Cerebus #136

Part of the celebrated "Jaka's Story" arc, this July 1990 installment from Aardvark-Vanaheim presents a quietly unsettling cover by Dave Sim and Gerhard — a heavyset figure seated behind an imposing desk, framed by an ornate stained-glass window draped with dark curtains, while a young boy, a long-haired woman, and a white-robed figure stand before them in tense attendance. Gerhard's meticulous rendering of the interior space — the rich woodwork, the geometric window panes, the sweeping fabric — gives the scene a formal, almost suffocating weight that perfectly suits the "Mystery Achievement" chapter of this deeply character-driven saga. Sim and Gerhard were doing something genuinely ambitious here, and this issue is a fine example of their collaborative craft at full stretch.