Cerebus #221

Part two of "Rick's Story" arrives in this August 1997 installment of Dave Sim and Gerhard's long-running Aardvark-Vanaheim series. The cover presents a wonderfully grim image: Cerebus, bandaged and scowling, strains at a thick rope attached to a large striped barrel, set against a rural backdrop of fields and fencing rendered in Gerhard's characteristically detailed naturalistic style. It's an arresting composition that blends Sim's expressive character work with Gerhard's atmospheric environments in a way that makes you want to know exactly what that aardvark is hauling — and why he looks so thoroughly unhappy about it.