From the pits under Palnu, it’s another Swords Against Cerebus, discussing issues 15 (“A Day in the Pits”) and 16 (“A Night at the Masque”)! Hey, they’ll let any old episode title fly down here.

It’s the rest of the Palnu trilogy, featuring a lot of weird returns! Dave Sim’s Reagan obsession — E’lass and Turg — Jaka (briefly) — and libertarianism!

Talking points:

Is communism bad? (No.)

Is Palnu communist? (No.)

Is Cerebus asexual representation? (Uh.)

Find your hosts elsewhere:

Sophia Goodnight’s podcast, We Have To Talk About Dash Rendar (also available wherever you get your podcasts).

Have a hot tip on Venusian battle plans? Email us at swordsagainstcerebus@gmail.com!

Swords Against Cerebus’s theme song was composed by Avery Crimes!

And follow Swords Against Cerebus through our RSS Feed, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or just at Gruppeshrike!

Hello there. You must be our listeners. You see, we’re currently recovering from amnesia caused by prolonged exposure to the mind-altering vortex of issues 13 (“Black Magiking”) and 14 (“The Walls of Palnu”), as well as the short story “Magiking” and the “Silverspoon” strips. Look, buddy, it’s transient; shifting like water.

So far, this is the only time a story has made us do a “lightning round!” We hate the Thrunk! Also, these Prince Valiant parody strips are predictably racist! Other key words for the day: Groucho Marx, multiple systems (again), God’s Hedgehog Messenger, and the Kool-aid Man.

Note: Ed advances an argument in this episode concerning Dave Sim and antipsychiatry which they correct somewhat in episode 8. In the 2-week interregnum, they are happy to summarize thusly:

I believe the place I arrived at in the previous episode was that Dave Sim held his antipsych beliefs, and specifically his beliefs about schizophrenia, because they suited him, and that he wasn’t being entirely honest, accurate, or both about his own internal state. I don’t believe this - it legitimizes the idea that "someone with a mental disorder" or whatever is meaningfully distinct from someone without.

Instead, I’d like to argue that Sim is doing the same thing when he goes thru the finer points of a schizophrenia diagnosis – drawing a line between "actual schizophrenia" and "me.” Whether or not Sim has schizophrenia or not is immaterial to me; his lack of rigor with regards to antipsychiatry is what matters.

Find your hosts elsewhere:

Sophia Goodnight’s podcast, We Have To Talk About Dash Rendar (also available wherever you get your podcasts).

Have questions about the eternal soul? Email us at swordsagainstcerebus@gmail.com!

Swords Against Cerebus’s theme song was composed by Avery Crimes!

And follow Swords Against Cerebus through our RSS Feed, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or just at Gruppeshrike!

We are the night! We are episode 6 of Swords Against Cerebus! This one covers issues 11 (“The Merchant & the Cockroach”) and 12 (“Beduin by Night”). In the dark, mean streets of Kitchener, Ontario, one man has an idea: what if Batman but “craaaazy?”

Just in case you thought these issues were starting to get any good, we unpack a big helping of ableism, along with the return of Elrod’s return, and Dave Sim’s account of himself.

Find your hosts elsewhere:

Sophia Goodnight’s podcast, We Have To Talk About Dash Rendar (also available wherever you get your podcasts).

Have questions about the eternal soul? Email us at swordsagainstcerebus@gmail.com!

Swords Against Cerebus’s theme song was composed by Avery Crimes!

And follow Swords Against Cerebus through our RSS Feed, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or just at Gruppeshrike!