Melmoth (comics)
Encyclopedia
Melmoth is the fifth novel in Canadian
cartoonist
Dave Sim
's Cerebus
comic book
series. It follows Oscar (a caricature of Oscar Wilde
) 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.
The novel was collected as the sixth paperback "phonebook" collection in the series in October 1991.
Oscar has become ill...
Cerebus:After seeing the destruction of Jaka's home, he has become near-Catatonic
. He uses the gold coin he found to pay for room and board at Dino's for the rest of his life, where he sits quietly and vacantly with Jaka's doll, Molly.
Dino:The owner of the café where Cerebus has chosen to spend the rest of his life.
Doris:
Janice:
Reggie:Close friend of Oscar's.
Robbie Ross:Close friend of Oscar's.
Dr. Tucker:Oscar's doctor.
There were also brief appearances by numerous characters from the series, including the Roach, Mick & Keef, Posey and others.
The collection appeared in October 1991. It included an 11-page text section with reproductions of letters from The Collected Letters of Oscar Wilde that Sim used as the basis for the Wilde portions of the story, showing the changes he made to make them fit into the fictional world of Estarcion, plus annotations.
People of Canada
Canadians are the people who are identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be genetic, residential, legal, historical, cultural or ethnic...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Dave Sim
Dave Sim
David Victor Sim is an award-winning Canadian comic book writer and artist.A pioneer of self-published comics and creators' rights, Sim is best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a comic book published from 1977 to 2004, which chronicles its main character in a 6,000-page self-contained...
's Cerebus
Cerebus the Aardvark
Cerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus , is an independent comic book, written and illustrated by Canadian artist Dave Sim, with backgrounds by fellow Canadian Gerhard. Cerebus ran for 300 issues from December 1977 to 2004, and was over 6000 pages long, the longest-running original...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series. It follows Oscar (a caricature of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
) 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.
The novel was collected as the sixth paperback "phonebook" collection in the series in October 1991.
Synopsis
After Jaka, Rick and Oscar's arrest (and Pud's death), Cerebus returns to the Lowe City, where he uses a gold coin to buy room and board at Dino's for the rest of his life. There he sits near-comatose for most of the rest of the story, gripping Jaka's doll Missy.Oscar has become ill...
Characters
Oscar:After being released from prison, Oscar assumes the name Sebastien Melmoth; however, he has become deathly ill and spends his remaining days in a hotel, receiving visits from his doctor and close friends.Cerebus:After seeing the destruction of Jaka's home, he has become near-Catatonic
Catatonia
Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
. He uses the gold coin he found to pay for room and board at Dino's for the rest of his life, where he sits quietly and vacantly with Jaka's doll, Molly.
Dino:The owner of the café where Cerebus has chosen to spend the rest of his life.
Doris:
Janice:
Reggie:Close friend of Oscar's.
Robbie Ross:Close friend of Oscar's.
Dr. Tucker:Oscar's doctor.
There were also brief appearances by numerous characters from the series, including the Roach, Mick & Keef, Posey and others.
Artwork
At this point, according to Gerhard, Sim and Gerhard had "an unspoken understanding" when it came the backgroundsSim would occasionally make suggestions (such as the white fog that surrounded Cerebus at times to reflect his emotional state), but for the most part Gerhard was left to decide on how to handle the backgrounds himself. The building designs were based on what Gerhard could find in library architecture books. He couldn't find anything specific about the doctor's office or Oscar's final resting place, aside from Oscar's "famous last line" indicating that the "wallpaper had to be really ugly." He drew inspiration from Barry Windsor Smith for the series covers.Publication
The story was originally serialized in Cerebus #139-150. The issues were further numbered Melmoth Zero (Cerebus #139, October 1990) through Melmoth Eleven (Cerebus #150, September 1991), although this numbering is not acknowledged in the collection.The collection appeared in October 1991. It included an 11-page text section with reproductions of letters from The Collected Letters of Oscar Wilde that Sim used as the basis for the Wilde portions of the story, showing the changes he made to make them fit into the fictional world of Estarcion, plus annotations.
Sim's sources
- Hart-Davis, RupertRupert Hart-DavisSir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
. Collected Letters of Oscar Wilde. (1962)
Further reading
- Melmoth page at Cerebus Wiki
- “Six… I have no wordplay for six…” Cerebus: Volume Six – Melmoth, a review of Melmoth.