“The comic-book field is, universally, a Marxist-feminist construct which applauds, endorses and encourages the vilification, shunning and denunciation of Dave Sim: there are no exceptions to that statement.”  - Dave Sim

It all began way back in December of 1977 with CEREBUS, the self-published comic about a tough, sword-wielding aardvark mercenary, in an entertaining and humorous parody of Conan the Barbarian.  It was just another “funny animal” comic, lost in the vast wasteland of superhero comics, going largely unnoticed in its inauspicious beginnings.  Yet each new issue brought in new fans, and soon CEREBUS had acquired quite an impressive fan base for a self-published comic book; and it wasn’t long before its creator, Dave Sim, turned the comic into much more than an entertaining “funny book”.  CEREBUS became his vehicle for exploring highly volatile and controversial topics, particularly Politics, Religion, and Gender wars; and his promise to self-publish for 300 issues over twenty-seven years simply amazed everyone in the industry, from fans to friends to fellow professionals.

The response from comics journalists was almost universal in its praise for Sim at the time, and Dave’s campaign for self-publishing was also applauded and highly regarded; in fact, it was attempted, often with Dave’s help, by many of his fellow creators.  Sim battled in the trenches alongside several noteworthy comics professionals, fighting for Creator Rights, and many times promoting new artists’ work by including it in the very pages of his own highly successful comic.

And then, something fell

“READS was, by far, the most complicated and intricate creative work I have ever attempted. It is very satisfying to me that I remain very pleased with it and proud of it six months after completion. Victor Reid and Viktor Davis proved to be fascinating and challenging companions for the six months that I spent with each of them….and for the fifteen years I spent preparing myself to bring them to life on the page.” – Dave Sim

Sim shocked both his audience and his peers in issue 186, which was part of the larger story arc knows as READS, when he ferociously blasted the Female gender, courtesy of a Sim-like character in the story named “Viktor Davis”.  He portrayed Males as Creators and Females as Devourers, describing it as "The Male Light and the Female Void: Seminal Energy and Omnivorous Parasite." 

A personal favorite quote of mine from Dave follows:

"In one of those Poor Us studies for which the Emotional Female Void is notorious, it was pointed out that after a divorce, the average male standard of living rises... the average female standard of living drops... I think the...explanation is that the excision of a five-to-six- foot leech from the surface of a human body is going to have more of its own blood in its own veins. Unless the leech finds another body, it is going to go hungry."

There is no cure for Willful Stupidity

The uproar continues today.  The same people who were carrying Dave Sim on their shoulders in triumphant jubilation just a few short years before, are now crying “Crucify him!” at every opportunity.  Who Dave terms “Marxist-Feminists”, these people have become the injured parasites themselves, as if their hearts were broken by what they perceive as Dave’s betrayal of them and their values.  Yet it has nothing whatsoever to do with the comic itself, but rather with Dave’s published Ideas and Ideals, which stand in complete opposition to what many of these people hold sacred; and these, who I term the “Dave Lonely Hearts Club” members, strike back at him much as any woman scorned would.  They have “banded together” to refer to him as “misogynist” at any opportunity, knowing full well that the perpetual use of that pejorative would and will continue to damage his professional reputation…even though it’s not an accurate label at all.  They also call him “insane”, not because he is, but because it is so much easier to dismiss him than it is to dismiss his Ideas.  It is more than just a “minority viewpoint” to them; it’s a Dangerous Idea that must be eliminated at all costs.

Make no mistake, Dave Sim shook up the comics world in many ways,  but none were more profound or eye-opening, or caused more contempt, than his revelations about the Female gender, and the effect that Marxist-feminism has had, and is having, on our current society.

The self-proclaimed “Pariah King of Comics” has indeed been shunned by the comics industry, and in the next few columns, I’d like to explore the amazing comic that is READS, and talk about the truths Dave revealed, and how the Marxist-feminists battled him every step of the way.  Stay tuned!

Rick Sharer