be sure, but it appears that this "mini-tower" has crushed the west wing of the Regency Hotel. Cirin has been staying at the Regency since issue 160, thus the great concern over her health. (Alexx)
- The various conflicting reports may be emanating from Kevillist agents, Illusionist agents, or both (and of course, the ever-popular "none of the above"). (Alexx)
- It is interesting that this devastation seems entirely confined to the Upper City, where as previous "tower-falls" have almost exclusively damaged the Lower City. See 167, p.8. (Alexx)
Publication Notes[]
- Cerebus story is reprinted in Women.