Outline for the Last Half of High Society

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 last saw some pages from Dave Sim’s third Cerebus notebook back in Looking At Cerebus #37 Part Three in August of 2020. This notebook contains material on Cerebus #37 through 41. This page stopped me because of all the little issue box numbers on it:

Notebook #3, page 31

It looks like Dave is plotting out the major points for the rest of High Society on this page. This is what he had to say in Cerebus High Society #13, the biweekly reprint:

The first time I pushed all the way through to the end of High Society, marking down all the issue numbers and dates and the idea of Cerebus’ Six Crises (a parody of Richard Nixon’s early sixties autobiography My Six Crises) I was now sure I could do it, Seuling and Plant be damaged.

Since it was Dave’s first take, the numbering is off a bit from the finished books. For example, crises #1 isn’t Cerebus #44, but #45. Though Cerebus #38 was day two of Petuniacon. The thumbnail on the notebook page nearly matches the finished cover. Lord Julius on the left, K’Cor in the center, and Elrod on the right. Perhaps that is supposed to be Cerebus down the bottom, I can’t tell.

Cerebus #38 cover