Thread by @Exalted_Speed, Dave Sim is one of the most important people for this medium [...]

Dave Sim is one of the most important people for this medium and for various reasons it’s hard to talk about him as a fan. He also essential made the indie scene for comics as we know it today and not the image indie the other indie. https://twitter.com/sirdemiface/status/1277085680468930560

https://twitter.com/sirdemiface/status/1277085680468930560

So before I do anything on Dave Sim, please watch this and we will get back to it.
So one thing to keep in note with Dave Sim is that he kind of made reprints of comics into a viable thing.

While digests existed books of collected material like his phonebooks as he calls them of Cerberus meant that readers could read along with it despite you know not having access to the first issue.

One of the important things to realize about 90's comic is that the collector market was driven because you couldn't read everything because there was not viable way to read huge huge runs or even chunks of them. You have the comics and maybe get a reprint book.

but besides that he also showed that someone could flourish outside the mainstream system. He did everything without ever having to work with Marvel or Dc, Archie or something else. Like Even for it's time Elfquest got help from Marvel later.

the unfortunate problem with talking about Dave Sim is a modern context. Dave Sim might have set the standard for the modern webcomic author or author who works alone and if you are into webcomic besides cerberus syndrome he shows what happens when creators have issues later.

Anyway I'm going to use David Willis's work since he's one of the only major webcomic people who has his shit still up.
-Start out comedy
-get drama and continuity
-become weirdly involved into politics that it's starts taking away from your comic
unlike others Dave Sim finished

I actually feel Cerberus should lead to conversations about creators health and knowing when to ask for help. Dave Sim didn't do it totally alone but it felt like that at the end. Cause Dave Sim is everything great about self publishing, and everything wrong with it.

I will sum being a lone creator both the pro and cons
pro
-you don't have to answer to anyone but your audience

con
-you don't have to answer to anyone but your audience

I could list a bunch of reasons but that kind of sums up his problem.

Before we go over his problems let's go over what he did right.
-Used the direct market and other outlets to get his books out there
-Kept his material available in some form for new readers.
-Did all the marketing and made connections himself.

let's talk about why no one wants to talk about him. How this effects comic art
-guy had a major falling out with his wife and kind of editor
-Did enough drugs to essentially become an afterschool special on why you shouldn't
-mental breakdown.
Keep in mind DOING THIS ALONE.

Comics as a medium often needs collaboration to happen but Dave Sim well
-Only had one guy help make the comic Gerhard for backgrounds
-was the pubisher
-marketing
-had to make the comic
-promised to have 300 issues.

both comics and manga have people other people do and some still get burned out like Togashi on Yu Yu Haskusho or Rob Scrab on Scud. Sad cases where the work became overwhelming for different reason. Keep in mind Dave Sim did not have the internet to get popular either.

So around 186 or there about the comic loses focus really. You get his problems with people and huge editorials that go off the deep end. you et these long ramble text pieces about his thoughts on women, regions and everything about the comic industry cerebus loses focus,

Now I made a post about how I accept history and this is history and not a pretty history. I don't think there has been such a well documented creators break like Dave Sim. If you read his comics till 300 your basically seeing a creator trying to hold himself together.

Anyway he also basally burned every bridge, like Alan Moore, Jim Valintino, Dan Schultz and even Gerhard after it was all said and done. Man basically it a single case where his fantastic comic becomes more about him then the character.

So with that said can I recommend it? With ally the misogyny, the old style, the history, and everything in it? DEAR GOD YES! I recommend at least trying because there is a lot to learn from it if your an artist working in any field.

I think artist should learn from others and know history so that way this doesn't happen to them. Dave Sim did it but broke down, and he's is not exactly in the best condition right now. Guy can't even draw right now and his health and mental state never recovered.

When Dave Sim dies his work will go public domain, he set it up himself. That might even happen sooner rather then later. Not saying it will but be aware. So at least in anyone wants to keep Cerebus around we can, but you know I'm also afraid that people will try to scrub him.

Some people might agree, but I don't. Cerebus is his baby for better or worse. He did everything for it, in many cases fought for it harder then most anyone for their work. There is something in that and honestly I don't want people to read it without taking this away from it.

you should see how a guy who can have everything fall down, your as a person right now can see a person fall from his demons. You can do something about because your not Dave Sim. But Dave Sim want to tell a story about a life about dying alone after everyone abandoned him.

and that's probably going to happen to Dave Sim, I don't know what his life is now but it was not good last time I checked. I hate for anyone to die like that, I saw a friend of my father die like that. Steve Ditko died on the drawing table.

and honestly this is why Cerebus might be hard to talk about. Because no creator wants to say when talking about Dave Sim
-limit yourself
-don't be so open
-know when to stop
-you can't always do this alone
Dave Sim lived an artist dream. It's a nice dream.

But reality and everything can fuck you up. Dave Sim had mental problems, overdosed on drugs making him worse, and created one of the greatest comics on the planet. It hard to call the achievement worth it when it's all said and done. but...

The work is there, if you take away anything, please take care of yourself, a lot of creators don't know how to say that when talking about Cerebus. But I feel like that needs to be said. If your a creator your work should be secondary to your health.

If you have an audience keep them in the loop. It's very possible now. Cerebus should lead to that hard talk about health as a creator and what you might as an individual need to do for that. No one like talking about it.

So that's why no one like talking about him along with
-his views on women
-making the current model for comics with trades
-him making his own clique of major indie creators
-his fights with comic creators
and man this is a comic with a history that is so immense.

What I feel people miss because they talk about him like he's still a big deal when most people bury him is not realize that we know why he went off the deep end, and so we can actually maybe move the conversation to talking about what creators should do to take care.

Like right now do what is right for you as a person to be healthy and maintain a good attitude. Or whatever counts as a good attitude for you, and if you take away anything from this read Cerebus if you want to think about yourself as an artist, and how far are you willing to go?

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