Dave Sim
He executed one of comics' most audacious artistic statements, self-publishing a 300-issue, 6,000-page graphic novel that veered from satire into dense, self-referential metaphysics.
Born 1956 (age 70)·Canadian cartoonist creator of Cerebus·Birthday: May 17·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Sim is a figure of immense contradiction in the comic book world: a self-publishing pioneer revered for his artistic dedication and condemned for his later polemical views. In 1977, with no formal training, he launched Cerebus the Aardvark, a parody of sword-and-sorcery comics. What began as a humorous romp evolved into an unprecedented experiment in serialized storytelling. Sim, working primarily with collaborator Gerhard on backgrounds, committed to producing a single, continuous narrative spanning 300 issues over 26 years. The work, known as 'Cerebus,' morphed into a sprawling, often brilliant, and increasingly controversial examination of politics, religion, and gender. Sim's fierce advocacy for creator-owned comics inspired a generation of artists, but his later writings, which contained harsh criticisms of feminism, led to his marginalization within the industry. Regardless of one's view of his philosophies, the sheer scale and ambition of Cerebus remains a singular, unignorable monument in the medium's history.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 60
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 70
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Created and self-published 'Cerebus the Aardvark,' a 300-issue comic series that forms one of the longest continuous narratives by a single author.
- Co-founded the self-publishing collective 'Aardvark-Vanaheim' and championed the creator-owned comics movement.
- Authored the influential essay 'Aardvark Comment' in each issue, discussing the craft and business of comics.
- Produced the 'Cerebus' storyline 'Jaka's Story,' widely considered a high point in graphic novel literature.
Did You Know?
He hand-lettered every single issue of the 300-issue 'Cerebus' run himself.
The final phonebook-sized collection of 'Cerebus' spans 16 volumes and over 6,000 pages.
He published a 560-page book of essays and letters titled 'Tangent' in 2016.
He declared himself a 'postmodernist' and later a 'lightist' in his philosophical explorations.
“You don't have a right to an audience. You have to go out and earn one.”
