Cerebus #35

This issue deals with the political movings of Astoria and her general ambitions for Cerebus in the world of Iest's politics. Lord Julius shows up during dinner and talks with Cerebus before heading off. The name of the game right now is keeping Cerebus as the ranking diplomat and not Elrod.

There's a little character moment with Astoria here. Lord Julius pops up as a waiter while Astoria is discussing him. Cerebus questions this and Julius says that Astoria would never notice a waiter. That really sums up the Astoria character in a single sentence. That's one of the things that make these early issues of Cerebus so good. Sim can build a character so easily and explain a character's base concept so easily. I think this issue also shows, that for as clever as Astoria thinks she is, she's still not playing on the same level as Lord Julius.

I've said it before on this blog and I'll repeat it here. Lord Julius is the smartest character in this book. There's no question to that. He proves that he's always a step or two ahead of every other character in any given situation. He's never at a loss and he never really loses. That's a key fact to keep in mind throughout this series.

Until next time!