Cerebus No. 8

***Cerebus the Aardvark No. 8*** is an issue of *Cerebus* published by Aardvark-Vanaheim.

## Stories

### "Day of the Earth-Pig!"

Cerebus suffers hallucinations thanks to a wound that he received in the Black Tower and that has become infected. He believes himself to still be fighting the Tower's giant spider, but he has, in fact, been captured by a squad of Conniptin soldiers. They have tied him up with rope, but he struggles against it, believing it to be webbing. While the Conniptin Prince who leads the squad considers turning Cerebus into a coat, Captain Turl recognizes Cerebus' skill as a warrior and feels he deserves respect.

While Cerebus heals, Captain Turl is summoned by a Conniptin Commander and, together, they plot against the Prince. As the first step in this plot, Turl tells Cerebus he was drugged; he releases Cerebus, gives him back his sword, and sends him after four Conniptin men. Still hallicinating, Cerebus envisions the men as Elrod or Red Sophia and easily dispatches them, but then collapses. When he recovers, he finds that Turl has embellished the body count and dressed the victims as Hsifans. They want Cerebus to take over as leader of their army. They can't kill the prince outright, because King Hezzreth, his father, commands a larger force. With a few victories on the way to Iest, however, they can establish a Conniptin Empire and make the king irrelevant.

Cerebus makes an appearance before the army and announces that their next target is Imesh. That night, realizing that the Commander is using him as a figurehead, he prepares to leave the camp. He reconsiders and stays. As he climbs back into bed, he thinks, "If Cerebus is supposed to lead these loonies, someone is going to have to explain all that gibberish to him."

## Additional

* "A Note from the Publisher" by Deni Loubert
* "The Aardvarkian Age" map
* "Aardvark Comment" feauturing a letter and illustration by Fred Hembeck

## Characters

* Cerebus *(last seen in issue 7; next appearance in issue 9)*
* Captain Turl *(only appearance)*
* Conniptin Prince *(only appearance)*
* Conniptin Commander *(only appearance)*
* Conniptin Doctor *(only appearance)*
* Elrod (hallucination)

## Locations

* a Conniptin camp, somewhere north or northeast of Imesh

## Story Notes

* (page 7) The doctor keeps saying "I'm a doctor, not <another profession>," like Dr. McCoy of *Star Trek.*
* (page 9) While killing the four Conniptins, Cerebus sees two of them as Elrod and the third as Red Sophia; the fourth killing is not shown.
* (pages 11-12) Cerebus is apparently ignorant of "doctors", "infections," and "fevers," but has no problem with thinking that crazy people are put in a rubber room.
* (page 13) First appearance of the Conniptin war cries: "Might makes right! Might for right! Might for might! Right for might! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
* Cerebus's kidnappers are Conniptins; note that the Pigts from Issue 5 spoke a Conniptin dialect.
* "FIN" ends this issue, after a three-issue absence.
* The odds of the Conniptins actually *taking* Iest were probably slim at best, according to the letters page of issue 26. Sim goes on to say that his main point was to show the gulf between Cerebus's desire for an empire and his capacity to create one.
* Contrast Cerebus's decision to stay with a similar situation in issue 5, when he refused to lead the Pigts.
* The letters page includes a comment by Sim that he can't see himself working for major comics firms until they are "interested in solid storytelling and parallel development of art and story by the same creator."

## Publication Notes

* Reprinted in *Cerebus Bi-weekly - March 10, 1989*
* "Day of the Earth-Pig!" is reprinted in *Swords of Cerebus Volume Two* and the *Cerebus* phonebook.

## Dave Sim on *Cerebus No. 8*

* According to the introduction to this issue in *Swords of Cerebus* #2, pages three through six and pages eight and nine (when Cerebus is hallucinating) were a preview for issue 20, *Mind Games.*