From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: Cerebus #165
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 22:14:42 GMT

Cerebus #165 is certainly a dense issue.  Lots of things are happening
and, as usual, we come away with more new questions than new answers. 

It's not a good idea to make fun of the Pope's doll.  Of course, we
already knew that.

Swoon seems to have a clear picture of how the role should be played.
Snuff is less enthusiastic about the whole notion, but turns out to be
amenable to pursuasion.  The Cirinists' interpretations of what is
happening are unreliable.  Did Elrod really 'snuff' twenty soldiers with
pinpoint accuracy, or did he let off several thousand bolts, twenty of
which somehow hit?  And is Snuff's mind a blank because Elrod is also a
wizard who knows what he's doing, or is it a blank because he's as empty-
headed as he sometimes seems?  (Of course, there could be Other Forces at
work.) 

I'm not sure what to make of the scene with the Judge.  One of the themes
of the current book appears to be pawns:  The beings who perceive
themselves as the players aren't nearly as much in control as they think.
Suenteus Po is another such.  (Now, was his mis-statement really an
instance of "matriarchal gravitational pull", as Sim states in the letters
section, or did Sim goof and then decide to make it significant?)

The scene with Astoria.  The third panel gave the impression that the
telepathic conversation was taking place between Astoria and the woman
next to her.  Is the "what was that?" in the fourth panel a result of that
woman's surprise that Astoria reverted to speech, or was the conversation
actually with someone else?  I think we've been seeing some good 
characterization of Astoria:  Part of her behavior since being released
from the dungeon is the shrewd politician going for every advantage, but
part of it seems to be sheer giddiness following her release from a long
and unpleasant imprisonment.

What is the role of the illusionists in all this?  The Cirinists consider
them important, but it seems plausible that that the entire illusionist
involvement in current affairs consists of Po occasionally sticking his
nose in.  I'm not convinced, btw, that Po deliberately saved Cerebus from
the Cirinists.

Those voices in the dark appear to be the voices of the people, behind
their various closed doors.  The grapevine is actually doing a fairly good
job of keeping people informed -- without too much misinformation.  Where
people differ is on their answers to the burning question of "what's the
best way to assure that I live through this?"

Aardvark comment was the mixture of silliness and thoughtfulness that's
characterized it of late.  "Owning a woman is like owning a cat; an act of
self-deception bordering on schizophrenia" is nice word-smithing, but I
think that Sim, like so many others, over-estimates cats.  Sim's answer
to Thompson's PS was spang-on:  To say "I didn't like Sandman" is one
thing, but to say "The only good writing I've found in Sandman was in the
parts written by Shakespeare" is, indeed, "sneering arrogance".

AC also contains a 2+ page letter of analysis.  Sim denies that Elrod is
the great schemer behind everything, but otherwise gives the analysis a
general nod of agreement.  I wish he's responded in a bit more detail,
because I suspect that the analysis, while generally good, is off-base on
a few counts.  Among things, as I suggested earlier, I don't think Po is
quite the backstage manipulator that the analysis assumes him to be.  I
did get the impression, for instance, that Po really didn't mean Cerebus
to get beyond the seventh sphere.  The point about Cerebus being a
disruptor of patterns seems to be well taken.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

"One of my favorite games when I was a kid was 'murder/suicide.'
 Dad would show us a photo and ask us, "Is it a murder or a suicide?"
	  --  Colleen Doran