A MOMENT OF CEREBUS

Thursday, 22 April 2021

Elf Request

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.

Usually I type these entries up over the weekend. But I didn’t, not this weekend. This weekend was even extra long, double the normal length. But nope, no working on AMoC for me. Well, Sunday night I picked a page from one of Dave Sim’s notebooks. But the rest of my long weekend? My second shot of vaccine on Thursday and going to Boston to see a Bruins game. First on Friday night and then Sunday afternoon. Saturday I spent going through a box of Cerebus goodies from The Waverly Press. And I slept in. All the way to 6am? 7am? I can’t remember. I just know that the sun was up.

So that one page I picked out on Sunday? From notebook #8. The two pages up the time jumped out at me. That and the unused title of 'Elf Request':

Notebook #8, page 15

The “calendar” for the last half of December is Dave writing down what he wants to get done. Since Cerebus was dated January 1985, this must be December 1984. Which amazes me. Looks like the issue is finished on Dec 29th when the cover is slated to be done, and then sent to the printers. Does that even account for Ger’s time doing the backgrounds? When would the book make it to the comic stores? Seems like too quick of a turn around time.

It is now Tuesday, and I’m tired from getting up just before 4am and working all day so I can buy all of this Cerebus stuff. This is why I typically do these on the weekend when I have more time.

If you can tell me what page the two pages shown in thumbnail form above actually are in the finished issue, you’ll have my thanks.

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Dave's SWORDS OF CIH? Volume 3 notes

Benjamin Hobbs:

Last week, we looked at Dave's comprehensive notes for my Cerebus #2 cover coloring. This week we'll be looking at the notes Dave sent after I sent a proof for SWORDS OF CEREBUS IN HELL? Volume 3. They are more... free form.

I asked him what the note at the top "SUICIDE SQUAD" was in reference to, he replied:

"Cerebus going to see the INFERNAL SUICIDE SQUAD movie... One of Sandeep's strips... IMHO the perfect CIH? strip."

Visually, this fax might be the perfect Dave fax.

Next Week: Hopefully the SWORDS OF CIH? HC Kickstarter launch...

Tuesday, 20 April 2021

Dave responds to Matt cleaning out the ol' AMOC Mailbag, and Marvel's distribution decision.

Hi, Everybody!

I know some of you are getting the shakes from "Dave Fax" withdrawal, so here's a little exchange between Dave and I:

I faxed up

I was gonna ask this for the last Please Hold, but I had a number of other questions to send, and I was waiting for Brian Hibbs’ take on it. So, what is A/V’s stance on the Marvel Penguin House distribution deal? Here’s Mr. Hibbs’ take on it.

My question is: Are you/A-V, planning on trying to expand beyond Diamond (I know Diamond has been very-very good to you and A-V over the years,), or have you not thought about it at all?

(Insert “Mr. President, why not do nothing?” here.)

I mean, as Mr. Hibbs stated, most shops don’t order trades from Diamond if they can help it. Would it behoove A-V to investigate in trying to distribute through PRH, or some other book distributor? (Especially in light of how Diamond may be in the same position that Capital City was 25 years ago?)

Matt

And here was Dave's response:

My friend Kevin, remember Kevin, here's some columns by Kevin, works comics retail, and he laughed himself silly when I told him what Dave said.

_________________________________

Anyway, when I was cleaning out the AMOC mailbag yesterday, I forgot to post the letter I sent to Hobbs when I paid him for the Batvark: PENISes I had him send Larry and Margaret:

Hot Damn, I'm funny...

____________________________

And also while cleaning out the Ol' AMOC mailbag, I found a bunch of stuff I had to send Dave, and he responded to that:

The contest is something everybody forgot about, so we're working on figuring out who won.

Okay, Dave sent me part five of Why an Aardvark, but I don't think parts one through four have ever been posted here, so I'm gonna post them, and THEN I'll post part five.

Something to look forward to...

Rigamarole:

Gerhard is having an art sale.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond (ORDER NOW!)

Cerebus in Hell?:

Strangers in Cerebus Get your orders in by April, 22!

Order Sword of Cerebus in Hell? Volume 3 too!

Hemingway in Comics: https://www.booktable.net/ https://www.centuriesandsleuths.com/

Heritage has some interesting "Dave Sim" bits (okay, not so much this time...)

Next Time: Why an Aardvark part 1? Nope. Hobbs.

Monday, 19 April 2021

Cleaning out the ol' AMOC Mailbag... again.

Hi, Everybody!

Mondays:

Um...there ain't one. It's Ramadan. So, Dave isn't reading John's Gospel, he's reading the Quran.

_____________________________________

So on Saturday, after posting Saturday's post, I cleaned out the 175 emails in the ol' AMOC inbox, and whittled it down to 33.

In the "cleansing," I found a few things I meant to post and "forgot":

Steve Swenson sent in:

Hiya Matt -

I don't think I'd sent this one in already: some copies of issue #14 printed without cyan made it past Quality Control at the printers. There's also cyan-less copies of #7 out there, one of the few Cerebus issues I'm still looking for.

Best -
Steve

Click for bigger.

And here's the not misprinted cover:

____________________________________________________

Larry Wooten sent in:

I got home from the tug boat and had a surprise in the mail. I would imagine the Best Gutter Meme contest I suggested had some stiff competition for the coveted prize and I graciously accept and thank the judges for their discerning taste.

It's good to know a guy. I believe I can now pester that Hobbs fellow now that I have an address and have been introduced.

Thank you!
Larry

Um, so, Larry wanted a Virgin Batvark: PENIS, and started a "contest" on the Cerebus Facebook group. I just paid Hobbs to send a copy to Larry. And Margaret. There was no contest.

__________________________________________

Paul Slade sent in:

https://twitter.com/HorribleSanity/status/1379425027758518275
Dear AMOC,

Thought you’d like to see this. (The Illustrated Police News was a newspaper in Victorian London. It specialised in lurid crime stories.)

Paul
*****

Visit PlanetSlade.com for Murder Ballads, Secret London and more.

“A dauntingly complete and fascinating piece of work." - Greil Marcus on Slade’s Unprepared to Die.

_________________________________________

TeePublic sent me:

Your Design is Active

Hi Matt Dow's AMOC TeePublic Shop,

Your design has been published to your storefront. It was submitted for review to one of our partner licensing rightsholders, and the licensor determined that it was either not related to or not eligible for the fan art program.

Your Design:

Star Trek fans are nerds (in Elf-ish)

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/20014607-star-trek-fans-are-nerds-in-elf-ish

Sorry about that delay. Our Fan Art Program FAQ has more information on how this process works, so check it out if you have any questions!

Many Thanks,
TeePublic Legal Team

So, the design is up twice, but this one has the funnier description.

SPEAKING of The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe, it will be on sale:

Up to 35% off site-wide:

April 22 – 24

Up to 30% off site-wide:

April 28 – 29

Tell your fans! Remind them that everything will be up to 35% off -- that means $13 tees, $20 phone cases, $30 hoodies, and way more!

___________________________________________

Rigamarole:

Gerhard is having an art sale.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond (ORDER NOW!)

Cerebus in Hell?:

Strangers in Cerebus Get your orders in by April, 22!

Order Sword of Cerebus in Hell? Volume 3 too!

Hemingway in Comics: https://www.booktable.net/ https://www.centuriesandsleuths.com/

Heritage has some interesting "Dave Sim" bits (okay, not so much this time...)

Next Time: To BUSINESS!

Sunday, 18 April 2021

Cerebus Around the World and Web #76 by Oliver Simonsen

Oliver Simonsen:

A gif of Theodore Trout's Cerebus animation progress http://www.thefishshow.com/Archive/Cerebus%20panics.gif

[I figured out how to insert this. NEAT.-Matt]

Everybody's favorite Comic Book Manager returns! (click link for slideshow)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNxYQMZhvao/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Interview with Carson Grubaugh!
https://diamondbookdistributors.org/an-idiosyncratic-history-of-the-medium/

From "Living the Line" President Sean Robinson:
https://www.facebook.com/LivingtheLine/posts/121534473331376
We've been getting a website together to, among other things, share some preview pages for the book, collect together some early press, etc. And here it is!
https://www.livingthelinebooks.com/

Paul Gravett spotlights new Graphic Novel and website
https://www.facebook.com/paulgravett/posts/10157800069501176

Living the Line: Although the May Previews catalog is still two weeks away, you can still pre-order Strange Death at your local comic store, using this early order code.
https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/FEB219102

Living the Line:
https://www.facebook.com/LivingtheLine/posts/122048999946590
We've gotten some inquiries about international distribution of Strange Death. Diamond Book Distribution is the exclusive distributor of the English-language edition of the book, and yes, you'll be able to purchase it virtually anywhere. Just this morning some of the larger mega-chains have started listing the book for international purchase.
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/173686050X/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strange-Death.../dp/173686050X/
https://www.amazon.de/Strange-Death-Alex.../dp/173686050X/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../the-strange.../1139191842

Gerhard doing backgrounds for Gibbons, Zeck, Layton, Jones, Lim and Bizley
https://twitter.com/BillyHynes/status/1382410257612353537

Get ready for Gerhard sale!
https://twitter.com/comicartfans/status/1383151782063394819
https://twitter.com/comicartfans/status/1381986860495429638

Margaret Liss took a photo
https://www.facebook.com/margaret.liss/posts/10158102483373225
which prompted Jeff Seiler in the comments to ask how much to commision Gerhard. Gerhard via Shelly Byers "Nice shot. Needs a focal point, though. Maybe something like this:"

Gerhard street
https://twitter.com/_Penguinflight/status/1382778359718031364

Robert Brian L. West not only does PR for all things Cerebus, but also helps save the world
https://twitter.com/BigBWest/status/1382036669671604226
https://www.fraziermuseum.org/virtualmuseum/#vaccine-trial

Arturo Louga 11`` × 17`` commision for Paul Poirier
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cerebus/permalink/3897146880352658/

Cerebus sketch shared
https://twitter.com/randimason/status/1381067235834351620

Going to draw Cerebus
https://twitter.com/Khatoblepas/status/1381024577543938049

Cerebus drawing requested (in Spanish)
https://twitter.com/ChinninKhan/status/1383023419910987779

James Smith draws Cerebus
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cerebus/permalink/3906413632759316/

Faux cover from Dion Turner
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cerebus/permalink/3898495046884508/

Cerebus on cover of anthology with featuring 40 Canadian and American creators
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNg7VjfhBC8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Cerebus, Sandman and more (in Arabic and didn't quite get it)
https://twitter.com/ZiKE27/status/1382086819798454277

Cerebus pin shared
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNicXTyg3cW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Cerebus 300 no mean feat
https://twitter.com/OGTslay1974/status/1381806079319937026

Every other cartoon nowadays is going the Cerebus route
https://twitter.com/blueboy81900/status/1381714156139712520

Cerebus claymation
https://twitter.com/richmagahiz/status/1383147806551023616

Public for the first time - Keisuke Hoashi (actor from such shows as Bob's Burgers and the new Perry Mason) wrote this adaptation of Cerebus issues 4, 11, and 12 as a one-act play entering it into the 1993 McKinney Writing Contest at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) with Dave Sim's permission.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387521/
https://twitter.com/KeisukeHoashi/status/1383606691057455105
https://twitter.com/KeisukeHoashi/status/1383609037074272269

Cerebus meta in the movies

https://twitter.com/Cerebus92/status/1382331873288982539

Cerebus and the Snyder cut
https://twitter.com/HarveyPizza/status/1381973618465374211

Highlander is a Cerebus version of Princess Bride
https://twitter.com/Robert_Suits/status/1381412282178154499

Margaret Liss teases upcoming Cerebus and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cerebus/permalink/3890029664397713/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cerebus/permalink/3895668270500519/

________________________________________________________________

Thanks Oliver!

Rigamarole:

Gerhard is having an art sale.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond (ORDER NOW!)

Cerebus in Hell?:

Strangers in Cerebus Get your orders in by April, 22!

Order Sword of Cerebus in Hell? Volume 3 too!

Hemingway in Comics: https://www.booktable.net/ https://www.centuriesandsleuths.com/

Heritage has some interesting "Dave Sim" bits (okay, not so much this time...)

The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe will be on sale:

Up to 35% off site-wide:

April 22 – 24

Up to 30% off site-wide:

April 28 – 29

Tell your fans! Remind them that everything will be up to 35% off -- that means $13 tees, $20 phone cases, $30 hoodies, and way more!

Next Time: No Monday Report, unless Dave skips John for the Quran?

Saturday, 17 April 2021

That Creedence Clearwater Revival song we can't name, because we don't wanna get sued. (They sued John. He WROTE all their songs. We ain't @#$%ING around with CCR...)

Hi, Everybody!

So it occurred to me, that the amount on the check Dave sent me for my work on Amazing Batvark #1, was bigger than the amount Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster got for Superman in 1938.

My check.

Jerry and Joe's check. (The first item on the left is "Superman 130.00" which is what they were paid.)

(Not adjusted for inflation. With inflation, they got $2442.13. But shut up, I'm doing a bit...)

Which makes me sad and depressed, because I shouldn't have gotten MORE than Siegel and Shuster for suggesting a cover and writing the IFC. They made Superman for @#$%s sake...

The only reason I noticed was that Friend to the Blog (and star of Steve Peters Week 3-D (coming soon(?))) Steve Peters shared on the FaceItBooks an article about how Ed Brubaker makes more for the cameo he had in Captain America: The Winter Soldier than he does from creating the character of the Winter Soldier.

Which got me to thinking about how Marvel and DC have a history of screwing over their creators that stretches back about eighty-three years.

Which got me thinking about Crossing Over, Dave's story from Spawn #10

Speaking of SPAWN #10:

Dave sent me:

THE SPAWN 10 CORNER King and Scott Streets in downtown Kitchener, twenty-eight years after the fact. Me holding up one of the SPAWN 10 lenticular covers. Proving you can't get a good shot of me, the corner and the cover all in one picture.

Photo by Mike Kitchen

Cover NOT by Mike Kitchen

Speaking of Speaking of SPAWN #10:

The Waverly Press would like to know how Cerebus Fandom thinks they're doing with Spawn #10, Cerebus #1, and the Regency Edition.

GAH! Don't sneak up on me like that!!!

Speaking of The REGENCY EDITION:

Dave sent this too:

THE HIGH SOCIETY REGENCY EDITION GIANT PRINTS the color (it was done in San Francisco, so no "u") is absolutely amazing in person. Even with "mood lighting" at Camp David and hitting it with the video camera's flash almost head on, you only get a fraction of the intensity of the colors. Not to mention the extremely rich texture of the photographic paper (I TOLD you not to MENTION that!). Dagon says Mr. Hoffman is one of the best photo printers in the U.S. and I believe it. They came in about ten minutes after Mike left. All signed and ready to ship to North Carolina!

Click for bigger (nice shirt...)

Ahem. So the Regency Editions aren't gonna ship to the Waverly Press until May 25th, so I, personally, wouldn't expect anybody to get their packages until June.

Anyway, The Waverly Press would like feedback on their collaborations with Aardvark-Vanaheim. Specifically, they're looking for what people want and don't want. Non constructive complaints don't interest them, but thoughtful, constructive feedback is most welcome.

More or fewer variant covers? (Hey, be nice. I know the answer to this one...)
Trading cards?
Hardcover books?
Signed and numbered fine art prints?
Additional expanded content?
Are there things they could be offering that they haven't thought of?
Contests for rarities from the archive?
What do Cerebus collectors want?

You can comment here, email me momentofcerebus@gmail.com, or be "that guy" and email The Waverly Press directly through their "My Spawn #10 package is damaged/missing stuff" email account: thewaverlypress@gmail.com

(If you do that last one, do me the favor of not being an ass. I don't need anymore static than I already get here. They're nice to me. I'd like that to continue.)

Rigamarole:

Gerhard is having an art sale.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond (ORDER NOW!)

Cerebus in Hell?:

Strangers in Cerebus Get your orders in by April, 22!

Order Sword of Cerebus in Hell? Volume 3 too!

Hemingway in Comics: https://www.booktable.net/ https://www.centuriesandsleuths.com/

Heritage has some interesting "Dave Sim" bits (okay, not so much this time...)

The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe will be on sale:

Up to 35% off site-wide:

April 22 – 24

Up to 30% off site-wide: