Hello Dave
How's life treating you? I hope that you're managing to keep up with your self imposed schedule so as to meet the March 2004 final issue deadline. Now that you can see the fast approaching end of your artistic odyssey I'm sure that your mouth must be watering with anticipation at the prospect of all the well earned rest you will soon be able to take.
I've been reading Cerebus since issue zero first came out, first slowly catching up with the so called phone books and then buying the monthly since the beginning of Rick's Story. Living here in Italy means that you can't just walk into the local comic-book shop and buy a copy of Cerebus (has Cerebus ever been translated into any other languages?), so I've been getting my parents in London to buy them for me and so every few months when I visited them I used to pick up several issues at a time. As my parents have now moved here too, I've had to subscribe. What a pleasant surprise it was when yesterday I received issues 294 & 295 both signed on the cover by yourself and Gerhard (many thanks to both). One of the two issues also printed a letter I had sent back in 1999 (and here was me thinking that it hadn't been considered at all). Previous to the letter you are holding, over the last few years I have sent 3 others, 2 of which have been printed at the back of the monthlies and the third actually replied to by post. You have either been extremely generous in the time spent on communication with the fans in general, or I'm just plain lucky, either way thanks.
Considering the mailing cost I would like to thank you also for keeping the price of overseas subscriptions so low, I'm sure that if your only readership consisted of overseas subscribers you would have gone bankrupt years ago.
The reason I'm writing this is because I would like to take this opportunity (probably the last before you complete Cerebus) to thank you sincerely for all the effort you have put forth, which has been and still is constantly demonstrated in your work as a whole, it is both a visual delight - further improved by your artful lettering and Gerhard's amazing backgrounds - and thought provoking at the same time. Though I do not always agree with the opinions you express (yes I know that sentence is in almost every letter you receive), I appreciate the fact that you have done what you can to get your readership to think about some of humanity's most important topics and promote what you believe to be true.
Regarding differing opinions; for example, I agree with practically all you write on anti-feminism but I cannot agree with your biblical commentary which separates the one true God, the Creator, from His name YHWH. I think that if your interpretation was the truth, our just God would have given mankind the Holy Scriptures in a form in which He made it very clear indeed that the YHWH God He mentions is not Himself and that a separate female type spirit person called YHWH actually exists. I have to say that those commentaries did ruin, somewhat, the joy of reading those parts of the comic book, though when I later received and read the 289-290 double-issue, I came to understand what that commentary contributed to the overall story, and though I still do not agree with the YHWH Vs. God idea you continued to express in that double-issue, I found both the drawn artwork and the writing of the best that I have ever seen in the Cerebus storyline. The idea that, if and when a creature reaches complete purity and they accept their place in God's scheme they become a neutrino and can therefore experience the freedom which ensues from the lack of mass and the extreme unimpeded speed they then achieve, is indeed a beautiful concept and is put over very well.
I am also now enjoying your work on Cerebus last day, your realistic portrayal of old age is both sad and humorous, which I can only imagine is appropriate for the last day of a funny person's life, it displays your usual courage in doing things the way you believe they should be done.
When you're done with Cerebus are you planning on doing any travelling? I know that I would probably never take the risk of accepting an invitation from a complete stranger from a strange land, but nonetheless I would be glad to let you stay at my place if you ever wish to have a vacation in Italy. I live with my wife and kids in Portorecanati which is a small town on the Adriatic coast, my place is situated about 200 meters from the sea so it is a great area for a holiday, especially in the summer months. As you see I have included some info on the Marche region where I live which may help in tempting you to visit. There are very cheap flights available from London Stansted Airport (sometimes you only pay the airport taxes) direct to Ancona which is very close to here so if you are ever visiting England popping over here would not be an extra expense.
I hope you will be able to reply to this letter, I'll leave you all of my contact details below in case you ever decide to take me up on my offer.
Many thanks again and best wishes,
