Elf

Yay! We get to see the Elf again, and this time in her very own chapter! I didn't care how long or short this was I just knew I was going to like it.

In her own inimitable fashion the Elf is trying to tell a joke to Cerebus, now no matter what the Elf's other abilities may be, joke telling is not one of them.

Firstly she messes it up terribly, secondly when she does get it right, she doesn't realise until after she's told it that Cerebus is the punchline. He's none too happy about being compared to a pet monkey, mainly due to his stature.

Cerebus does not say a word during the whole thing, his expressions tell the full story. After the joke has been told, with the right punchline this time, Cerebus walks from the room and takes himself to bed. The Elf compounds things by telling that she heard Filgate tell the joke to Blakely and then begs Cerebus not to have Mr Filgate arrested.

I don't know why, but for me the Elf is just funny and Dave wrote her so well. One of the best chapters in this whole sequence. It put a smile on my face anyway.

Astoria

An old friend returns. Although this short thumbnail sketch of Astoria (2 pages) featured the same immaculately coiffed, impeccably dressed femme fatale who had master minded Cerebus' initial tilt at the Prime Ministership of Iest, there seemed something frazzled about her.

It's dialog driven and for most of the chapter it seems as of Astoria is either talking to herself or rehearsing a speech that seeks to run down her enemy Weisshaupt. That is until the final panel when her audience is revealed as a bleak looking Bishop Powers. I get the feeling that the Church has well and truly entered the State now.

Henrot-Gutch

Dave continued the profile series with a 3 page one on Cerebus' insufferable ogress of a mother in law; Henrot Gutch. She's taking tea with Blakely. It's possible that he is courting her in order to curry favour with the Prime Minister.

Partway through their conversation Henrot sees a child stealing fruit from a pear tree in the garden, she throws a brick at the urchin presumable injuring the thief, she then goes back to her tea with Blakely wondering why Sophia never brought her play mates home to meet mother when the female warrior was a child.

Typical portrayal of Henrot and the joke had worn thin on me. She's the mother in law from hell, I get it. I wonder if Dave had issues with his own mother in law.

Sophia

This was another 5 pager, it was the beginning of a series of chapters where Dave examined certain key characters. Cerebus and Sophia are the only 2 characters shown and the whole thing is in darkness with only them and their bed illuminated.

Initially I didn't like Sophia much and dreaded seeing her become a regular character again. However she had changed in between the last time and reentering as Cerebus' wife. She was still wearing the chain mail bikini most of the time, but she had developed from the sword swinging Red Sonja parody that she began as. She was now softer and had depth, she was more of a girly girl, displaying a heretofore unseen intelligence. She also seemed to genuinely care for Cerebus. I don't know if it could be described as love. In the book that really only seems to exist in a somewhat warped form between Cerebus and Jaka.

The chapter is a one sided conversation where only Sophia speaks, Cerebus lays in bed and scowls. In her monologue Sophia neatly and amusingly sums up Cerebus' life and her own and their relationship before she kisses the tuft of fur on one ear and turns over to go to sleep. I came away from this one with a totally different picture and view of Sophia.

Rough Pope

They were starting to get longer.

This particular chapter, which is a whopping 5 pages long, concentrates solely on the kingmaker; Weisshaupt. This is the first time I can remember seeing the hardline Tarimist Bishop Powers.

The two men have a discussion about who is running the church and by extension the country, it's really a battle of wills and Powers is in way over his head trying to duel politically with Weisshaupt.

Powers is a blunt instrument, whereas Weisshaupt is a poisoned blade.

There is a revelation on the last page of the chapter, after Powers has stormed out of Weisshaupt's office.

The politician leans heavily on his desk and with shaky hands pours himself a stiff drink, his brow is beaded with sweat as he whispers "Tarim." All is not as well with Weisshaupt as he wants everyone to believe. At last fresh intrigue.

Approved By

Another short annoying chapter.

I'm glad I read Cerebus the way I did, issue by issue, because if I'd read it this way with all these short, largely pointless chapters I think I would have given up in disgust.

This one, while beautifully drawn in that Regency style that Dave adopted for much of High Society and ALL of Church & State I thus far, goes nowhere and does nothing.

It's 2 pages of Cerebus signing documents that a flunky presents him with. The hopelessness of the situation Cerebus finds himself in is that he signs whatever is put in front of him without even knowing what they are. He tells the flunky that if he wants to know what he's signing he'll ask.

Hope the pace and the length picks up in the next chapter.