Jaka's Story (comics)

Last updated

Contents

Jaka's Story
CerebusJakasStoryCollectionCover.jpg
Cover to the Jaka's Story collection (Aardvark-Vanaheim, 1990)
Date1990
Series Cerebus
Page count486 pages
Publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim
Creative team
Writer Dave Sim
Artists
Original publication
Issues114–136, 138
Chronology
Preceded by Church & State
Followed by Melmoth

Jaka's Story is the fourth major storyline in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comics series.

Originally published in Cerebus #114-136, the storyline continues in the wake of the events of "Church and State" and the conquest of the city of Iest by the fascist matriarchal Cirinists. The story focuses on Cerebus, his longtime love interest Jaka, Jaka's husband Rick, Oscar (a stand-in for the real life Oscar Wilde), and Jaka's employer Pud (a tavern owner who employs Jaka) as they struggle against the repressive fascist regime of the Cirinists. In particular, the free spirited Jaka defies the Cirinist ban on dancing, which leads to ruin for Rick, Jaka, and Cerebus.

The book flashes back and forth between Jaka's lonely, aristocratic childhood up to her twelfth birthday, and the "present" time of the main Cerebus storyline. The "present" sections are told in comics form while the "past" portions are told in flowery prose sections, which the reader finds out later are written by Oscar (and are in Sim's imitation of Wilde's writing style), unknown to Jaka and based on what Oscar has heard from Rick.

Overview

The story alternates between "the present" in regular comics pages (mostly done in a six-panel grid) and "the past" in illustrated text passages. [1] Cerebus' character remains mostly in the background, and doesn't even appear in most of the second half of the book. [2]

The overblown prose of the text passages, the reader discovers later, were written by Jaka and Rick's artistic neighbour Oscar (a caricature of Oscar Wilde). [1] It tells the tale of Jaka's childhood and aristocratic origins [2] as she is brought up in her uncle Lord Julius' household with an overbearing Nurse, as interpreted by Oscar from stories he has heard from Rick. Nurse's face is never seen—often it is replaced with the face of Jaka's doll, Missy). [3]

The story is told with a limited number of people and locations, creating a confined, claustrophobic feeling. [4] Much of the novel is spent developing the characters, and Cerebus himself takes a back-seat role.

Synopsis

Prologue

(Cerebus #114)

Jaka goes about her morning, waking her husband Rick and preparing the bath and his breakfast, and irritatedly prodding him to go find work in the Lower City.

Parallel to this, in the prose sections, we see Jaka as a lonely child, also going about her morning, being watched over by her imposing Nurse. Her only friend was her doll, Missy. Together, they are taken to visit a park in which she plays on a wooden horse called Thunder, but which in her imagination is called Magic. [5] The reader finds out that Missy is still with Jaka in the "present", sitting on her shelf, watching over her, as if protecting her. [3]

Book One: Pogrom's Progress

(Cerebus #115–119)

Cerebus, on his way down towards the Lower City, comes across a tavern run by Pud Withers. Cerebus tries to order an ale, but Pud panics when Cerebus tries to pay with a gold coin—certain indenture laws have sent the price of gold "through the roof". [6] Jaka walks in and, seeing that Cerebus is still alive, she embraces him and invites him to stay at her home. Cerebus learns that Jaka has had a miscarriage, and meets Rick. After staying for some time, Cerebus announces to Jaka that he will not leave without her. [7] Rick overhears the conversation between Jaka and Cerebus and realizes that their guest had formerly been the Pope. Cerebus stays, witnessing Jaka and Rick's fights and make-up love-makings through the walls. [8]

Jaka works for Pud as a dancer in the evenings, though she feels "useless" [9] that she has drawn no customers. She also seem unaware of Pud's lusting for her—he plays out fantasy conversations with her in his mind [8] —or the fact that he's ruining himself financially over her. [10]

During the text sections, we follow Jaka's lonely childhood, as she hits her head on Magic and is left bedridden; and as she finds a hidden room in the house.

Book Two: The Poet

(Cerebus #120–130)

Oscar, Jaka and Rick's next-door neighbour (and a caricature of Oscar Wilde) return from the Upper City. Rick is enamoured of Oscar, who is vain, rude and arrogant. Rick tells Oscar that he wants to have a son, and that he will give his son a foal when he turns 10. He'll have his son lift it over his head every day until he turns 13, at which point he'll be able to lift a full-grown horse, and not be skinny and weak like Rick himself. Rick accidentally lets Oscar know of their houseguest, before quickly remembering that Cerebus had been the Pope and was in hiding. He covers up by calling Cerebus "Fred" and claiming he is Jaka's brother. [11]

Jaka and Pud both dislike Oscar. Pud makes no effort to disguise his dislike; however, as landlord, must allow him to stay, as his dead mother had given Oscar a 90-year lease on his house.

Jaka returns home excitedly one night after having her first customer at Pud's tavern, an old veteran. The news is stifled by Rick and "Fred", who are in the middle of a game, and Jaka goes to her room in tears. Rick follows, and the two fight, partly over Rick's insistence that he will go to the Lower City to fetch paint for Oscar. "Fred" overhears, and in the morning leaves a note saying that he will go to the Lower City for the paint. [11]

Oscar lets Rick know that he has completed a book—the very book that the reader has been reading between the comics. Oscar lets Jaka know through Rick, and has himself invited to see Jaka dance. Jaka's curiosity is piqued and she consents. She dances for Oscar, Rick, Pud and the veteran. Oscar then excuses himself to get the manuscript of the book, and while he is gone, Rick lets her know that it is about her childhood. Jaka is mortified—she can't believe Rick would tell such private things to Oscar. [11]

Before Oscar can return, the tavern is discovered and invaded by Cirinists. Exotic dancing is illegal in Cirinist-run Iest, and Jaka is arrested. Pud and the veteran are killed. Oscar returns, but assures the Cirinsts that he was not a patron. They arrest him, instead, for writing a book without having an "artistic license", [12] and sentence him to two years hard labour.

Book Three: Mystery Achievement

(Cerebus #131–136)

Jaka is imprisoned by the Cirinists for the felony of being an exotic dancer. In the prison, she finds out that her neighbour in the next cell is Nurse, who is to be executed for lacking the proper immigration papers. [13] Jaka is treated harshly by the prison guard, and is led to believe that Rick is dead.

We are introduced to Mrs. Thatcher, a caricature of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, a matriarch who tries to show Jaka what exotic dancing "really was", as opposed to what Jaka believed it to be. [note 1] She is allowed to return to Palnu on the condition that she sign an admission of wrongdoing. Under pressure, she signs, whereupon she is told that Rick is still alive and they are to be reunited. When they are brought together, however, Mrs. Thatcher reveals to Rick that the Cirinists knew that Jaka had had an abortion, not a miscarriage. Rick explodes and strikes Jaka. The two are allowed to separate, with Rick being returned to his mother, but not before having his left thumb broken for "striking a woman". [14]

At the end, "Fred" returns with the paint, only to find the houses burnt out and the inhabitants gone.

Epilogue

(from second half of Cerebus #138)

Jaka spends her time in the suite in Palnu where she had spent her last year before running away. The servants gossip, while Jaka, who barely eats or drinks, stares vacantly out a window. [15]

Characters

Jaka Nash (née Tavers)
Married to Rick and pregnant by him, Jaka is now dancing at Pud's tavern in exchange for just enough money to cover rent and groceries, which are provided by Pud. While she had been pregnant the last time she and Cerebus met, she tells Cerebus she has had a miscarriage. Later, it is revealed that she had actually had an illegal abortion.
In a 1994 interview (around the time the anti-feminist [note 2] [16] [17] Cerebus #186 was published), Sim claimed he wrote Jaka as a nuanced, sympathetic character only as a "writing exercise", the point of which was to build her up in the readers' minds and then tear her down at the end of the story, [10] although in the past Sim had written that Jaka was someone he would actually like to hang out with.[ citation needed ] Jaka was ranked 55th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. [18]
Nurse
Jaka's governess in the prose sections of the book; stern and overbearing. Her real name is Ada Talbot.
Rick Nash
Jaka's unemployed husband; slack, immature but likeable. [3] He desperately wants a son. He also enjoys hanging around with Oscar and helping him out, though Jaka considers Oscar a bad influence.
In the introduction to the Jaka's Story phonebook, Sim dispels the idea that Rick was based on himself. He goes on to say that Rick is most likely the closest Sim came to writing a character who is a truly good person. [19]
Pud Withers
Store- and tavern-owner; Jaka and Rick's landlord; Jaka's employer at the tavern. He secretly pines after Jaka, but is too shy wo do anything about it. The reader is privy through inner monologue [13] to the fantasy conversations he imagines having with Jaka.
Cerebus
Jaka and Rick's house guest, hiding from the Cirinists under the assumed name of "Fred"
Oscar
Caricature of Oscar Wilde; Jaka and Rick's next-door neighbour. A writer who is vain and arrogant aristophile. He was granted a 90-year lease on the house he lives in by Pud's dead mother. Pud himself, however, despises Oscar.
Mrs. Thatcher
A matriarch based on Margaret Thatcher, she tries to get Jaka to sign an admission of guilt for her exotic dancing, and tries, forcefully, to convince her why such dancing is wrong.

Style

Preliminary floor plan and #d view designs done by Gerhard prior to starting the book JakasStoryFloorplanAnd3D.jpg
Preliminary floor plan and #d view designs done by Gerhard prior to starting the book

The pages of the "present" portions of the book were done in six panel grids, two tiers of three panels. This was done with little variation, although sometimes the shape of the panels was distorted, reflecting tensions occurring within the panels.

Mrs Thatcher's distinct melodramatic and rhythmic speech balloons Cerebus136Page9BottomHalf.jpg
Mrs Thatcher's distinct melodramatic and rhythmic speech balloons

The characters were more realistic and less exhibited less caricatured exaggeration than in earlier Cerebus stories. [11] The backgrounds were particularly realistic. As this was the first Cerebus "novel" that Gerhard participated in from the beginning, he had the luxury of being able to plan out the rooms of the houses ahead of time. They were based on Sim's memory, as described to Gerhard, of the apartment Sim and his then-wife Deni had first shared. [note 3] Gerhard spent about a month completing floor plans and 3D views of the buildings in the story before any pages were actually drawn, and Sim wrote the scenes of the story to suit these plans. [20]

Of particular interest is Sim's award-winning, expressive use of lettering and speech balloons, especially the exaggerated rhythms and intonation used for Mrs. Thatcher's dialogue.

Publication history

Instalment numbers of Jaka's Story were displayed prominently on the covers of Cerebus the Aardvark along with issue numbers Cerebus119Cover.jpg
Instalment numbers of Jaka's Story were displayed prominently on the covers of Cerebus the Aardvark along with issue numbers

Originally published in issues #114–136 of Sim's monthly Cerebus series from August 1988 to July 1990, Jaka's Story was published as a trade paperback "phone book" collection in October 1990. Sim had briefly toyed with the idea of publishing expensive, high-quality, oversized editions of Jaka's Story, [21] but soon decided against it for being too greedy. [22] The first printing, October 1990, was limited to 435 signed (by both Dave Sim and Gerhard) and numbered copies (hand written on inside title page), ISBN   0-919359-12-4.

Jaka's Story was the first Cerebus novel to be conceived with the finished graphic novel collection in mind. [23] When serialized, it prominently displayed the novel name (Jaka's Story) on the cover, and printed both the current issue of the series and the current issue of the novel—so, for example, the January 1989 issue was numbered both Cerebus #119 and Jaka's Story #6.

Sim says he was influenced by Love and Rockets to do a "more human" story. [1]

The novel was sandwiched between two issues (the #112/113 double issue and #137) that have not been collected in the series of "phone book" collections. Issues #137 and #138 were subtitled "Jaka's Story Epilogue" 1 and 2 on their covers. The second half of issue #138 was included in the Jaka's Story collection as the epilogue, but the story that made up the rest of the two issues ("Like-a-Looks", see below) was not included in the Jaka's Story collection.

Like-a-Looks

In issue #137 and the first half of #138 ran the story "Like-a-Looks"—a light-hearted, comedic story about the numerous doppelgängers Lord Julius would hire to stand in his place when he needed a break. The story has never been included in any "phonebook" collection. It has, however, been included in Cerebus Number Zero, which collects all the stories from the regular Cerebus series that didn't appear in the phonebooks.

Reception

Recognition

Jaka's Story has been said to be Sim's peak work [note 4] [23] and the best introduction to Cerebus (although others says High Society is the best introduction [2] ). In 1990, it was nominated for a Harvey Award for "Best Single Issue or Story". [24] [25] It was included in Stephen Weiner's book The 101 Best Graphic Novels in 2001. [26]

Reappraisal

Though for years, the series was considered by Sim as one of his proudest works, but in recent time Sims has spoken negatively of the work. In particular, Sim has stated that Jaka's actions in the story were selfish and that the unhappy ending was not a commentary on censorship and fascist behavior of totalitarian regimes, but a commentary on Jaka's selfish nature towards not caring that her dancing would lead to harm done to those around her.

Related Research Articles

<i>Cerebus the Aardvark</i> Comic book

Cerebus is a comic book series, created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on a number of roles throughout the series—barbarian, prime minister, and pope among them. The series stands out for its experimentation in form and content, and for the dexterity of its artwork, especially after background artist Gerhard joined with the 65th issue. As the series progressed, it increasingly became a platform for Sim's controversial beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerhard (cartoonist)</span> Canadian artist

Gerhard is the professional name of a Canadian artist known for the elaborately detailed background illustrations in the comics series Cerebus the Aardvark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Sim</span> Canadian cartoonist, creator of Cerebus

Dave Sim is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book Cerebus, his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative comics</span> Independent comic publications

Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which in the past have dominated the American comic book industry. They span across a wide range of genres, artistic styles, and subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Veitch</span> American comics artist and writer (born 1951)

Richard Veitch is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Valentino</span> American comic creator

Jim Valentino is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publishing creator-owned comics.

Aardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian independent comic book publisher founded in 1977 by Dave Sim and Deni Loubert and is best known for publishing Sim's Cerebus.

The Creator's Bill of Rights is a document drafted in November 1988 by a number of independent comic book artists, writers, and publishers, designed to protect their rights as creators and publishers and oppose exploitation by corporate work for hire practices and the power of distributors to dictate the means of distribution. Issues covered by the Bill included giving creators proper credit for their characters and stories, profit-sharing, distribution, fair contracts, licensing, and return of original artwork. The signing of the Bill spurred Cerebus creator and self-publisher Dave Sim and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creators/self-publishers Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird to sell or continue selling collected volumes of their comics directly to readers via their periodic issues, rather than through direct market distributors selling the collections at comic book specialty shops. Comic book professionals that have commented on the Bill conclude that it had little or no impact on the comic book industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil the Horse</span> Comic book character

Neil the Horse is a comic book character created by Canadian cartoonist Katherine Collins in 1975. Neil is a happy, singing and dancing horse who likes bananas and milkshakes. Neil's adventures were syndicated in Canadian newspapers, published in a comic book series, and adapted for a radio musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deni Loubert</span> Canadian comics publisher

Denise "Deni" Loubert is a Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim, and founder of Renegade Press. She is the ex-wife of Dave Sim, with whom she founded Aardvark-Vanaheim and published Cerebus from issues #1 to #77 (1977–1985).

<i>High Society</i> (comics) High Society is a Canadian political cartoon series from the 1980s

High Society is the second collected volume, and first volume-length story, of Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It focuses mainly on politics, including Cerebus's campaign for the office of Prime Minister, in the fictional city-state of Iest in Sim's world of Estarcion. It is generally considered the best book for beginning Cerebus readers to start reading, and has been called "one of the finest storylines of the 1980s". The story was published in individual issues from May 1981 to May 1983 (#50), with the collection published in 1986.

Cerebus is the first collected volume of Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It is made up of the first 25 issues of Cerebus, plus, as of the 11th edition, some strips that ran in Comics Buyer's Guide featuring Silverspoon, a parody of the comic strip Prince Valiant.

<i>Church and State</i> (comics)

Church & State is the third novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. In it, Cerebus once again becomes Prime Minister, and eventually Pope. The story was published in individual issues from July 1983 to June 1988 (#111).

<i>Melmoth</i> (comics) Fifth novel in Dave Sims Cerebus comic book series

Melmoth is the fifth novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It follows Oscar in his last days leading up until his death, while Cerebus sits catatonic, clutching the doll of Jaka, the woman he loves but believes has been killed.

<i>Mothers and Daughters</i> (comics) Comic book series novel by Dave Sim

Mothers & Daughters: a novel is the sixth novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. Sim considers the novel to be the final portion of the main story. It collects Cerebus #151–200 in four volumes, the seventh through tenth volumes of the paperback "phone book" collections of the series, titled Flight, Women, Reads and Minds.

<i>Guys</i> (comics)

Guys is the seventh novel in Canadian cartoon artist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It is made up of issues #201-219 of Cerebus and was collected as Guys in one volume in September 1997.

<i>Ricks Story</i>

Rick's Story is the eighth novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It is made up of issues #220-231 of Cerebus. It was collected as Rick's Story in one volume in November 1998, and was the 12th collected "phonebook" volume.

<i>Going Home</i> (comics) 2000 graphic novel by Dave Sim

Going Home is the ninth novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It is made up of issues #232–265 of Cerebus. It was collected as the 13th and 14th "phonebook" volumes, as Going Home and Form & Void.

<i>Latter Days</i> (comics)

Latter Days is the tenth and final novel in Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim's Cerebus comic book series. It is made up of issues #266-300 of Cerebus. It was collected as the 15th and 16th "phonebook" volumes, as Latter Days and The Last Day.

Cerebus phonebooks are the paperback collections that Dave Sim has collected his comic book series Cerebus in since 1986. They have come to be known as "phonebooks" as their thickness and paper stock resemble that of phone books. The format had a large influence on alternative comics publishing and was key in the move from the periodical-centric publishing style that was once dominant.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dave Sim: Jaka's Story". Zompist.com. August 1997.
  2. 1 2 3 Wolk, page 298
  3. 1 2 3 "Jaka's Story: Prologue". Travels Through Iest. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Cerebus 5: Jaka's Story". Grovel.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 27
  6. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 102
  7. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 101
  8. 1 2 "Pogrom's Progress". Travels Through Iest. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 81
  10. 1 2 Robinson, Tasha (21 July 2010). "The Big Questions: Should artists' lives or opinions affect how people perceive their art?". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "The Poet". Travels Through Iest. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 352
  13. 1 2 Dicomidis, Thom (26 February 2011). "Five'll Get You Ten… Cerebus: Volume Five – Jaka's Story". Postmodernidiosyncrasies.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  14. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 469
  15. ↑ "The Poet". Travels Through Iest. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  16. ↑ "CEREBUS: Reads". Night-flight.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Cerebus the Aardvark: Dave Sim". GameAxis Unwired, #31 (March 2006). page 49. SPH Magazines. ISSN   0219-872X
  18. ↑ Frankenhoff, Brent (2011). Comics Buyer's Guide Presents: 100 Sexiest Women in Comics. Krause Publications. p. 39. ISBN   978-1-4402-2988-6.
  19. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 9
  20. ↑ Robinson, part 2-1
  21. ↑ Cerebus #126, "Note from the President" (inside front cover)
  22. ↑ Cerebus #129, "Note from the President" (inside front cover)
  23. 1 2 Campbell, Eddie (4 August 2011). "A Big Spread-7" . Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  24. ↑ "1990 Harvey Award Nominees and Winners". Hahnlibrary.net. 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  25. ↑ "1990 Harvey Award Nominees". Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on 25 June 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  26. ↑ Weiner, page 49

Notes

  1. ↑ "Cerebus The Aardvark: Frequently Asked Questions". Jazzbastards.org. Retrieved 1 June 2011. [...]I had played straight with Margaret Thatcher as a matriarch and held up her end of the discussion of what exotic dancing actually was as opposed to what Jaka wanted and needed it to be. And found her side of the discussion to be the more sensible of the two.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Tasha (31 March 2004). "Interview: Dave Sim". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 24 June 2011. What you're obviously driving at is to try to get me to say that I wrote issue 186 and "Tangent"—my seminal anti-feminist writings—in order to provoke the level of outrage which resulted, or to say that I long, bitterly, for the days when I was a fan favorite and was getting tons and tons of favorable press before I went public with not being a feminist, which resulted in my becoming a pariah in the comic-book community.
  3. ↑ Jaka's Story, page 9. "[Gerhard's] patience in reconstructing the apartment where I first lived with my ex-wife (it was demolished some years ago) from my descriptions of it was prodigious[...]"
  4. ↑ Jensen, K. Thor (16 February 2011). "The Greatest Graphic Novels of All Time: 5 Jaka's Story". UGO Entertainment. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011. [W]hen Sim was on, he was one of the best cartoonists in the business, and Jaka's Story shows him at his peak.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.