Characters:

The Roach:

I think the Roach symbolises instability.

He is revealed as such to Cerebus on page 196 of Minds; not just an appropriate symbolic link, but an actual projection after contact with a magical object. The last reference given (page 197) is to the Regency Elf...

Back to her later.

During the controversial narrative of Reads, the Roach metaphor of instability is also turned on the readership of Cerebus: 40,000 eyes = 20,000 readers. Parts of the narrative also speak of an auditorium with 20,000 seats, the supposed occupants of which are identified with "the reader" (pages 146-148, 181, see also introduction paragraph 4).

This is later reiterated in Guys (p 49, 50) with (appropriately enough after a division) FanRoach, possibly an evolution of Normal Roach.

Cerebus:

In Reads, Cerebus is revealed by Astoria as an hermaphrodite. This is evidently the case not only with his body but also with his mind; Bear, unaware of Cerebus' hermaphroditism, refers to him as using "Chick Shit" (Guys, pages 195 - 205).

Yet, Cerebus him/herself, the rest of the characters, and the rest of us, because of her/his trappings and behavior, assume maleness.

Projection:

On pages 195 - 196 of Minds, many of the characters of Cerebus are revealed to be external projections of himself after contact with magic; The Crawler, Elrod, Turg, The Brothers of The Black Sun, The Roach. This revelation is made in connection with the fact that Cerebus had a destiny before him, but chose a different path with different consequences.

The Regency Elf is only mentioned briefly.

The Fake Death is only alluded to in connection with the other manifestations of Cerebus. However, this death appeared at the same time as the Chaos Gem, Elrod, and the Crawler.

The Regency Elf:

During Cerebus mind game with Suenteus Po (An internal struggle... Flight pages pages 103 - 106) the Regency Elf spawns a twin.

In Women (pages 100 - 103) "The Regency Elf" we have known, and her twin, are both revealed as "fakes", created and affected by the actions of Cerebus.

The "Real" Regency Elf, the one at the root of the legend in the first place, is referred to as a separate entity, whom we have never seen, but people in the history of Cerebus have.

The Judge:

"Death" is unveiled by "The Judge" as "Fake Death" (Flight pages 17 - 20), using the name "Belinus, intellectual God of light".

During the mind game in Flight, the Judge also spawns a twin (again, Flight pages pages 103 - 106).

The Judge (Or a Judge...), like the Elf, is also referred to by one external reference (Minds pages 12 - 16): Cirin knows him by the name Belinus.

Hmm...

The Elf and the Judge:

Both spawn twins at the same juncture in Cerebus' life (Flight). One twin of each set disappears as the game draws to a close (Flight pages 216 and 221).

In Women, both are influenced by Cerebus:
For the Elf, I base this on pages 100 - 103; she was afraid Cerebus was going to "kill her". For the Judge, I infer it from pages 51, 171, and 174; he assumes certain traits of Elrod and the Roach, and later realises he is not "The Judge" at all, but simply "George".

So, like many characters, the Elf and The Judge are projections of Cerebus' internal landscape, also both being based on a "real" component from Cerebus' world. So, we know which bits of Cerebus' external landscape they are based on. Which bits of Cerebus' internal landscape are they?

Well, one is male, the other is female.

(BANG!)

Elrod and the Roach:

Revealed as a projection of Cerebus' inadequacy in Minds, in Women (Page 46) Elrod assumes female traits, as does the Roach in Reads (Page 104). At this juncture, Elrod is also revealed by the Roach to be "non-existent".

Hee hee!

Cerebus himself is a symbol of duality, and the Roach is instability.

These characters are used as symbols for Astoria on page 217 of Flight. She is imprisoned, and her aims are set at odds with her desires by an event involving one of her followers (page 218): She wants anarchy and power, freedom and control. She is coming to the conclusion that in "Winning" against Cirin she would become just like her, exercising power over others. Exception and Consensus (More on those later) in tandem, illustrated as a part of Astoria's mental landscape on page 217, using The Roach and Cerebus. Note that each one is twinned. Astoria has experience of both these characters, and is aware of their natures.

The Elf and The Judge together make up an outward projection of Cerebus' male/female duality.

The one I'm left with the most questions about is the Fake Death. I have a vague theory, but... I'm not going to posit it. Ever.

Not only do I see the characters as representative symbols in the storyline, but I also see them as symbols outside. Like I said, Dave isn't just telling a story, he's trying to make points about modern society.