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Underground > Comic Books >

Dave Sim: Still a nutter after all these years?

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ONLY NICE THINGS

16:42 / 25.08.04

In response to the question "what message would you give to the people of the world", our Dave replies:

"Don't make the mistake of believing that because you weren't punished immediately for a sin that there is no God or that sin goes unpunished. If you steal or lie or blaspheme against Him, God isn't going to hit you with a lightning bolt or turn you into a pillar of salt. He will give you space and time to repent. In some cases, that will be years. But ultimately, if you don't repent, you will be punished. When you see miserably unhappy adults who punish themselves with alcohol and unhappy relationships and who are filled with so much fear and hatred that it makes you afraid to think of being with them or being like them, they didn't get that way overnight. Somewhere, long ago, when they were your age, they intentionally did something wrong and decided, because they weren't hit with a lightning bolt, that they had 'gotten away with it.' Look at them. Do you think they 'got away with it'? And that's only in this world. Imagine what they're going to experience in the next world. Do the things that are right and don't do things that are wrong. You know the difference."

16:47 / 25.08.04

It makes sense to me. A bit brash, but would we expect less of him? Seems absolutist, but feels more integrated and systemic. He's basically firing inner/outer responsibility at the narcissism that grows inside pluralistic relativism.

He may be misogynistic, but crazy old codgers still have wisdom in em.

16:53 / 25.08.04

Of course! Alcoholism and Bad Marriages are punishments from God! Well, I can't believe I didn't realise that sooner!

Thank you, Mr. Sim.

You worthless cunt.

16:58 / 25.08.04

No no no. He's suggesting that we make the beds we lie in. Bad Marriage and Alcoholism isn't "punishment" from on high, but contextual to our own volition in this world.

17:02 / 25.08.04

No, he's not. Read it again. He says God will eventually punish you. You do someting bad as a kid, you don't repent, God makes you alcoholic. Or puts you in a shitty relationship.

Actually, he's a deranged prick and I really don't feel like talking about him.

17:07 / 25.08.04

You capitalize God as if you've spoken to hir... but I'd prefer to not get into semantics. I say God's a social context and a psychological manifestation. In that regard, I understand Sim completely and agree with him. I understand your POV completely too.

17:10 / 25.08.04

I say God's a social context and a psychological manifestation

Yep, grand. Using this, your arguement is understandable.

However.

Sim doean't mean it this way. He says God's a big white bloke with a beard who sits in judgement over everyone.

17:20 / 25.08.04

How do you know what Sim means? I'm admitting that I don't know everything, and I have to input definitions. That's not Sim's image of God, that one of yours that you think Sim would have.

ONLY NICE THINGS

17:21 / 25.08.04

I think he's capitalising God like it's a proper noun, actually... that's not semantics, it's grammar.

So, is this a nuanced statement by Sim that peple are the authors of their own misfortune - that the punishment for wrong actions is the developement of wrong habits unchecked? Or does he believe that God makes people alcoholics *as punishment*. Also, how does this tie in with his fondness for spanking? Is spanking an important counterbalance to the wrong thinking that would eventually lead to alcoholism, or indeed a sort of ass-sacrifice to God to avert ate (defined as a divinely-sent madness that causes unwise actions)?

17:28 / 25.08.04

How do you know what Sim means?

You do know who Dave Sim is, yes? If you read even a few sentences of his previous outpourings of bile, you'll know his beliefs are directly from the extreme, Christian, "The Bible is literally true" camp.

Hence, flowy beards and scowls.

ONLY NICE THINGS

17:56 / 25.08.04

Hmmm.. I'm not sure it's about God per se, but more about Sim's need to see good being rewarded and bad punished - although where "bad" ends and "fun" begins is anyone's guess.

It's a shame in a way that Cerebus took up so much of Sim's time - his moral compass would have made for some great superhero comics, and maybe even justified a tilt at TV. I can't help but think that Buffy would have been a very different series with even a few Sim-penned episodes in there...

18:22 / 25.08.04

Haus - can we have a link to the origin of the quote you cite in your first post please?

ONLY NICE THINGS

18:57 / 25.08.04

Absolutely.

Sim on the Avengers!

After Hank Pym has physically chastised his wife for whorishness and being an emotional void, Captain America tracks him down and shakes his hand. Meanwhile, Tony Stark plots to make good his promise to wrestle Thor for suggesting he was in some way effeminate - using forbidden technology.

19:31 / 25.08.04

Yes, but check out the amazing message from The Shatner...hope!

03:01 / 26.08.04

Haus, where did you get that Avengers thing? I'm assuming (as in desperately hoping) it's one of your creations. Physically chastised just became my favorite euphemism.

02:10 / 27.08.04

Sim seems to be scum, but I think he's spot on here. And the "you know the difference" part suggests that he's not thumping a bible, but just trying to give harsh advice.

I haven't spent much time sifting through Sim's bile, so I don't know if draws from the bible or Christianity much... does he? That would explain a lot.

07:10 / 27.08.04

Captain America tracks him down and shakes his hand

It was high time that somebody said that.

God, I've been waiting for it.

For someone to cut through all that namby-pampby PC bullshit, and admit, right out there, before all of their fans, that they are in fact basically a terminal lunatic;

I'm just thinking much love, and total respect.

Hi 5.

10:24 / 27.08.04

Klint, exactly where is Sim spot on?

11:03 / 27.08.04

Didn't Sim once say that men are the source of all creative endevour, and women are the void that sucks at the Power of Man, or some shit like that?

How embarrassing. Makes me glad that girls don't read comics.
(JOKE! Please, not the Greek Chorus again. (hides))

Hee, I bet he denies them his precious bodily fluids, too.

11:38 / 27.08.04

As one of the few people who did plough through most of that shit Dave wrote (yes, there were a few nuggets of wisdom, but not many, and I forget what they were), I think I can unequivocally say that he does mean a big beardy vengeful OT God. He also has a very complicated and involved reason why references to "God" and "the Lord" in the Bible are really references to different things. The loon... and it's all to do with that female void crap.
I see Sim as kind of like Scott Walker, he used to be so good that despite how bad he became later, I still feel I ought to be an apologist. I would also like a fondness for TS Eliot to be taken into account before you pass sentence, m'luds.

12:37 / 27.08.04

I think he's right that alcoholism etc. are self-punishment for things one feels guilty about. Substitute "God" for self, Allaja, the Architect of the Universe, what have you.

Which is sort of funny, because isn't Sim an alcoholic?

12:41 / 27.08.04

I've heard Sim called many things but alcoholic was not one of them.

12:55 / 27.08.04

I saw this in the Onion yesterday and wondered who the fuck thought to ask that asshole this question. Shoulda known he'd spout some ridiculousness. Especially read in the context of other people's answers to the same question, he comes off as a complete wanker.

14:12 / 27.08.04

Klint, I think that's pretty debatable.

But this ain't the Headshop...

The Natural Way

15:02 / 28.08.04

Quantum recently palmed off a whole load of Cerebrus stuff on me and I'm now the proud owner of Sim's incredible last word on the feminist/homosexualist axis - Tangent.

Spankock!

Now where the fuck's Videodrome these days? I want to get angry watching him defend that asshole...

01:53 / 29.08.04

Hi, True Believers

A link for you if you want to read up on Sim's woman-hatin'.

XXII:X:II = XXX

04:03 / 29.08.04

The only reason the Onion included Sim in that roundup is that they interviewed him not long ago on the occasion of CEREBUS's finale. No doubt they have that one question they ask all their interviews over an x-month period, then use it as a readymade filler piece on a light week.

The alternative, that they'd have gone BACK to the old headcase for this purpose, is too lamebrained to consider.

Me, I liked Matt Stone and Trey Parker's answers: "Give up. Just give up, now. Give in, give up." "Start fuckin'." But then, I'm an irresponsible excuse for an adult. It's a wonder I'm legally allowed to be an uncle.

And Sir Arthur C. Clarke's answer betrayed an affection for Douglas Adams: "Don't panic." Few highers tributes than that.

/+,

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:01 / 29.08.04

I feel now may be the appropriate time to mention the gaming wonder that myself and Haus cooked up down the pub one time...

SIM CITY! An entire city of homophobic misogynists, over which YOU, the player, have absolute dominion as a JUST and VENGEFUL Old Testament-style God.

Come on. It'd rock. Anyone out there into modding?

23:49 / 29.08.04

Which is sort of funny, because isn't Sim an alcoholic?

I seem to remember reading somewhere that he'd been diagnosed with a schizophrenic illness (although I think he comes across as more personality-disordered than psychotic).

I'm also having difficulty in understanding in what way he's "spot on" - either in his peculiarly Christian-flavoured reframing of karma or his ludicrously reductive view of morality (yep, everyone innately knows the difference between right and wrong, and shades of grey simply don't exist). I'm guessing, for example, that kids who are physically/emotionally/sexually abused (and are statistically more likely to have relationship difficulties or alcohol problems as adults) must've committed some sort of intentional wrong-doing as babies?

XXII:X:II = XXX

06:17 / 30.08.04

It should be noted, amidst the claims that his perspectives are Christian-flavored, which they may well be, that Sim outed himself as a converted Muslim in the final years of CEREBUS. This is not to detract from the crankitude of his comments, just that they may stem from a different or additional source.

/+,

11:43 / 30.08.04

Really? I guess it fits with his views on women: Christianity can be terribly lenient where Voids are concerned. Fundie Islam knows how to treat 'em.

16:29 / 30.08.04

The gist of the last few bits were that although Genesis (specifically) and the OT (generally) had 'the facts' right, only Islam was good enough for Dave as it encompassed the others and had far more hard-assed line on ONE God. The Christ/Mary/Messiah thing don't sit well with ol' Dave. Too girly and sharing, I guess. Probably something to do with alimony. It always is, apparently.

17:18 / 30.08.04

Ganesh, that's a really good point. But, as Bobossboy, this isn't the place to discuss it. We've been discussing karma over at Key23: here

18:21 / 30.08.04

Tt. You expect me to (register and) discuss it all somewhere else? Why can't we talk about it here?

20:39 / 30.08.04

Gan, you don't have to register to post comments at Key23, and the only reason I even bring it up is because we've been discussing karma there for a couple weeks now.

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