Geo-political background to Cerebus:

Iest is situated on what we know as the river Danube, roughly 43 - 44 degrees north, 25 - 26 degrees west. I'll prove it. Or perhaps I'll just "prove" it.

High Society, page 296.

When I first saw this, I tried to compare it to an atlas, but couldn't match it to anything. I thought it might be Europe, but it just didn't fit. I also thought it likely (and it is) that Astoria and Jaka cities would be the renamed capitals of the Eastern and Western empires.

Issue 255, page 485.

Somewhat easier to compare with an atlas. In comparing all three maps, you can see that the mountains in High Society correlate to the Alps and Carpathians. The rivers match in both, and appear to be above a slightly primordial Aegean sea.

On page 485 of issue 255, the Suez region can clearly be made out before it is clogged by the Nile delta, the outline of Sicily (Mealc?) is fairly apparent, and the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas are not yet present. All of the parts of countries that appear to be missing, namely Italy, Greece, and Madagascar, are covered by volcanic regions.

Four rivers are shown on both Cerebus maps: If Astoria city is the renamed Iest, then the site would correspond to the Danube at the grid reference I mentioned earlier - at a part of the river where it widens dramatically. The reason the map in High Society didn't correspond to my atlas is that it was Europe without the Baltic Sea: Directly North of Iest.

Issue 260, page 583.

All of the unmentioned areas of geography in Dave's drawing correspond to processes of erosion, deposition, and volcanism.

Not only is there a geographic correlation between our own history and The World of Cerebus, but a political one too.

5th - 7th centuries AD: The Roman Empire is losing power, and many tribes are becoming organised into small kingdoms, including the Amals, the Franks, the Huns, the Vandals, and the Goths. After a migration from the Baltic to the Black Sea, then to Western Europe in the face of Roman power, two Gothic Empires occupy a large part of Europe for a time, the Visigoths occupying modern Italy, the Ostrogoths modern Spain. East and West.

A northern barbarian manages to unite several tribes into a Frankish kingdom, and becomes a powerful king. He later converts from Paganism to Catholicism, and only ever has limited success against the Visigothic kingdom. His name is Clovis. The Ostrogothic kingdom declined some time ago, and the Roman Empire manages to fragment the Visigothic kingdom.

Reference: Most of the first phonebook, the politics of High Society, and Minds pages 20 + 21. And also a book entitled "The Goths", by Peter Heather.

I don't see an exact historical parallel here, more of an echo.

In the foreword to High Society, Dave mentions having a lot of background material. This shows in the writing.

There are mentions of "The Black Tower Empire" throughout Cerebus, and I think it corresponds to the Roman Empire. In it's falling earlier, the way is opened for greater tribal expansion and stability, as exhibited by the kingdoms and tribes in Cerebus. For instance, without a Roman frontier near the Balkans, the analogues to the Gothic Kingdoms can exist closer to that region with more longevity, and industrialisation can take place sooner.

The Church of Tarim, with inquisitions and so on, is analogous to the Roman Catholic Church, an example of oppressive cultural imperalism.

I wonder if Dave intended all this from the start, or later constructed it on his choice of the name Clovis? Which came first, Clovis or the Geo-political structure of an entire continent? (Hmm, not as catchy as Chicken and Egg.) Or maybe it's just the biggest bit of synchronicity ever?

Moot point. Echoes.