Thursday 3 November 2016

Cerebus' New Republic

MARGARET LISS:
A few years ago I scanned all of Dave Sim's notebooks. He had filled 36 notebooks during the years he created the monthly Cerebus series, covering issues #20 to 300, plus the other side items -- like the Epic stories, posters and prints, convention speeches etc. A total of 3,281 notebook pages detailing his creative process. I never really got the time to study the notebooks when I had them. Just did a quick look, scanned them in and sent them back to Dave as soon as possible. So this regular column is a chance for me to look through those scans and highlight some of the more interesting pages.

We've looked at Albatross Five only once before, in Albatross Five. It encompasses Cerebus #45 to 49 and had 79 out of 80 pages scanned. With the upcoming election in the United States, I figured we'd look at Cerebus as Prime Minister.

On page one of the notebook, we see it is Cerebus' big day. "Cerebus' New Republic" appears to be an unused as does the thumbnails for page one of issue #45.

Albatross 5, page 1
Going a few pages into the issue, we see some of the items that will be coming up for Cerebus to tackle as Prime Minister. Making money for the government to spend seems a major one. Is means of collect funds: taxes, import duties and tariffs, liquidation of assets, dope, lotteries, blackmail and banking. Sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

Albatross 5, page 8

Wait, dope? Are they just talking legalizing marijuana like the five states which have it on the ballot this election?

Under the notes for issue 46 we have "Cerebus finds out about cocaine and how much money you get for it, so he arranges an enormous dope deal involving a quarter ton of cocaine; sets it up and then a message comes through that Cardinal Sparrow wishes to meet with him. . .Looks like a compromise in the works. . .Meet him in Charity Hall. . .Ready to go downstairs. . .Dirty Fleagle comes in and tells him that his shipment has arrived. . .in two hundred and eighty bushel baskets."

Yeah, I don't remember that storyline taking place.

9 comments:

Anthony Kuchar said...

Somebody call up Gilbert Shelton. This sounds like an unused plot from a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic.

Travis Pelkie said...

It was high time we learned about it, though.

Ahem.

In other news, the issue of Heavy Metal with Gerhard drawing a Grant Morrison story (oh my!), 283, is on the Previews list for next week.

Cross our fingers that it actually comes out then.

Tony Dunlop said...

Off topic, but a question for My Fellow Americans: Have you gotten your Archive 5 yet? Mine has yet to arrive. Stuck in Customs...?

Margaret said...

Tony - Mine arrived in New England couple days ago. Could be longer the further away from Kitchener you are?

Sandeep Atwal said...

Hey Tony, hopefully you'll get it soon, they're starting to arrive....keep us posted here on AMOC!

Jeff Seiler said...

Mine also arrived, two packages, at my place in Minneapolis while I'm in Key West. Kip brought them in.

Unknown said...

Packaging Too gang-shipped the USA copies to a distribution house IN the USA that broke down the shipment and mailed them domestically. Sandeep or I will try to remember to ask Chris B WHERE the distribution house is in the USA,

Unknown said...

Watch for CEREBUS IN HELL? in January (February?) as Cerebus decides to run for Canadian Prime Minister in 2019 -- from Hell -- turning Justin Trudeau into a "one-term wonder".

His plan seems to involve the Liberal electoral reform: any replacement for "first past the post" just has to include "write-in" capability for Canadian comic-book characters featured in 300 individual issues of a comic book.

Tony again said...

Archive #5 still not here, Saturday 11/5 - wasn't in today's mail. Anyone else in the USA still *not* get theirs?