Welcome to Estarcion, the wildly absurd and funny world of Cerebus the Aardvark. This initial volume collects the first two years of stories from Dave Sim's 300-issue magnum opus (still in progress after 20 years). Don't be discouraged by the initially crude artwork or the silliness of the stories. It gets better—even noticeably within this volume. This first installment is the most valuable in preparing for the larger stories ahead.

When we first meet Cerebus—a small, gray, and chronically ill-tempered aardvark—he is making his living as a barbarian. In 1977, when the Cerebus comic book series began, Sim initially conceived of it as a parody of such popular series as Conan, Red Sonja, and Elric but quickly mined that material and transformed the scope of the series into much more. Even by the end of this volume, the Cerebus story begins to transform beyond "funny animal" humor into something much more complex and interesting.

High points in Cerebus include the introduction of Lord Julius, the dictator of Palnu, who looks, acts, and talks just like a certain cigar-smoking, mustachioed comedian; Jaka, Cerebus's one true love; Elrod the Albino, an innept swordsman; and the Cockroach, the-mother-of-all-superhero-parodies and "inspiration" for the much-later TV and comic character—the Tick. All of these characters appear later on in the series as part of a constantly present ensemble of supporting figures.

Even if Cerebus doesn't knock your socks off, give its successor, High Society a try, as this is where the plot really gets going.

Cerebus is a 6,000 page comics novel about the life and death of a warrior aardvark. But what started as a Conan the Barbarian parody has evolved into a brilliant commentary on politics, gender roles and the creative urge. Jaka's Story is the fifth book in the series, and it tells the story of a dancer (Jaka) stranded in a deserted town surrounded by her carefree husband, a lecherous bartender and Oscar Wilde. Rich and satisfyingly complex, this is well worth your time.

The counterpoint to the impressive foundation of the two-volume, 1,200-page Church & State is the equally impressive, equally complex Mothers & Daughters, the first volume of which is Flight. This graphic novel concerns the fight between the newly established matriarchy and the opposing "daughterarchy." Cerebus, trying to regain the power he lost when the matriarchal Cirinists took over, heads down a fateful, blood-soaked path. Dave Sim is often reviled as a misogynist because of the radical politics and philosophy laid down in his books, the groundwork of which begins here and builds toward the climax of Mothers & Daughters, which was so explosive that when it was initially released it cost Sim several close friends.

Volume two of the Cerebus the Aardvark series, High Society, is the beginning of the main Cerebus story line and one of the finest graphic novels ever published. If you have to start from the very beginning, you'll need the first volume, Cerebus, but if you don't mind a modicum of confusion, this is a much more satisfying place to begin. The artwork is much improved and the level of humor reaches its high point in the series to date. (Unkind critics point to High Society as the older, funnier book of the Cerebus series.)

Parliamentary politics were never so much fun as they are in the Prime Minister election of 1414. Lord Julius and the mysterious Astoria battle for control of the city-state Iest with Cerebus as their unwitting pawn. Goats, bunny sketches, the Regency Elf, and Moon Roach join the pandemonium, helping to set the stage for things to come. High Society is a home run; an instant classic both as a stand-alone volume and in the context of the rest of the series. Beware though, the ending dovetails directly into Church and State; You may want to grab that volume as well, because once you start the series, the story of Cerebus gets increasingly harder to put down.

The ninth volume of the Cerebus the Aardvark series, Reads, is the penultimate chapter of the larger Mothers and Daughters story. This is one of the most powerful editions in the series and one of the most ambitious narratives that Dave Sim has ever attempted.

In addition, Reads is the most controversial volume of the Cerebus series to date because of a parallel narrative involving two characters—Viktor Reid and Viktor Davis—who are both alter egos for Dave Sim. This controversy is a shame because the offensive section in Reads—which explores the relationship between men and women—represents only one possible view of this subject. When read as part of the whole series, the passages that may have seemed shocking to some, appear (like all points of this narrative) to question and provoke rather than offend. Viktor Davis is far from a reliable narrator, an idea that is reinforced by the final paragraphs of his narrative and demonstrated by the scariest of all Cerebus practical jokes. Are Viktor Davis or Viktor Reid representative of Dave Sim or simply aspects of his persona? The ending suggests the answer.

Meanwhile, Cerebus, Po, Cirin, and Astoria debate the important stuff, including our aardvark friend's genitalia, the history of Illusionism, the nature of power, and the fate of Astoria's child. Despite the bad rap, Reads is Cerebus at its finest. Like the best of art, Reads has the power to shock, surprise, amuse, and offend—and it even has a whiz-bang fight scene. What more could you want?