Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book ''

Cerebus ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...

'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of

self-publishing Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

and

creators' rights In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

, and his controversial political and philosophical beliefs. Sim rose to prominence with ''Cerebus'', which began in December 1977. Sim initially conceived it as a parody of ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' and other sword 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 into " novels". By the time the 6000-page work was completed in March 2004, Sim had delved into

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and a controversial examination of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and gender, while becoming progressively more sophisticated and experimental in his storytelling and artwork. Sim worked on ''Cerebus Archives'' afterward, and produced the comic books '' Glamourpuss'', which examines the history of photorealistic comics, and '' Judenhass'', about the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Sim co-founded the

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim with his wife-to-be,

Deni Loubert Denise "Deni" Loubert (born September 30, 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed July 19, 2011WebCitation archive is a Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim, and ...

, in 1977. Most of the titles it published moved to Loubert's

Renegade Press Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and '' normalman''. History Loubert was pub ...

after the couple's divorce in the mid-1980s. The publishing company later was co-owned by Sim's creative partner,

Gerhard Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...

, who dissolved their partnership and sold his stake in the company to Sim in 2007. Sim helped create the

Creator's Bill of Rights The Creator's Bill of Rights (officially, A Bill of Rights for Comics Creators) is a document drafted in November 1988 by a number of independent comic book artists, writers, and publishers, designed to protect their rights as creators and publish ...

in 1988. He has criticized the use of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

to restrict creators, and has arranged for his body of work to fall into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

following his death. Sim has already released one of his works, ''Judenhass'', to the

Early life

Sim was born 17 May 1956. His father was a factory supervisor at Budd Automotive and worked as a labour negotiator. Sim became interested in comic books when he was eight.

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

's ''Badtime Stories'' (1971) inspired him to devote himself to drawing. Sim also found inspiration in '' Mad'' magazine, particularly

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

's "Superduperman" parody, as well as

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

cartoonist Jack Jackson's ''Conan'' parody. He wrote and drew comics throughout his adolescence, and he began submitting work to

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

s. His first published work was some articles in the comics

Rocket's Blast Comicollector ''Rocket's Blast Comicollector'' (''RBCC'') was a comics advertising fanzine published from 1964 to 1983. The result of a merger with a similar publication, ''RBCCs purpose was to bring fans together for the purpose of adding to their comic book co ...

''. 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 Now & Then Books was a comic shop in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Founded by Harry Kremer and Bill Johnson, it was one of the earliest comic shops to operate in North America, and employed Dave Sim before he began his comic book series ''Cerebus''. ...

owner Harry Kremer allowed him to produce a newsletter called ''Now & 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's ''Comic Art News and Reviews'', another Canadian comics fanzine. For ''CANAR'' he interviewed subjects such as Barry Windsor-Smith. Inspired by

Charles Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...

's ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' and ''Outhouses of the North'' (a small book of cartoons published by the Highway Bookshop in

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

), Sim spent 1975 and 1976 developing a comic strip called ''The 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, pitching ''The Beavers'' to the ''

Kitchener-Waterloo Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...

''. With Day inking the strips, a year's worth was produced in three days. Sim also wrote or drew stories published in anthologies such as ''Phantacea'' and ''Star*Reach''. ''The Beavers'' also saw print in ''Star*Reach's'' sister

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

s comic ''Quack!''. Around this time, Sim's work was published by

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

and

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

. In 1976, Sim took the only job he ever held outside of comics: an employee at

. He also wrote and drew parts of "Ali Baba" #1 for Gauntlet Comics.

Career

''Cerebus''

In December 1977, Sim began publishing ''Cerebus'', an initially bi-monthly, black-and-white comic book series. It began as a

parodic A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

cross between

and

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...

. 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 storyline ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'' which began in issue #26. The sword and sorcery elements in the series, prominent up to that point, were minimized as Sim concentrated more on

. ''Cerebus'' was published through Sim's company, Aardvark-Vanaheim, which was run by his wife,

. The two met in 1976, married in 1979, and divorced after nearly five years of marriage. In 1979, during a time when he was taking large doses of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

, Sim was hospitalized for treatment of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

-like symptoms.Tinker, Emma (2008)
Identity and Form in Alternative Comics, 1967 - 2007
'', University College of London, 2008. "Arnold the Isshurian", a two-page parody of Conan and

Little Nemo Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...

, ran in '' Epic Illustrated'' in February 1982. Beginning with issue #65 (August 1984), Sim began collaborating with the artist

, who drew all the backgrounds while Sim, who continued to write the series himself, drew the foreground figures.

and Sim continued to work together on ''Cerebus'' 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 the ''Cerebus'' series on schedule in March 2004. As the series progressed, it was noted for its tendency towards artistic experimentation. Sim has called the complete run of ''Cerebus'' a 6,000-page novel, a view shared by several academic writers and comics historians. He purchased Gerhard's stake in Aardvark-Vanaheim and has made arrangements for the

of ''Cerebus'' to fall into the

following his death.

Post-''Cerebus'' work

Dave Sim (2008) Judenhass 00A (Front Cover)

Beginning in 2006, Sim began publishing an online comic-book biography of Canadian actress Siu Ta titled ''Siu Ta, So Far''. In late 2007, Sim announced two projects. One, which he initially referred to only as "Secret Project One", was ''Judenhass'' (German for "Jew hatred"), a 56-page "personal reflection on The Holocaust" which was released on May 28, 2008. The other is '' glamourpuss'', 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 the

photorealist Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can ...

style of comic-strip art, for which he did a promotional "tour" of comics-related forums online in February 2008. In 2009, Sim began publishing ''Cerebus Archive'', a bimonthly presentation of his work before and surrounding ''Cerebus''. On October 23, 2009, the first episode of the web series ''Cerebus 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. In 2011, BOOM! Town announced that in 2012 it would publish ''Dave Sim's Last Girlfriend'', a collection of letters between Dave Sim and Susan Alston originally intended for Denis Kitchen's Kitchen Sink Press. A collection of academic essays about ''Cerebus'' was published in 2012 by McFarland. It appeared that the 2012 end of ''Glamourpuss'' would mean the end of ''The Strange Death of Alex Raymond'' a running feature in that book. In 2013 it was announced IDW would publish the series in a reworked edition, as well as handle a number of other projects, including a ''Cerebus'' cover collection. In 2001, Sim and his then-collaborator

founded the

Howard E. Day Prize Howard Eugene Day (August 13, 1951 – September 23, 1982) was a Canadian comics artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' '' Star Wars'' licensed series and '' Master of Kung Fu''. He was considered a mentor by independent comic writer/ar ...

for outstanding achievement in self-publishing, in tribute to Sim's mentor,

Gene Day Howard Eugene Day (August 13, 1951 – September 23, 1982) was a Canadian comics artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' '' Star Wars'' licensed series and '' Master of Kung Fu''. He was considered a mentor by independent comic writer/ar ...

. Bestowed annually at SPACE (

Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo The Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo, or SPACE or S.P.A.C.E., is an annual Convention (meeting), convention in Columbus, Ohio, United States, for alternative comics, minicomics, and webcomics. Bob Corby founded the convention as a gathering ...

) in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

from 2002 to 2008 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. * #1 Cerebus in Hell? No. 0, November 2016 * #2 Cerebus in Hell? No. 1 (1/4), January 2017 * #3 Cerebus in Hell? No. 2 (2/4), February 2017 * #4 Cerebus in Hell? No. 3 (3/4),March 2017 * #5 Cerebus in Hell? No. 4 (4/4), April 2017 * #6 Batvark #1, August 2017 * #7 Aardvark Comics #1, September 2017 * #8 Strange Cerebus #1, October 2017 * #9 Death of Cerebus in Hell #1, November 2017 * #10 Cerebus: The Vark Knight Returns #1, December 2017 * #11 Watchvark #1, January 2018 * #12 The Amazing Cerebus #1, February 2018 * #13 World's Finite Cerebus #1, March 2018 * #14 Love and Aardvarks #1, April 2018 * #15 The Undateable Cerebus #1, May 2018 * #16 The Un-Bedable Vark #1, June 2018 * #17 Teenage Mutant Ninja Cerebi #1, July 2018 * #18 Nick Calm, Agent of C.O.D.P.I.E.C.E. #1, August 2018 * #19 Crisis of Infinite Cerebi #1, September 19, 2018 * #20 The League of Extraordinary Cerebi #1, October 2018 * #21 Cerberus in Hell? #1, November 2018 * #22 Canadian Vark! #1, December 2018 * #23 Giant-Size Jingles #1, January 2019 * #24 Cerebus the Aardvark In: Sim City - A Dave to Kill For #1, February 2019 * #25 Cerebus the Aardvark In: Sim City - That Issue After #1 / Teenage Money-Nabbing Cerebi #0, March 2019 * #26 Super Cerebus Annual #1, April 2019 * #27 Cerebus Woman #1, May 2019 * #28 LGBTQ etc. People #1, June 2019 * #29 Fornicators inc. #1, July 2019 * #30 Tales of Sophistication #1, August 2019 * #31 The Iron Manticore #1, September 2019 * #32 Colour Your Own Cerebus in Hell? #1, October 2019 * #33 Vark Wars #1, November 2019 * #34 Vark Thing #1, December 2019 * #35 The House of Cerebus #1, January, 2020 * #36 The Silver Cerebus #1, February 2020 * #37 The Varking Dead #1, March 2020 * #38 Green Dante/Green Virgil #1, April 2020 * #39 Vark Wars: Walt's Empire Strikes Back #1, May 2020 * #40 Attractive Cousins #1, July 2020 * #41 The Amicable Spider-Vark Annual #1, August 2020 * #42 Batvark Penis #1, September 2020 * #42 Batvark Penis #1 Virgin Cover Variant, September 2020 * #42 Batvark XXXXX #1 , September 2020 * #42 Batvark XXXXX #1 (Second Printing), January 2021 * #43 The Vault of Cerebus #1, Octoberish 2020 * #44 Spider-Whore #1, November 2020 * #45 Hermann #1, December 2020 * #46 Hermann #1 Virgin Cover Variant, December 2020 * #47 Cerebus in Hell? 2021 #1, January 2021 * #48 The Amazing Batvark #1, February 2021 * #49 Flaming Cerebus Comics #1, March 2021 * #50 Cerebus The Duck #1, April 2021 * #51 Baby Yoda Cerebus #1, May 2021 * #52 Strangers in Cerebus #1, June 2021 * #53 The Unethical Spider-Vark #1, July 2021 * #53 Crisis In Infinite Quarantine #1, August 2021 * #54 Batvark: Coronavirus - There Are No Comics #1, September 2021 * #54 Batvark: Coronavirus - While Diamond Slept: 2020 #1, September 2021 * #55 Super-Cerebus VS. Covid-19 #1, October 2021 * #55 Super-Cerebus VS. Covid-19 #1 Wraparound Cover Variant , October 2021 * #56 The League of Extraordinary Corona #1, November 2021 * #57 Coronavirus Book #1, December 2021 * #58 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #58 Cerebus in Hell? 2022 #1, January 2022 * #59 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #59 Defective Comics Annual #1, February 2022 * #60 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #60 Cerebus the Emily #1, March 2022 * #60 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #60 Cerebus the Emily #1 Harpies' Bizzaarre Variant, March 2022 * #61 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #61 Batvark: A Poet in the Family #1, April 2022 * #61 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #61 Batvark: A Poet in the Family #1 Batvark-Girl Variant, April 2022 * #62 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #62 Grey A.L.@. #1, May 2022 * #63 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #63 Giant-Size Public Defenders #1, June 2022 * #63 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #63 Giant-Size Public Defender: Varkdevil Variant #1, June 2022 * #64 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #64 The Uncrucifiable Cerebus Goes To A Gay Bar #1, July 2022 * #65 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #65 Kurtz VZ Kurtz #1, August 2022 * #66 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #66 Flailing at Love #1, September 2022 * #67 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #67 Hell 'O Dali #1, October 2022 * #68 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #68 BTVRK #1, November 2022 * #69 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #69 Giant-Size Aardvark Vanaheim Three-Wheel #1, December 2022 * #70 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #70 Cerebus in Hell? 2023 #1, January 2023 * #71 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #71 Cancel America Comics #1, February 2023 * #72 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #72 AV Team-Up #1, March 2023 * #73 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #73 New Varks #1, April 2023 * #74 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #74 Aversions #1, May 2023 * #75 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #75 She-Aversions #1, June 2023 * #76 Cerebus in Hell? Presents #76 War In Hell? #1, July 2023 In 2020, Sim announced that he was going to cease work on ''The Strange Death of Alex Raymond''. His collaborator on the project, Carson Grubaugh, was given the go-ahead to finish and publish the work, which saw release in 2021 through Living the Line.

Influence

Sim's use of an extended, multi-layered storytelling canvas, divided in large arcs divided in mostly self-contained issues, was acknowledged by

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

as his inspiration for the structure of ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

''.

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

named Sim as one of his two biggest influences within comics.

Controversies

Creators' rights

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Sim used his sales leverage from ''Cerebus'' to act as a major proponent and advocate of creators' rights and

. After the ''Puma Blues'' distribution incident, he helped write the

Creators' Bill of Rights The Creator's Bill of Rights (officially, A Bill of Rights for Comics Creators) is a document drafted in November 1988 by a number of independent comic book artists, writers, and publishers, designed to protect their rights as creators and publish ...

along with

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ...

Peter Laird Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman. Early life and career Laird was born on January 27, 1954, in ...

, and

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...

. In addition to speaking on these topics at

comic book conventions A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

(as in his 1993 PRO/con speech), Sim also published the seminal ''The 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 of

s to restrict the use of creations which would have more quickly become public domain under earlier copyright law. 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.

Views on women

In the course of writing ''Cerebus'', Sim expressed opposition to feminism and made controversial statements regarding men and women. Sim expressed his views on gender in issue #186 of ''Cerebus'', 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 metaphorical ''lights'', which tended to reside in biological men, and ''voids'', which tended to be in biological 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 ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'' #174 featured a

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series ''Elementals (Comico Comics), Elementals'' and ''Fables (comics), Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. ...

caricature of Sim on one of the covers, bearing the title "Dave Sim:

Misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

Guru of Self-Publishers". Inside was a lengthy article written by Jonathan Hagey and

Kim Thompson Kim Thompson (September 25, 1956 – June 19, 2013) was an American comic book editor, translator, and publisher, best known as vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books. Along with co-publisher Gary Groth, Thomps ...

that published responses from comics creators such as

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...

, Steve Bissette, and Sim's friend and fellow Canadian

Chester Brown Chester William David Brown (born 16 May 1960) is a Canadian cartoonist. Brown has gone through several stylistic and thematic periods. He gained notice in alternative comics circles in the 1980s for the surreal, scatological '' Ed the Happy Cl ...

. 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. 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 in ''Cerebus'' #186, Sim characterized fellow self-publishing cartoonist Jeff Smith as an example of a man dominated by his wife. When Smith contested this, Sim accused Smith of lying and challenged Smith to a

boxing match Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing boxing glove, protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a ...

, which Smith declined.Dean, Michael (2001)
"In the Company of Sim"
. ''

''. In 2001, Sim published another essay, "Tangent", in ''Cerebus'' #265 (April 2001). In it, Sim furthered the themes from "Reads", describing the tangent he contends

western society Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

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 the ''Journal'' 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, the ''Journal'' devoted a section to discussion of ''Cerebus''. It reprinted a 2001 essay by R.S. Stephen — "Masculinity's Last Hope, or Creepily Paranoid Misogynist?: An Open Letter to Dave Sim" — addressing the "Tangent" controversy. Sim's reply to Stephen, and Stephen's subsequent rebuttal, were published in ''The Comics Journal'' #266. Despite the description of his views and his reputation as a misogynist, Sim maintains that he is not one. 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 an

ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

, 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.

Relationship with ''The Comics Journal''

The coverage of Sim's writings about feminism was not the only subject of Sim's conflict with ''

''. He and

Gary Groth Gary Groth (born September 18, 1954) is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of ''The Comics Journal'', a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, and founder of the Harvey Awards. Early life Groth is the son of ...

, the ''Journal''s editor-in-chief, developed a combative relationship. In December 1979, the magazine published a review of the first dozen or so issues of ''Cerebus'' by

, who called ''Cerebus'' "a true heir to Carl Barks' duck stories". During a panel discussion at the 1999

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

the editorial staff of ''The Comics Journal'' indicted Sim in what Groth characterized as a "

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

-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 to

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, which, at the time, was the exclusive distributor of most major U.S. comic book publishers. In his speech, Sim unabashedly advocated for the speculator boom occurring at the time, a position that Groth felt personified the worst aspects of capitalism and greed.

Accusation of child grooming

In September 2018, Sim publicly voiced support for

Ethan Van Sciver Ethan Daniel Van Sciver (No date on article; date appears in the website') (; born September 3, 1974) is an American comics artist and social media personality. He is known for illustrating or drawing covers for a number of superhero titles in the ...

, a leading figure in Comicsgate, an

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

comics industry movement. who had hired Sim to write for Van Sciver's creator-owned book, ''Cyberfrog''. This prompted cosplayer Renfamous, a critic of Comicsgate, to point out to Van Sciver that in the past, Sim had openly talked about his romantic and sexual interest in a 14-year-old girl that he met at a comics convention, when she was 13, with whom he later entered into a relationship. Sim stated that this occurred at a time when he was a promiscuous "world-class sleazeball", and observed that "pretty underage girls are astonishingly pretty because they aren't fully grown". Although the relationship did not become sexual until just before her 21st birthday in January 1992 (shortly before their relationship ended), Sim conceded that his interest in her had been immoral, and that he had violated the

Mann Act The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois. In its original form the act mad ...

when he transported her across state lines during a 1985 convention so that they could stay in a hotel room, where he took photos of them. These disclosures prompted Renfamous to accuse Sim of

child grooming Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. Child grooming is also regularly ...

. Soon after, Sciver announced that he had cancelled Sim's ''Cyberfrog'' project.

Health

In December 2016, it was reported that Sim had suffered a wrist injury, and had been physically unable to draw since February 27, 2015. In a September 28, 2017 video on his Cerebus Online

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channel, he revealed that he had been showing some signs of recovery and was able to create his first new drawing of Cerebus.

Collections

*''Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing'' (ISSN 0712-7774) (1997; rev. 2010) collects selections from Sim's 'Notes from the President' column that dealt with self-publishing, the Pro/Con speech from 1993, and more. *''Collected Letters: 2004'' () (2005) collects Sim's responses to readers' letters (the original letters are not included) after the publication of Cerebus #300. *''Dave Sim's Collected Letters 2'' (2008) collects Sim's responses to readers' letters (the original letters are not included) from June and July 2004. *''Dave Sim: Conversations'' (2013) edited by Eric Hoffman and Dominick Grace, University Press of Mississippi, 2013; collects interviews with Sim spanning 1982–2006.

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

Dave Sim
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

*
Dave Sim's DeviantArt page
!--Sometimes that site is inexplicably missing. Cached site is http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:6J-vTiETZMQJ:www.collectortimes.com/2005_07/Clubhouse.html+%22dave+sim%22+%22success+in+a+creative+field%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2 --> {{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Dave 1956 births Canadian cartoonists Canadian comics artists Canadian comics writers Canadian graphic novelists Canadian people of Scottish descent Comic book letterers Critics of atheism Former atheists and agnostics Harvey Award winners for Best Cartoonist Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Artist Living people Male critics of feminism Joe Shuster Award winners for Outstanding Achievement Joe Shuster Award winners for Outstanding Cartoonist Syncretists Artists from Hamilton, Ontario Writers from Hamilton, Ontario