Dave Sim
Dave Sim Dave Sim at the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expos in Columbus, Ohio in 2007. Born David Victor Sim (1956-05-17) May 17, 1956 (age 58) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Nationality Canadian Area(s) Cartoonist Writer Artist Publisher Letterer Notable works Cerebus Notable collaborations Gerhard Awards Full list http://www.cerebus.tv David Victor Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book Cerebus, his formal artistic experimentations, his advocacy of self-publishing and creator's rights, and his controversial political, philosophical and religious beliefs. Sim dropped out of high school to pursue a career in comics, and rose to prominence after he began Cerebus in December 1977. Initially, Cerebus was a parody of Conan the Barbarian and other sword and sorcery comics, but after two years Sim came to conceive of the series as a self-complete work, which would run for 300 issues and be subdivided into "novels". By the time the 6000-page work was completed in March 2004, Sim had delved into politics, theology, metaphysics, and a controversial examination of feminism and gender issues, while becoming progressively more sophisticated and experimental in his storytelling and artwork. Sim worked on Cerebus Archives after completing Cerebus, and produced the comic books Glamourpuss, which examines the history of photorealistic comics, and Judenhass, about the Holocaust. Sim co-founded the small press publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim with his wife-to-be, Deni Loubert, in 1977; most of the titles it published moved to Loubert's Renegade Press after their divorce in the mid-1980s. The publishing company was later co-owned by Sim's creative partner, Gerhard, who dissolved their partnership and sold his stake in the company to Sim in 2007. Sim is a pioneer and advocate of self-publishing as an ideal, and was one of the key figures in the creation of the Creator's Bill of Rights in 1988. His relationship with his readers, colleagues and friends has often been strained, sometimes by the content of his work, and often by his expressed opinions and personal interactions. Most prominently, some have labeled Sim a misogynist, though he denies the charge and has refused to maintain contact with anyone who will not sign a form letter denying that he is a misogynist. This has resulted in a break with many of his former friends. His idiosyncratic religious conversion in 1996 has coloured his work and writing since, including the later Cerebus novels. He has criticized the use of copyright to restrict creators, and has made arrangements for his body of work to fall into the public domain following his death.