High Society (comics)
Encyclopedia
High Society is the second collected volume, and first volume-length story, of Canadian
cartoonist
Dave Sim
's Cerebus
comic book
series. It focuses mainly on politics, including Cerebus campaign for the office of Prime Minister, in the fictional city-state
of Iest in Sim's world of Estarcion. It is generally considered the best book for beginning Cerebus readers to start with.
The story is considered a turning point in the Cerebus series, as Sim moved from the "Conan
pastiche" of the stories contained in the Cerebus, to making a "piece of political satire," the beginning of Sim moving away from individual issue-focused stories and short, two- or three-issue story arcs, to "longer, far more complex 'novels'" lasting hundreds of pages, that were the focus of the rest of the series.
The storyline became the first of the Cerebus "phone book" paperback collections to be published. Its success led Sim to abandon the Swords of Cerebus series of 4-issue collections in favour of the larger collections for the final format of the 6000-page Cerebus saga.
#12, Sim announced his intention to continue Cerebus until December 2003, which, at a bi-monthly pace, would take the series to issue #156.
In Cerebus
#19, Sim announced that Cerebus would last 300 issues, and that it would chronicle the life of Cerebus up until his death. Further, the book would be subdivided into "novels". The first of these novels would be High Societyone self-contained story that would nevertheless be only one storyline in the larger Cerebus story.
of Iest, where he checks into the high-class Regency Hotel (whose design was based on the Chateau Laurier
) and becomes embroiled in political machinations as the Chief Kitchen Supervisor to Lord Julius.
Cerebus is kidnapped for ransom by Dirty Drew and Dirty Fleagle McGrew. Cerebus soon arranges with the kidnappers to split the ransom money, but when the time comes to pick up the ransom, Cerebus is betrayed by the brothers and knocked unconscious, and he enters a long dream sequence
where he speaks once again with Suentius Po.
When he comes to, Cerebus finds himself back at the Regency Hotel, where he is told that he is expected to pay back the ransom that was paid for his release. He discovers the Regency Elf in his room, who informs him that the brothers have been captured. He goes to talk with them at the prison, but finds out they never got the moneyall they got was a statue of a "duck".
With the help of the Elf, Cerebus contrives to get the money to repay his ransom. At the moment that he seems to have schemed the money out of Holland M. Hadden, Hadden is assassinated by the Moon Roach (a new guise of the Roach; a parody of Moon Knight
), who is under the control of Astoria. Cerebus is under the Inquisition's suspicion for Hadden's murder, and is only safe due to his diplomatic statusa situation which is complicated by the Moon Roach's assassination of two members of the Inquisition. Astoria takes Cerebus under her wing, telling him she will make him "embarrassingly wealthy".
...
to find Lord Storm'send in snowy Northbell to secure the last vote. After talking with Cerebus, Storm'send lights a beacon indicating who he has voted for, but refuses to tell Cerebus whom he has decided on. Cerebus, Astoria and the Roach head back through the snow, but eventually are stopped due to a bridge being out. They check into an inn located by the bridge, where they find out that Cerebus has won.
The McGrew BrothersDirty Fleagle and Dirty Drew:Fighting brothers who at first kidnap Cerebus for ransom money, but later become part of Cerebus' fold. Visually based on Gene Day
and his brother Dan, with speech patterns like Yosemite Sam
.
The Regency Elf:A childlike, playful spirit who inhabits Cerebus' rooms at the Regency Hotel in High Society; at first, only Cerebus can see her. She helps Cerebus with some of his political scheming, though, as innocent as she seems, it's all just a game to her. She is inspired in part by Elfquest
and its creator Wendy Pini. Visually, the Regency Elf is inspired by Debby Harry.
The Roach:Also called Artemis, the Roach is Sim's vehicle for comic book parodies. In High Society, he follows Astoria, and first comes into the story as Moon Roach (a parody of Marvel Comics
' Moon Knight
), who commits political assassination
s for Astoria, and later as Sergeant Preston (a parody of Sergeant William Preston
of the Challenge of the Yukon
radio program). As Cerebus rises in the political world, the Roach takes on the rôle of his bodyguard, while secretly and jealously believing that Cerebus is stealing Astoria away from him.
Astoria:A beautiful political manipulator, Lord Julius' ex-wife, and the main driving force behind Cerebus' campaign to become Prime Minister in High Society.
Lord Julius:Lord of Palnu, a city-state
to which Iest is considerably in debt. Cerebus has attracted a lot of attention as he had been Lord Julius' Kitchen Staff Supervisor, and is believed to have influence with Lord Julius.
Duke Leonardi:Leader of Serrea, cousin to Lord Julius. A caricature based on Chico Marx
.
, Canada
. Its tenth printing came out in 2005.
Between 1985 and 1988, Sim underwent negotiations with DC Comics
, in which DC offered $100,000 and 10% of licensing and merchandising. During this time, Sim set up a dedicated 800 number
and announced in Cerebus #86 (May 1986) that he would put out the first printing of the High Society "phone book" through mail order. The book sold out in less than a year, and grossed $150,000, which made DC's offer seem "kind of puny by comparison", according to Sim.
Sim's artistic partner, Gerhard had not yet joined him when High Society was being made, but had joined him shortly before the High Society "phone book" was first published, and so was able to provide the drawing of the Regency Hotel on the wraparound cover.
The collection was dedicated to Barry Windsor-Smith
, Neal Adams
and Mike Kaluta.
, who felt that Cerebus' success until then had been largely due to them, and put up "a lot of resistance" to Sim selling direct. As a result, in 1987 Diamond Comic Distributors
chose to drop Puma Blues, which was being published by Sim's Aardvark One International. Diamond's orders accounted for 33% of Puma Blues' sales. In order to get out of the dispute, the book's creators moved publication to Mirage Studios
. Sim didn't relent on having the "phone books" distributed by the Direct Market until well into the 1990s.
People of Canada
Canadians are the people who are identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be genetic, residential, legal, historical, cultural or ethnic...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Dave Sim
Dave Sim
David Victor Sim is an award-winning Canadian comic book writer and artist.A pioneer of self-published comics and creators' rights, Sim is best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a comic book published from 1977 to 2004, which chronicles its main character in a 6,000-page self-contained...
's Cerebus
Cerebus the Aardvark
Cerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus , is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Cerebus ran for 300 issues from December 1977 to 2004, and was over 6000 pages long, the longest-running original...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series. It focuses mainly on politics, including Cerebus campaign for the office of Prime Minister, in the fictional city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of Iest in Sim's world of Estarcion. It is generally considered the best book for beginning Cerebus readers to start with.
The story is considered a turning point in the Cerebus series, as Sim moved from the "Conan
Conan (Marvel Comics)
Conan is a fictional character based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. He was introduced to the comic book world in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Barry Smith and published by Marvel Comics....
pastiche" of the stories contained in the Cerebus, to making a "piece of political satire," the beginning of Sim moving away from individual issue-focused stories and short, two- or three-issue story arcs, to "longer, far more complex 'novels'" lasting hundreds of pages, that were the focus of the rest of the series.
The storyline became the first of the Cerebus "phone book" paperback collections to be published. Its success led Sim to abandon the Swords of Cerebus series of 4-issue collections in favour of the larger collections for the final format of the 6000-page Cerebus saga.
Background
In CerebusCerebus the Aardvark
Cerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus , is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Cerebus ran for 300 issues from December 1977 to 2004, and was over 6000 pages long, the longest-running original...
#12, Sim announced his intention to continue Cerebus until December 2003, which, at a bi-monthly pace, would take the series to issue #156.
In Cerebus
Cerebus the Aardvark
Cerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus , is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Cerebus ran for 300 issues from December 1977 to 2004, and was over 6000 pages long, the longest-running original...
#19, Sim announced that Cerebus would last 300 issues, and that it would chronicle the life of Cerebus up until his death. Further, the book would be subdivided into "novels". The first of these novels would be High Societyone self-contained story that would nevertheless be only one storyline in the larger Cerebus story.
Arrival in Iest
Cerebus arrives in the city-stateCity-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of Iest, where he checks into the high-class Regency Hotel (whose design was based on the Chateau Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
) and becomes embroiled in political machinations as the Chief Kitchen Supervisor to Lord Julius.
Cerebus is kidnapped for ransom by Dirty Drew and Dirty Fleagle McGrew. Cerebus soon arranges with the kidnappers to split the ransom money, but when the time comes to pick up the ransom, Cerebus is betrayed by the brothers and knocked unconscious, and he enters a long dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
where he speaks once again with Suentius Po.
When he comes to, Cerebus finds himself back at the Regency Hotel, where he is told that he is expected to pay back the ransom that was paid for his release. He discovers the Regency Elf in his room, who informs him that the brothers have been captured. He goes to talk with them at the prison, but finds out they never got the moneyall they got was a statue of a "duck".
With the help of the Elf, Cerebus contrives to get the money to repay his ransom. At the moment that he seems to have schemed the money out of Holland M. Hadden, Hadden is assassinated by the Moon Roach (a new guise of the Roach; a parody of Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character, a mercenary-turned-superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character exists in the Marvel Universe and was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin...
), who is under the control of Astoria. Cerebus is under the Inquisition's suspicion for Hadden's murder, and is only safe due to his diplomatic statusa situation which is complicated by the Moon Roach's assassination of two members of the Inquisition. Astoria takes Cerebus under her wing, telling him she will make him "embarrassingly wealthy".
...
Election
Lord Julius puts forward a goat to run against Cerebus as Prime Minister. Election night ends in a draw, with one vote uncounted. Cerebus sets out with Astoria and the Roach (this time in a caricature of Sergeant Preston of the MountiesSergeant William Preston
Sergeant William Preston is a fictional Canadian Mountie created by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle for the long-running radio serial Challenge of the Yukon....
to find Lord Storm'send in snowy Northbell to secure the last vote. After talking with Cerebus, Storm'send lights a beacon indicating who he has voted for, but refuses to tell Cerebus whom he has decided on. Cerebus, Astoria and the Roach head back through the snow, but eventually are stopped due to a bridge being out. They check into an inn located by the bridge, where they find out that Cerebus has won.
Characters
Cerebus:The McGrew BrothersDirty Fleagle and Dirty Drew:Fighting brothers who at first kidnap Cerebus for ransom money, but later become part of Cerebus' fold. Visually based on Gene Day
Gene Day
Howard Eugene Day was a Canadian comic book artist best known for Marvel Comics' Star Wars licensed series and Master of Kung Fu...
and his brother Dan, with speech patterns like Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
.
The Regency Elf:A childlike, playful spirit who inhabits Cerebus' rooms at the Regency Hotel in High Society; at first, only Cerebus can see her. She helps Cerebus with some of his political scheming, though, as innocent as she seems, it's all just a game to her. She is inspired in part by Elfquest
Elfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
and its creator Wendy Pini. Visually, the Regency Elf is inspired by Debby Harry.
The Roach:Also called Artemis, the Roach is Sim's vehicle for comic book parodies. In High Society, he follows Astoria, and first comes into the story as Moon Roach (a parody of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character, a mercenary-turned-superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character exists in the Marvel Universe and was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin...
), who commits political assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s for Astoria, and later as Sergeant Preston (a parody of Sergeant William Preston
Sergeant William Preston
Sergeant William Preston is a fictional Canadian Mountie created by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle for the long-running radio serial Challenge of the Yukon....
of the Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ , and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938...
radio program). As Cerebus rises in the political world, the Roach takes on the rôle of his bodyguard, while secretly and jealously believing that Cerebus is stealing Astoria away from him.
Astoria:A beautiful political manipulator, Lord Julius' ex-wife, and the main driving force behind Cerebus' campaign to become Prime Minister in High Society.
Lord Julius:Lord of Palnu, a city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
to which Iest is considerably in debt. Cerebus has attracted a lot of attention as he had been Lord Julius' Kitchen Staff Supervisor, and is believed to have influence with Lord Julius.
Duke Leonardi:Leader of Serrea, cousin to Lord Julius. A caricature based on Chico Marx
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
.
Publication
Originally published in issues #26-50 of Sim's monthly Cerebus series between May 1981 and May 1983, High Society was published as a 512-page paperpack "phone book" collection in 1986, originally with a print run of 6000, printed by Preney Print & Litho Inc. of Windsor, OntarioWindsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Its tenth printing came out in 2005.
Between 1985 and 1988, Sim underwent negotiations with DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, in which DC offered $100,000 and 10% of licensing and merchandising. During this time, Sim set up a dedicated 800 number
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
and announced in Cerebus #86 (May 1986) that he would put out the first printing of the High Society "phone book" through mail order. The book sold out in less than a year, and grossed $150,000, which made DC's offer seem "kind of puny by comparison", according to Sim.
Sim's artistic partner, Gerhard had not yet joined him when High Society was being made, but had joined him shortly before the High Society "phone book" was first published, and so was able to provide the drawing of the Regency Hotel on the wraparound cover.
The collection was dedicated to Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
, Neal Adams
Neal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
and Mike Kaluta.
Dispute with Diamond Comic Distributors
The book was initially not available through traditional comic-book Direct Market distributorsDirect market
The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
, who felt that Cerebus' success until then had been largely due to them, and put up "a lot of resistance" to Sim selling direct. As a result, in 1987 Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
chose to drop Puma Blues, which was being published by Sim's Aardvark One International. Diamond's orders accounted for 33% of Puma Blues' sales. In order to get out of the dispute, the book's creators moved publication to Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
. Sim didn't relent on having the "phone books" distributed by the Direct Market until well into the 1990s.
Foreign editions
Sim had long disallowed foreign-language editions of Cerebus, saying couldn't be sure of the accuracy of the translations since he couldn't read any language other than English. In 2010, he finally allowed a number of translations.| Language | Title | Publisher | Date | Translator | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... |
Alta Sociedad | Ponent Mon | April 2010 | Andrés Moon | Hardcover | |
| French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
High Society: "Une Histoire de Cerebus" | Vertige Graphic | August 2010 | softcover with flaps on the inside front cover | ||
| Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... |
Alta Società | Black Velvet Editrice | November 2010 | Francesco Matteuzzi | Hardcover with dustjacket |
See also
- Direct MarketDirect marketThe direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
- Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
- Trade Paperback (comics)Trade paperback (comics)In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
Sources
- Sim, Dave. High Society. Aardvark-VanaheimAardvark-VanaheimAardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian independent comic book publisher founded in 1977 by Dave Sim and Deni Loubert. It is best known for publishing Sim's Cerebus....
, 1986. ISBN 0-919359-07-8 - Wolk, Douglas. "Dave Sim: Aardvark Politick". Reading comics: how graphic novels work and what they mean. Da Capo Press, 2007, pages 289-303. ISBN 978-0-306-81509-6
- Cerebus Wiki, set up by Cerebus Fangirl
- Travels Through Iest
Further reading
- High Society page at Cerebus Wiki
- Cerebus Fangirl
- Podcast on High Society at Comic Geek Speak