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Cerebus Volume 12: Rick’s Story

Who else never expected to see Rick again? I’d have to think that most people thought he was gone for good after the events in Jaka’s Story. Honestly, it might have been for the best if he had stayed gone, because this ends up being the most forgettable of all the books so far. Guys had Cerebus in a bar, sure, but it was funny because of all the other characters that kept popping up. Here you have Cerebus and Rick talking about stuff and it becoming increasingly apparent that Rick has a few mental problems to work out. If this was just a chance for Dave to talk more shit about women, well, that’s what the letter’s page and the Notes From the President sections are for. Don’t get me wrong, there were funny parts in this, and I guess you can’t technically skip it because a few important things do happen… you know, scratch that. Go ahead and skip this and see if you really miss it in the larger context of the story.

Want me to get into specifics? OK. The parts where Rick is writing a Bible according to Cerebus are impenetrable. No other word for it. It would have been hard to deal with anyway, then he went and wrote it all in Olde English style (or something like that. I don’t know what it was and I’m not about to research it). First thing I had to skip in the course of the entire storyline, and that’s saying something. Then there was the head wound that Rick mysteriously received. If that was supposed to a comment on how the women parasites tapped his brain (from his famous remarks in #186), then it was just nonsensical because he wasn’t even dating anyone at that point. Throw in a an almost completely useless and gratuitous cameo by Dave himself, and what you’re left with isn’t much. There are positives in the book, of course. His natural knack for dialogue makes it impossible for there not to be. Cerebus’s internal dialogue at times, especially after he realizes that Rick is crazy, are priceless. The return of a character that I didn’t think we’d see again after the events of Mothers and Daughters was a nice touch too. Overall, if you have to read this, skip the Bibley parts. Trust me. It’s just not worth it…