Five

Yes, that was it, five. No idea why other than it was the opening chapter of Book 5: Astoria, or Dave was just feeling a bit lazy that day.

Boobah features in the opening. He's looking for a midnight snack. His thoughts alternate between food and images of an angry Cerebus. He encounters the latter, only where his head used to be Cerebus now has a glowing ball.

While Boobah is pondering this Lord Julius enters through one of the hotel's many secret doorways, and sets up a curtain and gives Boobah a sandwich board. He intends to market Cerebus, or as Julius is now calling him: The Living Tarim, as a sideshow attraction.

Julius' idiotic, accented cousin, or was it brother? enters. He's based on Chico Marx, so he could very well be Julius' brother, but because of his imbecility Julius prefers people to think it's his cousin. The two of them discuss the finer points of using Cerebus, sorry The Living Tarim, as a moneymaking scheme, and as intended it looks like it was lifted directly from a Marx Bros movie, which it probably was.

While they're talking about this Sophia, in her all chainmail bikinied glory strides in, demanding to see Cerebus. The brothers or cousins want to charge her, but she pays them no notice and opens the curtain. She then closes it and the readers are treated to a one sided conversation with Sophia telling Cerebus off and slapping him repeatedly. The Living Tarim does not reply, probably because his head has been replaced by a glowing ball and he no longer has a mouth. A bawling Sophia leaves believing that Cerebus doesn't even care enough about her to argue with her.

Once again Julius and his brother/cousin (in that family anything is possible) are arguing about their marketing strategy, and this time are interrupted by Powers (he survived the destruction of his cathedral). The Bishop is huffing and puffing, the reason being that he's carried the albatross with him. We get our first really good look at this icon and yes it does look like a duck. I doubt the artist had ever seen an albatross. It's a well made duck and studded with expensive looking gem stones, but it is not an albatross.

Why would Powers carry it all that way? The Lion of Serrea, the head of the other church has been assassinated. The churches are reunited and Cerebus is now the one and only Pope. He was bad enough when he only had half the power, what will he be like now he has absolute power? No Weisshaupt or Thrunk in his way now. Somehow I doubt Lord Julius' bizarre method of bureaucracy can control the power hungry aardvark.