The First Invention of Armour
From CerebusWiki
Story & Art by Dave Sim, Murphy Anderson, and Gerhard.
6 page story.
Contents |
Summary
Though plate armour will eventually be properly invented in Eshnosopur in 1456, long before, in 1404, a blacksmith named Hagbad Spleen created it first! Discovering it impervious to the previously unstoppable offenseive weapon, the crossbow, he suits up in his "iron clothing" and sets about to show his creation to King Geddas, seeking wealth.
Cerebus and Bear hang out on a small bridge, debating the strengths and weaknesses of the Ress army. Hagbad approaches them on his way to the King, and rubs in the fact that soon there will be no need for mercenaries such as them with his new Iron Clothing at the kingdom's disposal. The pair point out that iron doesn't bend, he shows off the hinged joints. They point out the wearer would sweat to death in five minutes, he denotes the air vents. They point out it's too heavy to jump in, but he proves them wrong by jumping up by doing it a little harder than normal. Unfortunately, he's played right into their subtle scheme, and once Hagbad is on the edge of the bridge, he falls off and sinks to the bottom of the river. Cerebus and Bear watch as the air bubbles cease rising to the water's surface, then depart, continuing their discussion, this time about the soldiers of Smina.
Characters
- Cerebus (last seen in The Applicant; next appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 8)
- Bear (last seen in The Applicant; next appearance in issue 65)
- Hagbad Spleen (only appearance; dies)
Artist Notes
Cerebus Jam intro
I first spoke to Murphy Anderson when he visited Kitchener in connection with the colour separations work his company, Visual Concepts, Inc. would be doing on normalman. In the course of conversation, I asked if he would like to do a Swords back-up story. He said he would. It was this that prompted me to start thinking about a Jam book as an irregular title (which it is fated to be. Sorry guys, bi-monthly is out of the question).
I put the border tape on pages one and two, described what was going on, lettered page one, drew the figures on page three and lettered it, drew the figures and lettered five and six and then mailed the pages to Murphy. He pencilled the Hagbad Spleen figure and all the backgrounds on page one and two, the Hagbad figure only on page four and Hagbad and the bridge on page five.
Murphy was one of my idols in the comics field when I was growing up (or at least getting taller). It was a great thrill for me to ink his work. A very skillful story-teller.
Gerhard did everything else.
Notes From The President (Cerebus Jam)
The Invention of Armour story takes place two years later (from The Defense of Fort Columbia). Bear has persuaded Cerebus that the real money is to be had in going freelance. They are between assignments (obviously) in this story.
Printings
First printed in Cerebus Jam.
