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120-476: The comic began as a parody of sword and sorcery comics, primarily Marvel's version of Conan the Barbarian . However, it evolved to explore a variety of other topics, including politics, religion, and gender issues. At a total of 6,000 pages, it progressively became more serious and ambitious than its parodic roots. Sim announced early on that the series would end with the death of the title character. The story has

240-662: A Star Wars spoof). The British comedy group Monty Python is also famous for its parodies, for example, the King Arthur spoof Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), and the Jesus satire Life of Brian (1979). In the 1980s the team of David Zucker , Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker parodied well-established genres such as disaster, war and police movies with the Airplane! , Hot Shots! and Naked Gun series respectively. There

360-576: A plagiarist while printing his panels next to earlier and quite similar Jack Kirby art. A Groth interview with science fiction writer Harlan Ellison sparked a lawsuit by writer Michael Fleisher over an informal discussion of Fleisher's work and temperament. Co-defendants Groth and Ellison won the case, but emerged from the suit estranged. Ellison later became a plaintiff against The Comics Journal , filing suit in part to enjoin The Comics Journal Library: The Writers ,

480-474: A 200-mile-long creature generally interpreted as being a whale. This is a parody of Ctesias ' claims that India has a one-legged race of humans with a single foot so huge it can be used as an umbrella, Homer 's stories of one-eyed giants, and so on. Parody exists in the following related genres: satire , travesty, pastiche , skit , burlesque . Satires and parodies are both derivative works that exaggerate their source material(s) in humorous ways. However,

600-614: A 2006 Fantagraphics book that reprinted the Ellison interview, and which used a cover blurb calling Ellison a "Famous Comics Dilettante". That case was ultimately settled, with Fantagraphics agreeing to omit both the blurb and the interview from any future printings of the book, Ellison agreeing to post a Groth rebuttal statement on Ellison's webpage, and both sides agreeing to avoid future "ad hominem attacks". The Journal has on occasion published, as cover features, lengthy court transcripts of comics-related civil suits. Notable instances include

720-422: A 20th-century Irish context, and T. S. Eliot 's The Waste Land , which incorporates and recontextualizes elements of a vast range of prior texts, including Dante 's The Inferno . The work of Andy Warhol is another prominent example of the modern "recontextualizing" parody. According to French literary theorist Gérard Genette , the most rigorous and elegant form of parody is also the most economical, that

840-403: A 20th-century comics canon in its 210th issue (February 1999). To compile the list, eight contributors and editors made eight separate top 100 (or fewer than 100 for some) lists of American works. These eight lists were then informally combined and tweaked into an ordered list. Krazy Kat topped the list, followed by Peanuts , Pogo , and Art Spiegelman 's Maus . Harvey Kurtzman had

960-483: A blizzard. They finally arrive in Sand Hills Creek only to find that Cerebus's parents are dead and the rest of the community has shunned Cerebus for his perceived abandonment of his family. Cerebus drives Jaka away, blaming her for keeping him away too long. Issues #266–288. First part of the story arc "Latter Days". After a prodigious leap in time over two issues, Cerebus returns from the north intent on provoking

1080-446: A brutal Cirinist dictatorship, and runs into Jaka again. She is illegally working as a dancer in her landlord's tavern. The landlord/barman, Pud, treats Jaka kindly but secretly spends his days lusting after her. Cerebus agrees to live with Jaka and her husband Rick as their houseguest. That story is interwoven with unreliable tales of Jaka's childhood told by a writer, representing Oscar Wilde , using notes and stories provided by Rick. In

1200-518: A bulwark against the Cirinists. Weisshaupt lures Cerebus into a drunken marriage to Red Sophia, but ultimately loses his influence over Cerebus when Weisshaupt's rival, Bishop Powers, appoints Cerebus Pope of the Eastern Church of Tarim. Finally out from under anyone else's control, Cerebus lets absolute power go to his head and demands that all the citizens must give him all their gold or face the end of

1320-569: A chamber pot. We have 'Research on Why Men Have Beards and Women Don't,' 'A Telegram from the Thunder God to His Mother Resigning His Post,' and 'A Public Notice from the King of Whoring Prohibiting Playboys from Skipping Debts.'" Jorge Luis Borges 's (1939) short story " Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote ", is often regarded as predicting postmodernism and conceiving the ideal of the ultimate parody. In

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1440-430: A character based upon Julius "Groucho" Marx , Artemis Roach (a.k.a. The Roach, who would evolve into an all-purpose parody of Marvel and DC superhero characters) and Jaka. The series takes a sharp change in direction with issue #20 which is the first of the "Mind Games" issues that are a feature of the comic and introduces the philosophical Suenteus Po and the ultra-matriarchial Cirinists. Issues #26–50. Cerebus comes to

1560-463: A critique or commentary upon it. In Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. , the Supreme Court ruled that a rap parody of " Oh, Pretty Woman " by 2 Live Crew was fair use, as the parody was a distinctive, transformative work designed to ridicule the original song, and that "even if 2 Live Crew's copying of the original's first line of lyrics and characteristic opening bass riff may be said to go to

1680-530: A different, often incongruous, context. Musical parodies may imitate or refer to the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. For example, "The Ritz Roll and Rock", a song and dance number performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Silk Stockings , parodies the rock and roll genre. Conversely, while the best-known work of "Weird Al" Yankovic is based on particular popular songs, it also often utilises wildly incongruous elements of pop culture for comedic effect. The first usage of

1800-512: A dream realm. The book includes excerpts from books written by Astoria and Cirin that describe their differing beliefs. Cerebus flies across the city to slay Astoria, but is interrupted by the arrival of Suenteus Po. Issues #175–186. Third part of the "Mothers & Daughters" story arc. This book primarily consists of two long text pieces. The first revolves around an author of Reads , heavily illustrated books in Cerebus's world. In this story, there

1920-501: A famous example of which is the Silloi by Pyrrhonist philosopher Timon of Phlius which parodied philosophers living and dead. The style was a rhetorical mainstay of the Cynics and was the most common tone of the works made by Menippus and Meleager of Gadara . In the 2nd century CE, Lucian of Samosata created a parody of travel texts such as Indica and The Odyssey . He described

2040-636: A glutton and the God of Drama Dionysus as cowardly and unintelligent. The traditional trip to the Underworld story is parodied as Dionysus dresses as Heracles to go to the Underworld, in an attempt to bring back a poet to save Athens. The Ancient Greeks created satyr plays which parodied tragic plays , often with performers dressed like satyrs . Parody was used in early Greek philosophical texts to make philosophical points. Such texts are known as spoudaiogeloion ,

2160-414: A heavy drinker (having barely been able to tolerate alcohol in "Jaka's Story"), and it is gradually revealed that the mental and emotional scars from the events at the end of "Jaka's Story" have left him mildly insane. Rick is working on a book about his life, which gradually becomes a religious work in which Cerebus is a holy figure and Rick his follower. Joanne returns and taunts Cerebus by courting Rick. At

2280-520: A lack of independence while embracing codependency . In Flann O'Brien 's novel At Swim-Two-Birds , for example, mad King Sweeney , Finn MacCool , a pookah , and an assortment of cowboys all assemble in an inn in Dublin : the mixture of mythic characters, characters from genre fiction, and a quotidian setting combine for a humor that is not directed at any of the characters or their authors. This combination of established and identifiable characters in

2400-429: A large cast of characters, many of which began as parodies of characters from comic books and popular culture. Starting with the " High Society " storyline, the series became divided into self-contained "novels", which form parts of the overall story. The ten "novels" of the series have been collected in 16 books, known as " Cerebus phonebooks " for their resemblance, by way of their thickness, to telephone directories. At

2520-647: A magazine format. With issue #45 (March 1979), the magazine moved to a monthly schedule; at that point it had a circulation of 10,000. In addition to lengthy interviews with comics industry figures, the Journal has always published criticism—and received it in turn. Starting in the early 2000s, the Journal published a series of annual specials combining its usual critical format with extended samples of comics from specially selected contributors. With issue No. 300 (November 2009), The Comics Journal ceased its semi-monthly print publication. TCJ shifted from an eight-times

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2640-466: A natural development in the life cycle of any genre ; this idea has proven especially fruitful for genre film theorists. Such theorists note that Western movies , for example, after the classic stage defined the conventions of the genre, underwent a parody stage, in which those same conventions were ridiculed and critiqued. Because audiences had seen these classic Westerns, they had expectations for any new Westerns, and when these expectations were inverted,

2760-479: A near-alcoholic stint between relationships, the series features various parodic characters who come and go while Cerebus remains stationary. Cerebus begins a somewhat reluctant relationship with a woman named Joanne, who was first introduced in one of the possible futures with Jaka that "Dave" showed Cerebus in Minds . Issues #220–231. Eventually Jaka's ex-husband Rick arrives at the bar. He has significantly aged, become

2880-412: A new setting is not the same as the post-modernist trope of using historical characters in fiction out of context to provide a metaphoric element. Sometimes the reputation of a parody outlasts the reputation of what is being parodied. For example, Don Quixote , which mocks the traditional knight errant tales, is much better known than the novel that inspired it, Amadis de Gaula (although Amadis

3000-473: A parody can also be about a real-life person (e.g. a politician), event, or movement (e.g. the French Revolution or 1960s counterculture ). Literary scholar Professor Simon Dentith defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice". The literary theorist Linda Hutcheon said "parody ... is imitation, not always at

3120-445: A parody, pastiche is neither transformative of the original work, nor is it humorous. Literary critic Fredric Jameson has referred to the pastiche as a "blank parody", or "parody that has lost its sense of humor". Skits imitate works "in a satirical regime". But unlike travesties, skits do not transform the source material. The burlesque primarily targets heroic poems and theater to degrade popular heroes and gods, as well as mock

3240-407: A period of penance and self-reflection on Pluto , Cerebus asks "Dave" to place him in a bar he remembers from his mercenary days. Issues #201–219. Cerebus spends time, and eventually becomes bartender, in one of the Cirinists' bars where "degenerate" men are essentially quarantined from the female citizens. Described in the trade paperback's introduction as based on a bar that Sim frequented during

3360-401: A personal sales record with issue #100 which, despite being a normal issue in the middle of a story arc , had a print run of 36,000 copies. Sales took a substantial drop over the next 50 issues, however, and Sim commented that the fact that readers could not simply "jump in" to Cerebus , and had to read the entire series in order to be able to understand the current issue, was a major reason for

3480-456: A political campaign by the mysterious Astoria, who is also manipulating Artemis into pseudo-super hero identities that are parodies of Moon Knight and later Sergeant Preston of the Mounties . Cerebus recognizes that he is a pawn in a political game between Lord Julius and Astoria, but he struggles to assert himself and ultimately confounds the expectations of everyone attempting to use him. Cerebus

3600-411: A prayer of his own devising five times a day (which was published in the back of issue #300), and as having sold much of his furniture to donate the money to charity as an act of religious asceticism . In an editorial contained in issue #297, Sim stated that he regards the production of Cerebus as of secondary importance to his religious practice. Sim's religious beliefs tie into his views on gender, and

3720-420: A pre-existing, copyrighted work, some countries have ruled that parodies can fall under copyright limitations such as fair dealing , or otherwise have fair dealing laws that include parody in their scope. Parodies are protected under the fair use doctrine of United States copyright law , but the defense is more successful if the usage of an existing copyrighted work is transformative in nature, such as being

Cerebus the Aardvark - Misplaced Pages Continue

3840-444: A relative of Wilde's. Wilde adopted this alias during this period of his life.) Meanwhile, a catatonic Cerebus, believing Jaka to be dead, spends his days mourning on the patio of a café. In the last few pages of the story, after the main action had concluded, Cerebus overhears a conversation by two Cirinist jailers insulting Jaka. Enraged, Cerebus murders one of the guards and then springs into action. Issues #151–162. First part of

3960-523: A repeating pattern of historical executions of reformers, is interrupted when Cerebus makes the predicted Ascension to the Moon that is the culmination of the land's religious prophecy. There, Cerebus meets the Judge, a timeless, godlike being who has watched over history from the very beginning. (Sim had based the personality of this character on cartoonist and playwright Jules Feiffer .) The Judge explains his version of

4080-409: A reworking of one kind of composition into another (for example, a motet into a keyboard work as Girolamo Cavazzoni , Antonio de Cabezón , and Alonso Mudarra all did to Josquin des Prez motets ). More commonly, a parody mass ( missa parodia ) or an oratorio used extensive quotation from other vocal works such as motets or cantatas ; Victoria , Palestrina , Lassus , and other composers of

4200-515: A satire is meant to make fun of the real world, whereas a parody is a derivative of a specific work ("specific parody") or a general genre ("general parody" or "spoof"). Furthermore, satires are provocative and critical as they point to a specific vice associated with an individual or a group of people to mock them into correction or as a form of punishment. In contrast, parodies are more focused on producing playful humor and do not always attack or criticize its targeted work and/or genre. Of course, it

4320-533: A satirical comedy about Adolf Hitler with the film The Great Dictator , following the first-ever Hollywood parody of the Nazis, the Three Stooges ' short subject You Nazty Spy! . About 20 years later Mel Brooks started his career with a Hitler parody as well. After his 1967 film The Producers won both an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay, Brooks became one of

4440-430: A serious film, but decided that it would not be able to compete with the established series of Bond films. Hence, he decided to parody the series. Kenneth Baker considered poetic parody to take five main forms. A further, more constructive form of poetic parody is one that links the contemporary poet with past forms and past masters through affectionate parodying – thus sharing poetic codes while avoiding some of

4560-529: A similarly formatted adzine for record collectors that they had started after producing Rock 'N Roll Expo '75, held during the July 4 weekend in 1975 in Washington, D.C. The publication was relaunched as The New Nostalgia Journal with issue No. 27 (July 1976), and with issue No. 32 (January 1977), it became The Comics Journal ("a quality publication for the serious comics fan"). Issue No. 37 (December 1977) adopted

4680-479: A time when the series was about 70% completed, celebrated comic book writer Alan Moore wrote: " Cerebus , as if I need to say so, is still to comic books what Hydrogen is to the Periodic Table ". Cerebus was self-published by Dave Sim under his Aardvark-Vanaheim , Inc. publishing banner. For the first few years the company's publisher was Deni Loubert , Sim's girlfriend (the two married and divorced during

4800-597: A work for humorous or satirical effect. See also Fair dealing in United Kingdom law . Some countries do not like parodies and the parodies can be considered insulting. The person who makes the parody can be fined or even jailed. For instance in the UAE and North Korea, this is not allowed. Parody is a prominent genre in online culture, thanks in part to the ease with which digital texts may be altered, appropriated, and shared. Japanese kuso and Chinese e'gao are emblematic of

4920-743: A writer who has accompanied them on their river boat. Issues #251–265. Second and concluding part of the story arc "Going Home". Cerebus and Jaka continue their journey towards Sand Hills Creek, in the company of Ham and Mary Ernestway, analogues to Ernest Hemingway and his fourth wife, Mary. On the trip, Mary tells them about some of her and Ham's journeys. This material is based on Mary Hemingway's journals about Ernest's last African safaris prior to his death. Ham dies in what appears to be suicide, but Cerebus becomes convinced Mary murdered him and flees in panic, taking Jaka with him. They discover that they have been traveling in circles without making any significant progress toward Sand Hills Creek, and nearly die in

Cerebus the Aardvark - Misplaced Pages Continue

5040-399: A year publishing schedule to a larger, more elaborate, semi-annual format supported by a new website. This format lasted until 2013 with issue #302. The print magazine then went on hiatus, returning to a magazine format in 2019 with issue #303. Over the years The Journal has been involved in a handful of lawsuits . Artist Rich Buckler attempted legal action for a review that called him

5160-411: Is a minimal parody , the one that literally reprises a known text and gives it a new meaning. Blank parody, in which an artist takes the skeletal form of an art work and places it in a new context without ridiculing it, is common. Pastiche is a closely related genre , and parody can also occur when characters or settings belonging to one work are used in a humorous or ironic way in another, such as

5280-621: Is a 1989 film parody from Spain of the TV series The A-Team called El equipo Aahhgg directed by José Truchado. More recently, parodies have taken on whole film genres at once. One of the first was Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood and the Scary Movie franchise. Other recent genre parodies include. Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th , Not Another Teen Movie , Date Movie , Epic Movie , Meet

5400-575: Is a strong thread about the dangers of commercial success and "selling out". The series moves from this storyline to a long essay attributed to Viktor Davis, a fictional Reads author. This essay puts forth a theory on the nature of the sexes, describing the "Female Void" focused on feeling, and the "Male Light" focused on reason. These two stories are accompanied by a long discussion between Cirin, Astoria, Cerebus, and Suenteus Po. Po gives information about aardvarks, including that all aardvarks have Cerebus's "magnifier" quality, and attempts to convince each of

5520-653: Is actually named Serna and was the best friend of the real Cirin (the old woman Cerebus encountered in Women ), but usurped Cirin's leadership and effectively exchanged identities with her. "Dave" then gives Cerebus information about his past, showing that Cerebus unwittingly ruined his original destiny, causing chaotic repercussions which have influenced most of his adventures. Cerebus demands that "Dave" make Jaka love him; in response, "Dave" shows Cerebus visions of possible futures between himself and Jaka, all of which are disastrously flawed for both of them due to Cerebus's nature. After

5640-419: Is clearly aimed at a popular (and usually lucrative) subject. The spy film craze of the 1960s, fuelled by the popularity of James Bond is such an example. In this genre a rare, and possibly unique, example of a parody film taking aim at a non-comedic subject over which it actually holds copyright is the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale . In this case, producer Charles K. Feldman initially intended to make

5760-716: Is disgusted and horrified when Shep-Shep shows him the results of one of the experiments, a lion cub with a human baby's head, and explains his mother's plans. As Shep-Shep leaves, Cerebus grabs a knife, intending to kill him, but falls out of bed and breaks his neck. He dies alone, unmourned, and unloved, just as the Judge had predicted. His life flashes before his eyes in a series of flashback panels and his ghost sees many of his old friends and enemies waiting for him in "the Light". Jaka, Bear, and Ham beckon to him, and he eagerly rushes to join them, thinking they are in Heaven , but then he notices

5880-430: Is eager to make as much time as possible, as he fears being trapped in the mountains near Sand Hills Creek by winter, but instead he indulges Jaka's desire for shopping and public appearances. Along the way, they encounter veiled hostility from the Cirinists. Cerebus and Jaka's relationship begins to show signs of deterioration, and Jaka is almost tempted away by F. Stop Kennedy (a fictional version of F. Scott Fitzgerald ),

6000-450: Is eventually elected Prime Minister of Iest, but launches an unnecessary war of conquest that causes him to lose everything. Issues #52–80. After some travels, Cerebus returns to Iest and is manipulated by Weisshaupt, who wants to use Cerebus's popularity with the masses, into again becoming Prime Minister of Iest. Weisshaupt has maneuvered himself into the tenuous presidency of a federation of states (including Iest, Palnu and New Sepra) as

6120-534: Is introduced as an amoral barbarian mercenary, fighting (and betraying) for money and drinking it away. During his adventures, he encounters the warrior Pigts (whose religion reveres aardvarks) and the insane wizard Necross, who turns himself into a giant stone Thrunk (visually similar to Marvel Comics ' The Thing ). Most of the series' prominent characters are introduced (or at least mentioned) in these issues, including Elrod of Melvinbone (a parodic representation of Michael Moorcock 's Elric of Melniboné ), Lord Julius,

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6240-466: Is maimed for striking her). Jaka returns to Palnu, and Cerebus returns to the inn to find it in ruins. Issues #139–150. This story arc concentrates on the last days and death of Oscar Wilde (who is attended to by his trusted companion Robbie Ross ) rather than on Cerebus himself, who appears in only a few pages. (The title refers to the gothic novel Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin ,

6360-455: Is mentioned in the book). Another case is the novel Shamela by Henry Fielding (1742), which was a parody of the gloomy epistolary novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) by Samuel Richardson . Many of Lewis Carroll 's parodies of Victorian didactic verse for children, such as " You Are Old, Father William ", are much better known than the (largely forgotten) originals. Stella Gibbons 's comic novel Cold Comfort Farm has eclipsed

6480-405: Is not required under law to get permission to parody; as a personal rule, however, he does seek permission to parody a person's song before recording it. Several artists, such as rapper Chamillionaire and Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana stated that Yankovic's parodies of their respective songs were excellent, and many artists have considered being parodied by him to be a badge of honor. In

6600-408: Is often used to make a social or political statement. Examples include Swift 's " A Modest Proposal ", which satirized English neglect of Ireland by parodying emotionally disengaged political tracts; and, recently, The Daily Show , The Larry Sanders Show and The Colbert Report , which parody a news broadcast and a talk show to satirize political and social trends and events. On the other hand,

6720-424: Is possible for a parody to maintain satiric elements without crossing into satire itself, as long as its "light verse with modest aspirations" ultimately dominates the work. A travesty imitates and transforms a work, but focuses more on the satirization of it. Because satire is meant to attack someone or something, the harmless playfulness of parody is lost. A pastiche imitates a work as a parody does, but unlike

6840-564: Is protection for Fair Dealing , there is no explicit protection for parody and satire. In Canwest v. Horizon , the publisher of the Vancouver Sun launched a lawsuit against a group which had published a pro- Palestinian parody of the paper. Alan Donaldson, the judge in the case, ruled that parody is not a defence to a copyright claim. As of the implementation of the Copyright Modernization Act 2012, "Fair dealing for

6960-418: Is set against the original. The Oxford English Dictionary , for example, defines parody as imitation "turned as to produce a ridiculous effect". Because par- also has the non-antagonistic meaning of beside , "there is nothing in parodia to necessitate the inclusion of a concept of ridicule." In Greek Old Comedy even the gods could be made fun of. The Frogs portrays the hero-turned-god Heracles as

7080-594: The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 , now provides an exception to infringement where there is fair dealing of the original work for the purpose of parody (or alternatively for the purpose of caricature or pastiche). The legislation does not define what is meant by "parody", but the UK IPO ;– the Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)  – suggests that a "parody" is something that imitates

7200-497: The Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon . Parody generators are computer programs which generate text that is syntactically correct , but usually meaningless , often in the style of a technical paper or a particular writer. They are also called travesty generators and random text generators. Their purpose is often satirical , intending to show that there is little difference between the generated text and real examples. Parody

7320-399: The Journal ' s combination of forthright news coverage and critical analysis – although the norm for traditional journalistic enterprises – was in sharp contrast to the affectionate and promotional methods of publications like Comics Buyer's Guide and (later) Wizard . In 1995, publisher Gary Groth joked that his magazine occupied "a niche that nobody wants". Gary Groth has been

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7440-597: The Journal ' s publisher and nominal editor for almost all of its existence. Staff members and regular contributors have included Kim Thompson , Greg Stump, Eric Millikin , Eric Reynolds, Ng Suat Tong, R. Fiore, R.C. Harvey , Kenneth Smith, Don Phelps , Robert Boyd, Tom Heintjes, Michael Dean, Tom Spurgeon , Robert Rodi , Gene Phillips, Marilyn Bethke, Cat Yronwode , Heidi MacDonald , Lee Wochner , Bhob Stewart , Arn Saba , Ted White , Bob Levin, Carter Scholz , and Noah Berlatsky. Guest contributors have included Dave Sim and Trina Robbins . The Journal published

7560-656: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a fair use defense in the Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books case. Citing the Campbell v. Acuff-Rose decision, they found that a satire of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and parody of The Cat in the Hat had infringed upon the children's book because it did not provide a commentary function upon that work. Under Canadian law , although there

7680-566: The Punisher . Issues #163–174. Second part of the story-arc "Mothers & Daughters". Cerebus crashes back to earth. He is assisted by a mysterious old woman who is being openly spied upon by the Cirinists; she sends him to a bar to hide. This story arc includes a parody of Neil Gaiman 's The Sandman in which the Roach plays "Swoon" (a parody of Dream ) and Elrod plays "Snuff" (a trans person parody of Death ). Astoria and Cirin symbolically duel in

7800-472: The anxiety of influence . More aggressive in tone are playground poetry parodies, often attacking authority, values and culture itself in a carnivalesque rebellion: "Twinkle, Twinkle little star,/ Who the hell do you think you are?" A subset of parody is self-parody in which artists parody their own work (as in Ricky Gervais 's Extras ). Although a parody can be considered a derivative work of

7920-478: The "Mothers & Daughters" story arc. Cerebus and Cirin ascend, then are separated by a mysterious force. As Cerebus flies through the solar system, he is shown images from his past and is forced to reconsider his actions and his faith. He then encounters a disembodied voice calling itself "Dave" that acknowledges itself as Cerebus's creator. "Dave" shows Cerebus the history of the Cirinist movement, revealing that Cirin

8040-471: The "Mothers & Daughters" story arc. Cerebus's return to Iest and slaughter of Cirinsts leads to a very brief failed revolution. Cerebus descends into darkness and speaks with Suenteus Po. Meanwhile, Cirin works to manage her sect and arrange her own Ascension. Artemis, with Elrod as his sidekick, also stages his own impromptu revolution under his new persona "PunisherRoach", a parody of the Marvel comics character

8160-525: The 16th century used this technique. The term is also sometimes applied to procedures common in the Baroque period , such as when Bach reworks music from cantatas in his Christmas Oratorio . The musicological definition of the term parody has now generally been supplanted by a more general meaning of the word. In its more contemporary usage, musical parody usually has humorous, even satirical intent, in which familiar musical ideas or lyrics are lifted into

8280-550: The 1910s and 1920s, writers in China's entertainment market parodied anything and everything.... They parodied speeches, advertisements, confessions, petitions, orders, handbills, notices, policies, regulations, resolutions, discourses, explications, sutras, memorials to the throne, and conference minutes. We have an exchange of letters between the Queue and the Beard and Eyebrows. We have a eulogy for

8400-476: The Cirinists into killing him. Instead, he is captured by a trio of characters based on the Three Stooges , who await a religious revelation from him. While Cerebus was in the north, a religious movement developed out of the teachings of Rick and his writings about Cerebus. Once Cerebus supplies the required revelation, he inspires a successful anti-Cirinist rebellion and a subsequent reordering of society. Much of

8520-648: The Fleisher suit and Marv Wolfman 's failed suit against Marvel Comics over ownership of the character Blade . The Journal features critical essays, articles on comics history and lengthy interviews, conducted by Gary Groth and others. Noteworthy interviews include Gil Kane in No. 38, Steve Gerber in No. 41, Harlan Ellison in No. 53, Dennis O'Neil in No. 64, Robert Crumb in No. 113, and Charles M. Schulz in #200. According to Rick Cusick, writing in Gauntlet magazine,

8640-485: The Light is female, now identified with YHWH. issue #186 was followed by another essay in the back of issue #265 called "Tangent", in which Sim identified a "feminist/homosexualist axis" that opposed traditional and rational societal values. This material appeared as Sim was retreating from public life and becoming more marginalized by his peers in the industry. Sim himself appeared as a character in Cerebus , as when he berated

8760-806: The Sanctuary is under lockdown due to opposition from a new and even more rabidly "feminist-homosexualist" group led by Shep-Shep's mother, whom Cerebus refers to as "New Joanne", which favors such "rights" as pedophilia , zoophilia , juvenile recreational drug use and lesbian motherhood . As a result, social values have undergone a complete breakdown. Cerebus finally goes to bed despairing of seeing his son again, but Shep-Shep manages to sneak into Cerebus's room late that night. Their subsequent conversation shatters Cerebus's last illusions about his son. Shep-Shep has aligned himself with his mother, who has been conducting genetic engineering experiments, partly with knowledge gained from Cirin's earlier experimentation. Cerebus

8880-576: The Spartans , Superhero Movie , Disaster Movie , Vampires Suck , and The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It , all of which have been critically panned. Many parody films have as their target out-of-copyright or non-copyrighted subjects (such as Frankenstein or Robin Hood) whilst others settle for imitation which does not infringe copyright, but

9000-538: The US legal system the point that in most cases a parody of a work constitutes fair use was upheld in the case of Rick Dees , who decided to use 29 seconds of the music from the song When Sonny Gets Blue to parody Johnny Mathis ' singing style even after being refused permission. An appeals court upheld the trial court's decision that this type of parody represents fair use. Fisher v. Dees 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986) Some genre theorists , following Bakhtin , see parody as

9120-402: The absence of Rick and realizes that the Light may in fact be Hell . He calls out to God for help, but is dragged into the Light nonetheless. Parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation . Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but

9240-736: The advantages of a new parody exception were sufficient to override the disadvantages to the creators and owners of the underlying work. There is therefore no proposal to change the current approach to parody, caricature and pastiche in the UK." However, following the Hargreaves Review in May 2011 (which made similar proposals to the Gowers Review) the Government broadly accepted these proposals. The current law (effective from 1 October 2014), namely Section 30A of

9360-537: The audience laughed. An early parody film was the 1922 movie Mud and Sand , a Stan Laurel film that made fun of Rudolph Valentino 's film Blood and Sand . Laurel specialized in parodies in the mid-1920s, writing and acting in a number of them. Some were send-ups of popular films, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde —parodied in the comic Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1926). Others were spoofs of Broadway plays, such as No, No, Nanette (1925), parodied as Yes, Yes, Nanette (1925). In 1940 Charlie Chaplin created

9480-469: The authors of such accounts as liars who had never traveled, nor ever talked to any credible person who had. In his ironically named book True History Lucian delivers a story which exaggerates the hyperbole and improbable claims of those stories. Sometimes described as the first science fiction , the characters travel to the Moon, engage in interplanetary war with the help of aliens they meet there, and then return to Earth to experience civilization inside

9600-537: The broader sense of Greek parodia , parody can occur when whole elements of one work are lifted out of their context and reused, not necessarily to be ridiculed. Traditional definitions of parody usually only discuss parody in the stricter sense of something intended to ridicule the text it parodies. There is also a broader, extended sense of parody that may not include ridicule, and may be based on many other uses and intentions. The broader sense of parody, parody done with intent other than ridicule, has become prevalent in

9720-503: The bulk of the Cerebus storyline after "Guys" deals with this, especially "Rick's Story", "Latter Days", and "The Last Day". A quarterly publication, Following Cerebus , followed in August 2004, featuring correspondence, essays, and previously unpublished artwork from Sim, as well as interviews with other comic writers and artists. Sim was rumored to have said that had he died or otherwise chosen not to complete Cerebus prior to issue #300,

9840-481: The case of the moralistic melodramas in the 1910s, it retains value only as a parody, as demonstrated by the Buster Keaton shorts that mocked that genre. A parody may also be known as a spoof , a satire , a send-up , a take-off , a lampoon , a play on ( something ), or a caricature . According to Aristotle ( Poetics , ii. 5), Hegemon of Thasos was the inventor of a kind of parody; by slightly altering

9960-523: The central and most representative artistic device, the catalysing agent of artistic creation and innovation. This most prominently happened in the second half of the century with postmodernism , but earlier modernism and Russian formalism had anticipated this perspective. For the Russian formalists, parody was a way of liberation from the background text that enables to produce new and autonomous artistic forms. Historian Christopher Rea writes that "In

10080-534: The comic's run). Sim's position as a pioneering self-publisher in comics inspired numerous writer/artists after him, most notably Jeff Smith ( Bone ), Terry Moore ( Strangers in Paradise ), and Martin Wagner ( Hepcats ). In 1979, Sim, who was at the time a frequent marijuana user, began using LSD , taking the drug with such frequency that he was eventually hospitalized. It was this incident that Sim claims led to

10200-416: The common tropes within the genre. Simon Dentith has described this type of parody as "parodic anti-heroic drama". A parody imitates and mocks a specific, recognizable work (e.g. a book, movie, etc.) or the characteristic style of a particular author. A spoof mocks an entire genre by exaggerating its conventions and cliches for humorous effect. In classical music , as a technical term, parody refers to

10320-575: The company. Sim has already granted a general license for other creators to use his characters in their own works, stating that he is trying to be consistent with his own appropriation of others' works. In early 2009, Sim launched the bimonthly series Cerebus Archive . It was translated into Italian; and in 2011, Church and State Vol. I was published in Spanish. Issues #1–25. This first story arc, uniquely in this series, consists of one to three-issue storylines with only occasional back-references. Cerebus

10440-499: The creation myth of Cerebus's universe, before warning Cerebus that he will live only a few more years before dying "alone, unmourned and unloved". The Judge tells Cerebus that if the Aardvark ever questions his suffering, he should remember his "second marriage" to Astoria. Cerebus then falls back to earth, where he discovers that the Cirinists have invaded, and his empire has collapsed. Issues #114–136. Cerebus returns to Iest, now under

10560-467: The end Cerebus disguises himself and travels to the Lower City to buy a jar of paint. While he is gone, the Cirinists find the tavern, kill Pud and arrest Jaka, Rick, and Oscar. Jaka is made to sign a confession of immoral behavior, and is reunited with Rick; however, the Cirinists reveal to Rick that Jaka aborted the son that Rick always wanted. He lashes out at Jaka and is allowed to divorce her (although he

10680-406: The end of the book, Rick departs, for reasons not entirely clear, and tells Cerebus that he will see Rick only once more in his life. After Rick has left, Jaka shows up at the bar, and she and Cerebus depart together, heading for Cerebus's childhood home of Sand Hills Creek. Issues #232–250. First part of the "Going Home" story arc. Cerebus and Jaka travel across land, then on a river boat. Cerebus

10800-435: The expense of the parodied text." Parody may be found in art or culture, including literature , music , theater , television and film , animation , and gaming . The writer and critic John Gross observes in his Oxford Book of Parodies , that parody seems to flourish on territory somewhere between pastiche ("a composition in another artist's manner, without satirical intent") and burlesque (which "fools around with

10920-540: The importance of parody in online cultures in Asia. Video mash-ups and other parodic memes , such as humorously altered Chinese characters, have been particularly popular as a tool for political protest in the People's Republic of China, the government of which maintains an extensive censorship apparatus. Chinese internet slang makes extensive use of puns and parodies on how Chinese characters are pronounced or written, as illustrated in

11040-465: The inspiration to produce Cerebus for 300 monthly issues. When Sim published the first Cerebus "phone book", a paperback collection of the High Society graphic novel (Issues #26–#50), he angered distributors—who felt that their support had been instrumental in his series' success in an industry generally indifferent to small publishers—by offering the first printing via mail order only. The decision

11160-445: The laborious trek to his writing desk to write down his new revelation. He then hides the manuscript, and it is implied that nobody will find it for two thousand years. Cerebus spends most of the rest of the book trying to persuade his chief of security, Walter O'Reilly (named after Corporal Walter (Radar) O'Reilly from M*A*S*H ), to admit his son, Shep-Shep, with whom he remembers sharing an idyllic father–son relationship. However,

11280-538: The last issue of the arc that Cerebus has been talking to a female reporter who bears a striking resemblance to Jaka. He eventually falls in love with the woman and marries her. Issues #289–300. The second and concluding part of "Latter Days", and the conclusion of the series as a whole. In the first 40 pages Cerebus has a dream or vision in which cosmology is seen as a reflection of theology , complete with explanatory footnotes by Sim. Upon waking Cerebus—now incredibly aged, decrepit, pain-wracked, and mildly senile—makes

11400-452: The material of high literature and adapts it to low ends"). Meanwhile, the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot distinguishes between the parody and the burlesque, "A good parody is a fine amusement, capable of amusing and instructing the most sensible and polished minds; the burlesque is a miserable buffoonery which can only please the populace." Historically, when a formula grows tired, as in

11520-535: The modern parody of the 20th century. In the extended sense, the modern parody does not target the parodied text, but instead uses it as a weapon to target something else. The reason for the prevalence of the extended, recontextualizing type of parody in the 20th century is that artists have sought to connect with the past while registering differences brought by modernity . Major modernist examples of this recontextualizing parody include James Joyce 's Ulysses , which incorporates elements of Homer 's Odyssey in

11640-553: The most entries of any creator, five: his original run on Mad (#8), his "New Trend" EC war comics (#12), the 1959 Jungle Book graphic novel (#26), his Hey Look! gag cartoons (#63), and the Goodman Beaver stories (#64). The Village Voice cited the survey's ad hoc criteria: Among the controversial omissions to the Top 100 was Dave Sim 's Cerebus series. Sim and the Journal had periodically found themselves at odds in

11760-550: The most famous film parodists and created spoofs in multiple film genres. Blazing Saddles (1974) is a parody of western films, History of the World, Part I (1981) is a historical parody, Robin Hood Men in Tights (1993) is Brooks' take on the classic Robin Hood tale, and his spoofs in the horror, sci-fi and adventure genres include Young Frankenstein (1974), and Spaceballs (1987,

11880-621: The original's 'heart,' that heart is what most readily conjures up the song for parody, and it is the heart at which parody takes aim." In 2001, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals , in Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin , upheld the right of Alice Randall to publish a parody of Gone with the Wind called The Wind Done Gone , which told the same story from the point of view of Scarlett O'Hara 's slaves, who were glad to be rid of her. In 2007,

12000-440: The others to abandon their pursuits of power and return to what they enjoy doing most, then leaves them to their fates. Astoria is convinced and also leaves, but not before giving Cerebus information about her history with Cirin and also informing him of his hermaphrodite nature. Cerebus and Cirin then engage in a long and brutal fight, which leads to the beginning of another ascension. issue #187–200. Fourth and concluding part of

12120-498: The papacy. Astoria has mysteriously killed the Western pope ("the Lion of Serrea"), and Cerebus must execute her for the crime in order to retain his papacy. Cerebus confronts her in a dungeon, and after being taunted by Astoria, he grants himself a divorce from Red Sophia, marries himself to Astoria, rapes her, and then divorces himself from her. Astoria's trial, which echoes with similarities to

12240-445: The pastoral novels of Mary Webb which largely inspired it. In more recent times, the television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! is perhaps better known than the drama Secret Army which it parodies. Some artists carve out careers by making parodies. One of the best-known examples is that of "Weird Al" Yankovic . His career of parodying other musical acts and their songs has outlasted many of the artists or bands he has parodied. Yankovic

12360-512: The physical universe). As Sim himself says in an interview with The Comics Journal , " Cerebus #1–200 [is] the completion of the story. The yin and yang . The ultra-female reading. The ultra-male reading. I'm attaching an allegory to the Big Bang . You make up your mind which one's the pit and which one's the top of the mountain." By the end of the series, the Void is again male and identified as God, and

12480-497: The political suppression of art , is generally cited as the series' pinnacle of narrative achievement. Later issues of the series became highly personal, and began to alienate many long-time fans, female readers especially. Issue #186 (collected in Reads ) contained a lengthy prose section that was attacked by some readers and critics for what they perceived as overt misogyny , and which Sim describes as "anti- feminism ". During this part of

12600-439: The products of the mainstream comics industry, the magazine promotes the view that comics are a fine art , meriting broader cultural respect, and thus should be evaluated with higher critical standards. In 1976, Gary Groth and Michael Catron acquired The Nostalgia Journal , a small competitor of the newspaper adzine The Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom . At the time, Groth and Catron were already publishing Sounds Fine ,

12720-579: The purpose of research, private study, education, parody or satire does not infringe copyright." In 2006 the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property recommended that the UK should "create an exception to copyright for the purpose of caricature, parody or pastiche by 2008". Following the first stage of a two-part public consultation, the Intellectual Property Office reported that the information received "was not sufficient to persuade us that

12840-416: The remaining issues were to either consist of blank pages or Gerhard was to have drawn his backgrounds only, leaving Sim's contribution blank. It is not known if this plan was ever serious, since it was never put into effect. At the completion of the series, Sim directed that upon his and Gerhard's death, Cerebus would enter into the public domain . Effective 31 December 2006, Sim purchased Gerhard's share of

12960-484: The sales drop. In July 1984, Cerebus publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim was threatened with possible legal action by Marvel Comics over a parody of Wolverine in Cerebus . When Sim guest-wrote the 10th issue of Todd McFarlane 's comics series Spawn , he donated his entire fee—over $ 100,000—to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund . "Jaka's Story", a tragic character study dealing with gender roles and

13080-457: The second half of this chapter consists of Cerebus giving a highly idiosyncratic analysis of the Torah . Published over the course of nearly a year, this section, called "Chasing YHWH", was presented almost entirely in text format, with minimal art. This story arc is unusual in that disembodied thought balloons give the impression that Cerebus is speaking directly to the reader at times. It is revealed in

13200-428: The story, the storyline consisted of a textual treatise written by Viktor Davis, a fictional "Reads" author, interspersed with the main Cerebus storyline. In Davis's material, he refers to the "creative male light" and the "emotional female void", a reversal of the gender-based view of creation espoused by the Judge at the end of Church and State (in which the "female light" is raped by the "male void" and shatters into

13320-596: The title character in the "Minds" story arc. Sim's religious beliefs heavily influenced the last third of Cerebus 's storyline. Once an atheist , Sim became a believer in God while gathering research material for "Rick's Story". However, rather than following an established religion, Sim follows his own personal belief system cobbled together from elements of Judaism , Christianity , and Islam , although he described himself in issue #8 of Following Cerebus as "mostly Muslim". A 2003 magazine interview describes Sim as reciting

13440-548: The transformation of minor characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Shakespeare 's drama Hamlet into the principal characters in a comedic perspective on the same events in the play (and film) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . Similarly, Mishu Hilmy 's Trapped in the Netflix uses parody to deconstruct contemporary Netflix shows like Mad Men providing commentary through popular characters. Don Draper mansplaining about mansplaining, Luke Danes monologizing about

13560-400: The vacant spots". Twelve years later, the omission was still being acknowledged by the Journal , which noted that Dave Sim's Cerebus "was conspicuously excluded". Regarding the inclusion of superhero comics on the list, editor and survey participant Tom Spurgeon wrote: "I voted for most of the men-in-spandex titles that made the list – Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Plastic Man – despite

13680-422: The wealthy city-state of Iest as the representative of Lord Julius's city-state of Palnu. He quickly finds himself enmeshed in the fast-paced world of high finance and politics, and comic tension is built through his ignorance of the "high society" machinations going on around him. Cerebus is befriended by the legendary Regency Elf as he adjusts to his new circumstances. He meets and soon finds himself maneuvered into

13800-700: The word parody in English cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is in Ben Jonson , in Every Man in His Humour in 1598: "A Parodie, a parodie! to make it absurder than it was." The next citation comes from John Dryden in 1693, who also appended an explanation, suggesting that the word was in common use, meaning to make fun of or re-create what you are doing. Since the 20th century, parody has been heightened as

13920-516: The wording in well-known poems he transformed the sublime into the ridiculous. In ancient Greek literature , a parodia was a narrative poem imitating the style and prosody of epics "but treating light, satirical or mock-heroic subjects". Indeed, the components of the Greek word are παρά para "beside, counter, against" and ᾠδή oide "song". Thus, the original Greek word παρῳδία parodia has sometimes been taken to mean "counter-song", an imitation that

14040-598: The world. Sophia walks out on Cerebus, and then he discovers that Jaka is married and pregnant. Cerebus is threatened by Weisshaupt's secret invention of cannons , but Weisshaupt suffers a heart attack and Cerebus continues his papal reign of terror. He is finally ejected from the Upper City by the sudden invasion of the giant stone Thrunk, who claims to be the God Tarim. Issues #81–111. Cerebus returns to Iest's Upper City and uses Weisshaupt's cannons to destroy Thrunk and reclaim

14160-406: The writer and frequent parodist Vladimir Nabokov made a distinction: "Satire is a lesson, parody is a game." The Comics Journal The Comics Journal , often abbreviated TCJ , is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books , comic strips and graphic novels . Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing reviews of

14280-451: The years preceding the list's formulation. Issue #213 included eight pages of responses to, and defenses of the list; Journal columnist R. Fiore wrote "Dave Sim must now think you have a personal vendetta against him", and co-publisher Kim Thompson conceded: "If I had to do it over again, I'd squash together the Hernandez material into two entries [and] put Cerebus and two other things in

14400-466: Was a financial windfall for Sim, however, grossing over $ 150,000 in sales (equivalent to $ 417,000 in 2023). Sim became known for picking up hotel tabs for self-publishers and helping other self-publishers by paying for meals and limo service between stops. Negotiations regarding DC buying Cerebus took place over the course of 1985 to 1988, offering $ 100,000 ($ 258,000 today) and 10% of all licensing and merchandising, which Sim rejected. The series hit

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