Cerebus #171

This June 1993 installment of the long-running Cerebus saga presents a striking collage cover by Dave Sim and Gerhard, layering photographs of historical artifacts — a jeweled reliquary panel, a classical stone relief, an ancient carved horseman, a human skull, and fragments of fine art — alongside a painted inset of Cerebus himself perched on a balustrade, gazing out over billowing clouds beneath a star-flecked sky. The contrast between those weathered, weighty relics and the aardvark's quietly contemplative pose gives the whole composition an unexpectedly meditative atmosphere. Part of the "Mothers & Daughters" arc, issue #171 continues Cerebus' ambitious blend of literary ambition and visual invention that made Aardvark-Vanaheim's flagship title unlike anything else on the stands in 1993.