Issue 89
From CerebusWiki
| August 1986: Odd Transformations No. 3: Dead Friends | |
| |
| Issue 89 | |
| President | Dave Sim |
| Administrator | Karen McKiel |
| Backgrounds, cover-colour, and tones | Gerhard |
| Circulation | 32,000 |
| Church & State II | |
| Previous | Next |
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Contents |
Issue Summary
Cerebus falls asleep after eating. Cerebus dreams of Bran, Weisshaupt, Thrunk, and the Regency Elf. There is some more foreshadowing, and the foundation for the next stage in the story is set.
Characters
Locations
Artist Notes
From the Q&A Session from Church & State II
Q3: Please explain the symbolism in Cerebus’ dream.
DAVE: You mean, like… “You: Jung, Me: Free Associate”? Why not? Shoot.
Q3: The Lion's emblem is seen on a door…
DAVE: The Lion of Serrea. And, uh, that was the design on the door to the Prime Minister’s office. I once did some freelance work for a Waterloo publisher who lasted about five minutes in business and he had a double door with a lion’s head carving that looked just like that. I thought that was really cool and I always wanted one.
Q3:…a chair of mountain-like skulls…
DAVE: Bran was Cerebus’ hierophant and pretty much Cerebus’ Pope as well, believing in Cerebus to a far greater extent than Cerebus believed in himself, so he here sees his most ardent believer still occupying the catbird seat for the Ascension. Even death can’t stop him. Of course as soon as Bran gets up and walks away, the chair shrinks dramatically. Which can be a premonition of the “earth below us, drifiting falling, floating, weightless…” (sorry, I was having a Disco flashback) which is imminent or self-doubt that he has sufficient belief to hold the catbird seat on his own.
Q3: …Bran's death…
DAVE: Aha. A trick question. Bran was dead at that point.
Q3: An emaciated dying Weisshaupt is seen through a keyhole.
DAVE: A premonition and a warning that Weisshaupt is still a player even though he’s dead
Q3: Astoria, once again, has no… (Priest?).
DAVE: Bananas. It’s a Neil the Horse reference.
Q3: The Prime Minister needs only one ear to defeat Weisshaupt.
DAVE: Premonition about Cerebus’ fate just before the Ascension. Although it was actually the next Ascension after this one in Reads. Premonitions tend to get things all mixed up like that.
Q3: Weisshaupt offers a position to Astoria?
DAVE: To Bran. Another trick question.
Q3: ("Think of your career" "you'll ruin everything")?
DAVE: That’s what Astoria has to say to Cerebus. Cerebus’ dreaming mind is telling him just about how important Astoria is to what is going on and what is going to be going on by the size of her.
Q3: The Tower is still growing (still time to do a Final Ascension?).
DAVE: Actually, the tower is, you know, still growing. It’s kind of, you know, literal.
Q3: Thrunk dressed as president's ankle?
DAVE: Cerebus can defeat Weisshaupt—even though he’s dead—even more easily than he beat the Giant Stone Thrunk. The same illustration as Astoria. He’s much, much smaller than he was in real life.
Q3: A sword in a scabbard.
DAVE: Gerhard drew it. You’d have to ask him.
Q3: The Moon
DAVE: Cerebus has a premonition that the Moon has something to do with what is about to happen. A premonition or a lucky guess.
Q3: The Elf tells Cerebus he's forgotten something
DAVE: …he’s forgotten the gold sphere.
Q3: the coins become a sphere
DAVE: …the sphere is all taken care of…
Q3:…and "you go up"…
DAVE: ….Cerebus is about to ascend.
Q3: Please discuss.
DAVE: Just did.
Annotations
- p. 7: Bran states "Surely, you realize by now that the Prime Minister needs only one ear to beat you..." foreshadowing Cerebus losing his ear in issue 182.
- p. 11: Cerebus grabs Weisshaupt's ankle thinking "the...President's...ankle." A reference to something the Cockroach stated in issue 21.
- The Note From the President, Aardvark Comment, and other non-comics pages all say "Gone on Tour" and have no content other than one picture in Aardvark Comment and three black and white pictures on the outside back cover.
