Cerebus No. 196 is an issue of Cerebus.
Story[]
Dave continues his story of Cerebus' equipment, showing Cerebus how, over the years, the Pigts fought for possession of the helmet, sword and medallions. Eventually, the three objects were lost, and then considered mythical. A fraction of the Pigts who believed in the icon of He who is to come after, the aardvark icon, went underground and were protected by the spirits of those ancestors who believed that the icon was the perfect aardvarkian form. Dave tells Cerebus that if he had his helmet, sword and medallions when he first met the Pigts, they would've become solid gold and he could've commanded the Pigt Idol and taken over Estarcion.
Dave continues saying that instead of going to the Red Marches, Cerebus first went to Serrea. Cerebus didn't want anyone to know he was a northern barbarian, so he sold his helmet for a bottle of black paint, a paint brush and a black vest. In an alley called Doar Close, he used the black paint and paint brush to put the merchant guild symbol on the medallions. Dave says that this action of closing the door on that path unleashed a wave of chaotic manifestations: the Chaos Gem, the Crawler, Elrod, Turg, and the Black Sun Priests, Death (although he doesn't mention this one to Cerebus).
The Black Blossom Lotus, according to Dave, was a magic talisman that almost redeemed the lost of the helmet, but due to Cerebus' inverted destiny he merely acts as magic's conduit passing the lotus from one merchant to another merchant. That merchant is another chaotic manifestation released by Cerebus: the Cockroach, who becomes an inescapable manifestation of Cerebus inadequacies and failed nature. Dave says there are aftershocks of Cerebus' fractured destiny: Necross inhabiting the giant stone Thrunk and Elrod's spirit possessing the Hsifan assassin, the Apocalypse Beast and Charles X. Claremont, the Regency Elf. . . He states that Cerebus' journey to the Seventh Sphere is merely one where he is a pawn in a larger game.
Cerebus asks Dave to make Jaka love him in that way. Cerebus passes Uranus. Dave asks if Cerebus would like to know the answers to a couple of other deep philosophical questions. Cerebus begins to pout, and we see him in a baby's high chair with a baby bonnet on. Dave stops when he realizes he isn't getting anywhere. Dave begins to show what life would be like with Jaka when they've been married for a year and five months.
Additional[]
- "The Situation Room" by Dave Sim
- "Aardvark Comment"
- Charles Vess' Ballads and Sagas - A Cerebus Preview
Characters[]
- Cerebus (last seen in issue 195; next appearance in issue 197)
- Dave (last seen in issue 195; next appearance in issue 197) Voice-Only
- Jaka (last seen in issue 193; next appearance in issue 197)
Objects[]
Locations[]
- Uranus
Story Notes[]
- When Dave shows Cerebus and Jaka's life together, Jaka is reading Linda Medley's Castle Waiting.
Publication Notes[]
- The Cerebus story is reprinted in Minds.