92 CEREBUS THE AARDVARK
charged era. Former Miss America Lee Meriwether portrayed Catwoman in the motion
picture spin-off of the series in 1966. In 1992, Michelle Pfeiff er played the character in
Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Catwoman’s origin was again altered for the fi lm as Selina
Kyle was introduced as a mousy secretary who is restored to life by alley cats after she is
pushed from a window by her evil boss. Halle Berry took on the role in 2004’s feature
fi lm Catwoman. Th e fi lm, which was a notorious fl op, had little connection to the comic
book character. Berry played Patience Phillips, who gained her powers from the Egyp-
tian cat goddess Bastet. Neither Batman nor Gotham City is mentioned in the fi lm.
Catwoman’s unique mixture of sex appeal and criminal cunning has made her one of
the most recognizable characters in popular culture. She is the comics’ ultimate femme
fatale as she continues to fascinate both Batman and his legion of readers.
Selected Bibliography: Kane, Bob. Batman & Me: An Autobiography. Forestville, CA:
Eclipse Books, 1989.
Charles Coletta
CEREBUS THE AARDVARK. Created by Dave Sim and published by his own publishing
imprint, Aardvark-Vanaheim, continuously from 1977 to 2004, Cerebus the Aardvark
details the adventures of its title character in the fi ctional world of Estarcion. Early
issues of Cerebus are a humorous parody of various Marvel Comics titles of the time,
including Conan the Barbarian. As the series progressed, the tone of the book evolved
to become a vehicle for Sim’s philosophical explorations. At times controversial and
challenging, the series has infl uenced a generation of comics creators. With issue #65,
and until the end of the 300-issue run, Sim recruited Canadian artist Gerhard for
assistance with artistic elements, including background artwork.
Cerebus is a short, grey, sword-wielding aardvark wearing a black vest and medallion
necklace. He is known for his boorish behavior that stems from his personal history as
a roving warrior. As a result, Cerebus acts inappropriately when confronted with polite
society and is fl awed when dealing with emotional intimacy. Cerebus’s adventures have
placed him in important positions such as the Prime Minister of Palnu (a fi ctional city-
state) and the Pope of the Eastern Church of Tarim. Signifi cant portions of the central
storylines involve Cerebus’s relationship with a blonde dancer named Jaka Tavers. Th e
two fi rst meet early in the series, and they encounter each other a number of times.
Th eir relationship verges on romance, although the two never enjoy a fulfi lling relation-
ship with each other. Th e two angrily part ways permanently late in the series, even as
Sim was dealing with personal controversy coming from the opinions he espoused in
Cerebus.
Sim also took satirical liberties with familiar characters and historical fi gures, which
he would incorporate within the storyline. For example, two early recurring characters
include Elrod of Melvinbone, an albino with an accent resembling Foghorn Leghorn
from Looney Tunes, who is a parody of Michael Moorcock’s popular hero Elric of Mel-
nibone, and Lord Julius, the Lord and chief bureaucrat of the city-state of Palnu,
