Cerebus No. 1 - Remastered & Expanded

***Cerebus No. 1 - Remastered & Expanded*** is a reprint of the first issue of Dave Sim's comic book series *Cerebus the Aardvark*. A part of the Cerebus: Remastered & Expanded series from The Waverly Press in collaboration with Aardvark-Vanaheim, this reprint is in black & white, apart from the covers. It was financed with a Kickstarter campaign and features three cover variations.

In addition to the reprint, the Kickstarter campaign featured a facsimile edition of *Cerebus No. 1* (reprinting the original with no new material) and a number of additional items, including trading cards, stickers, pins, a bookmark, *Cerebus the Sketchbook No. 1* and *The Secret History of the Counterfeit Cerebus No. 1*.

A second edition featuring the first three pages newly remastered from the original art, new covers by Dave Sim and a mix of new bonus material and content from the original edition was released in July, 2023.

## Story

### "Cerebus the Aardvark" aka "The Flame Jewel"

Upon arriving in a city, Cerebus finds the local tavern, hacks off the hand of a man who tugs on his tail, and threatens the bartender into serving him. A pair of thieves hire him to burgle the tower of a wizard to get the precious Flame Jewel. At the tower, Cerebus impetuously goes toward the structure and has to battle a shadow-beast. After dispatching the creature, he and the thieves enter the tower. The wizard fires an energy bolt at them but misses due to his age. Next, Cerebus protects the two thieves from a reanimated skeleton; he knocks it into a pit and destroys it by landing on it. The wizard then releases the petals of the Nama Lotus Blossoms upon the thieves. As hallucinations twist the world around him, Cerebus focuses on his goal, overcomes their effect, and guides his companions out.

Cerebus now realizes they've been going in circles; they must let the wizard come to them. A light appears. The next door takes them into a large chamber, which contains the Monster from Time's Dawning, a tentacled dragon that lashes out and captures the two thieves. Cerebus closes his eyes, targets the sound of the wizard's robes and voice, and sinks his sword into the sorcerer. Revealed as an illusion, the Monster from Time's Dawning vanishes. The ancient wizard has turned to dust. The thieves claim the Flame Jewel. Cerebus insists on his payment--one pouch of gold--before they go. Around them the tower, and everything in it, slowly fade into nothingness.

The thieves ask Cerebus how he beat the wizard. He tells them he knows something of sorcery, which is how he defeated all the illusory monsters. He adds that the Flame Jewel was another illusion, and with the wizard dead, it has reverted to a simple walnut. Laughing, the Earth-Pig departs on his horse.

## Additional

* "Note from the Publisher" by Deni Loubert
* "Coming Next Issue - Captive in Boreala"
* "Aardvark Comment"

### Expanded Material

#### 2020 Edition

* Various illustrations from the early days of *Cerebus* with commentary by Dave Sim
* "A Crimson Tale" - poem by Deni Loubert under the pseudonym "Roweanna", illustrated by Dave Sim
* Advertisements by Dave Sim for commissions and original art sales
* Cover art for the original, fanzine version of *Cerebus No. 1*
* Ad for the fanzine
* Cerebus the Aardvark model sheet
* Red Sonia and Cerebus illustration by Frank Thorne
* Cerebus print from 1978
* "Aardvark Berezerker" poster
* "We're Going Duck Hunting" unused ad design
* 2010 "re-imagining" of the first two pages of *Cerebus No. 1* by Dave Sim
* "Cerebus Returns" - commissioned imagining of a cover to *Cerebus No. 301*
* Cover to *Cerberus in Hell?* by Dave Sim, Gustave Doré and Sean Michael Robinson
* Zombie variant cover to *Cerebus Archive No 1*, 2009
* A reworking of the art from page 21 of *Cerebus No. 35*, showing Cerebus dressing in formal clothes for the first time
* Ad for the then-upcoming *High Society: The Regency Edition*

#### 2023 Edition

* Dave Sim's first drawing of Cerebus, January, 1977
* *Cerebus No. 1* commentary by Dave Sim from *Swords of Cerebus Volume One*.
* Cover art for the original, fanzine version of *Cerebus No. 1*
* Ad for the fanzine
* Cerebus the Aardvark model sheet
* Dave Sim's first "comic-art" Cerebus piece, summer, 1977
* Drawing of Cerebus used for Aardvark-Vanaheim stationary
* "Aardvark Berezerker" poster

## Characters

* Cerebus *(first appearance; next appearance, Cerebus No. 2)*
* Cerebus' horse *(first appearance)*
* Techot Thal *(only appearance)*
* Pair of unnamed thieves *(only appearance)*
* Unnamed Bartender *(only appearance)*
* Unnamed Wizard *(only appearance; dies)*
* Unnamed Narrator *(only appearance)*
* Pink Floyd *(only appearance, cover only)*

## Objects

* Cerebus' sword
* Cerebus' medallions
* Cerebus' helmet
* Flame Jewel
* Nama Lotus Blossoms

## Locations

* An unnamed city in the South.
* The tower and lands of the unnamed wizard.

## Notes

*See* Cerebus No. 1 *for details on the original publication.*

## 2020

Red Facsimile Edition

1,200 copiesGold Edition

550 copiesPlatinum Edition

800 copiesPromotional Edition

180 copies

Double cover. Gold cover underneath.
## 2023

Collector

600 copiesBlank

400 copiesVault

350 copiesGold

300 copiesFire

250 copiesPlatinum

200 copiesPop

150 copiesGlow-in-the-Dark

100 copies
## References

 1. ↑ Cerebus the Aardvark No.1 - Kickstarter campaign