Saturday 12 October 2024

Dave Sim: Santos Sisters Fan: The Incredible Shrinking Fax Conversation

Hi, Everybody!

As Dave showed yesterday, he's a Santos Sisters fan.

But You. Have. NO! Idea.











Rigamarole:
_______________
Shannon Wheeler, totally funded. I'ma getting a copy because I bought the last collection, and remastered goodness is always cool.
John and Scott Palochik, 12 days to go. Dave liked issue #1.
_______________
October 12-13, and 23-28.*
*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.
_______________
The Cerebus Humble Bundle is over, you can STILL get all 16 volumes for $99CANADIAN at CerebusDownloads.com (More if you want the Remastered Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing...)
_______________
Heritage ain't got $#!*, but that'll change... it ALWAYS does...
_______________
The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill. 
_______________
The Last Day Without nothing.
   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.
   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque
   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques
_______________
Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..."Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".
_______________
Next Time: Dave's got a thing he wanted me to  post...

Friday 11 October 2024

Santos Sisters (Dave's weekly update #560)

Hi, Everybody!

Like it says on the Logo:
The little bit on the bottom there...

It's Friday, so that means:
Dave's Weekly Update:

Buy your copies here.
_________________________
A Moment of Cerebus runs Saturday through Friday.
The Week in AMOC:
  • Saturday: I worked on Please Hold For Dave Sim 10/2024...
  • Sunday: and it gawdaammn took forever. So, there's a two hour Feature length version, and fifteen bite-sized chunks. Plus the @$$hole Spotify version.
  • MondayThe Monday Report, and I post Cerebus pages because I needed an easy day.
  • Tuesday: Jen makes a pitstop, and lets us know where we are and why there's a Strange Death of Alex Raymond GoFundMe. $133 until page 101 unlocks. 
  • Wednesday: Hobbs shares the new version of a Cerebus in Hell? cover I suggested.
  • Thursday: Margaret continues looking at pages from the first Notebook AKA Albatross 1, YOU can get your very own BETTER-THAN-MARGARET'S-POSTS-O.-M.-G.-YOU-GUYS-SERIOUSLY copy. See here. And she's gotta be nearing the end, right?
  • Friday: that's this post. You're reading the Friday post right now. This is STILL like that bit in Spaceballs. (Should I link to LAST WEEK'S Update in these things?)
Okay, so that was the past week in AMOC. You're welcome.

Rigamarole:
_______________
Dave/Cerebus adjacent Kickstarters:
Friend to the Blog, Steve Peters DIDN'T make it with his latest Sparky campaign. If you've ALREADY listened/watched/lived the 10/2024 PHFDS, you know Dave was gonna offer up a "Hail Mary", well Steve had thoughts:
And here's the piece I did with Jack:
This piece was 49 years in the making...

Shannon Wheeler, totally funded. I'ma getting a copy because I bought the last collection, and remastered goodness is always cool.


John and Scott Palochik, 12 days to go. Dave liked issue #1.
_______________
October 11-13, and 23-28.*
*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.
_______________
The Cerebus Humble Bundle is over, you can STILL get all 16 volumes for $99CANADIAN at CerebusDownloads.com (More if you want the Remastered Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing...)
_______________
Heritage ain't got $#!*, but that'll change... it ALWAYS does...
_______________
The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill. 
_______________
The Last Day Without nothing.
   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.
   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque
   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques
_______________
Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..."Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".
_______________
Next Time: Dave Sim is a Santos Sisters Fan. How big you ask? Well wait 'til you see this pile of faxes...

Thursday 10 October 2024

Notebook One: Cerebus #26 Part Five

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.

Maybe instead of rewriting this opener every week, I’ll be a bit more efficient with my use of time and have this standard opening . . .though Boss Man saying I'm giving the notebook away for free, I see it as a way of advertising all the good stuff in the notebook, and wouldn't it be easier to have a hard copy to flip through and read at your own leisure? 

Have you got your copy of Albatross One? That is Dave Sim’s name for his first notebook used in the creation of Cerebus. If you want a copy of the notebook – and trust me, as someone who has held the actual Albatross One, it is a pretty close duplicate and looks great – you can check out this post right here. Well not this post. The one at this link. Go check it out, this post will still be here.

Please buy one so boss man stops yelling at me for "giving the store away for free". Perhaps if he sells one or two or all that he has left, he'll finally give me some PTO. Wait, why am I pushing this, boss man is on vacation. . .I should just take off. . .

And if you don’t want to buy one, you can wait as I release a couple of pages a week and check them out using the Notebook One tag. But trust me, the notebook is much much nicer then my silly little posts.

Okay, now that is done, on with this week’s Notebook One post.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

If this is your first time reading a notebooks post, we’ve been sequentially going through Dave Sim’s first notebook used in the production of Cerebus. We’ve finally reached material for Cerebus #26, the first issue in the High Society phonebook. If you’d didn’t read the text above, check it out – links to all of the posts for pages #1 – 144 (plus a few others) and get an actual replica notebook. This week we’re on to page 145:

Notebook #1, page 145

This page picks right up from where page 144 left off: notes for Cerebus #26 pages 9 & 10. The text at the top of the page says “The earth-pig mules this over as he sips delicately from his finger bowl.” Well, there is the cover idea for Cerebus #26. And the second panel on page 10. 

The material for page 9 at the top of the page is the same as the previous page of the notebook, the preliminary dialogue between Cerebus and the different people coming up to him vying for his attention and if he can talk to Lord Julius about their requests. 

Then at the bottom of the page, the material for page 10 is Cerebus, while he “likes the idea of making money. . .he’s going to get the terminal yawns if he doesn’t find anything more interesting to do.” The plotting goes forward laying it out: Cerebus leaves, finds a cab, tries to start a fight with the other guy waiting for a cab, only to tell the guy his name and that turns the fight into more fawning. And while that does happen, it doesn’t all happen on page 10. 

The next page is a mix of different items. As Dave said about it in the digital High Society: “Getting bogged down in the calculating the relative value of Estarcion’s various currencies and having Cerebus expound upon it – which, of course, he wouldn’t do. Stray though on Holiday Theme Horror Movies like HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH – a horror version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND called “Happy UnBirthday” which you could go see any day of the year that your birthday wasn’t on. Working on Carron’s dialogue.

Notebook #1, page 146

In case you don’t remember every single one issue character in Cerebus, Carron is the Carron of Carron, McKiel, and Benny who was waiting for the cab and about to fight Cerebus.

And then after having written down the plot points for pages #1 through 10 (and a bit more) the next page of the notebook does the same thing but in quick short statements for pages 1 through 18. 

Notebook #1, page 147

We also get a really rough rough of the fight that Cerebus instigates when he throws the flour.  Well, except in the plot outline the flour is crossed out and written above it is fertilizer. 

Dave had this to say about the notebook page: “This is the sort of stuff I would write when I was partway into firming up the issue’s continuity. One and two-line distillations in the hopes that I could do the same with the pages I hadn’t written yet. The transitions aren’t there yet but I’ve got it figured out up to page 18 including a very rough sketch of the Ram’s Lord Tavern melee (I switched the bag of fertilizer for a bag of flour).

Wednesday 9 October 2024

Cerebus The Last Aardvark In Hell? Cover Update!

Benjamin Hobbs:

David Birdsong writes, "Remember the Kamandi cover?  As in Matt asking, "What the hell happened to the Kamandi cover?"  Well.... I accidentally flattened it way back when.  And it had Cerebus' dot tone on it.  And it wasn't done well enough to fix so I thought I would start over and I have it all the way to the color flat stage."

Here's the newly composited cover, along with the original Kamandi:

Next Week: Newly drawn cover?!? If I scan it before then!

Tuesday 8 October 2024

SDoAR 2.40: Strange Death of Alex Raymond Primer

And we're back! 

A few weeks back there was a comment that expressed frustration with the inside-baseball nature of these SDOAR updates and since I want to stay above the Mendoza line, I thought it might make sense to address the aforementioned comment without the use of jargon or acronyms:

Paul Slade wrote...

I can't be the only one who's completely lost track of what's going on with SDOAR. The various posts here assume too much background knowledge to be anything but baffling for those of us outside the core group of obsessive AMOC followers.

Let me start with an apology to Paul and others who may find these updates opaque. I appreciate the heads up and let me see if I can make things a little more clear. 

Paul continues...

Could someone please provide a "beginners start here" explanation of: 

1) What does "unlocking" a page mean?

Anyone who contributes to the Strange Death of Alex Raymond GoFundMe can receive access to a Dropbox folder of pages mocked up and/or drawn by Dave Sim that have not officially been published yet. After every $200 of donations, a new page is added to the Dropbox folder.

Paul adds...

2) Are the pages periodically posted on AMOC from the existing hardback volume which has already been published or pages from a planned volume two?

The pages being added to these A Moment of Cerebus/A Moment of the Strange Death of Alex Raymond updates are from the Strange Death of Alex Raymond hardcover, akin to what Manly Matt Dow does with reprinting Cerebus in his A Moment of Cerebus updates.

Paul asks...

3) If the latter, whose work is it that appears on these pages? What is Dave's involvement in drawing or designing them? Is Carson still involved? If so, how?

Any pages that are were done after the hardcover are either mockups by Dave Sim or drawn by Dave Sim as his wrist improved.

Paul queries ..

4) What material do the SDOAR ashcans contain?

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Ashcan #0 will include the original mocked up pages that appear in blue ink in the final sections of the Strange Death of Alex Raymond hardcover. Ashcan #1 and beyond will be entirely new material mocked up/drawn by Dave Sim.

Paul questions ...

5) Assuming I'm right about Dave wanting to eventually get a second volume of SDOAR published in physical form, what is the idea of this volume? Will it be an updated/expanded version of the existing book, or a brand new volume which continues the discussion from where the existing hardback left off?

I could go on, but those five questions will do to be doing on with. I think a post which (crucially) assumes no prior knowledge, but sets out a clear account of how each initiative on SDOAR works, what it hopes to achieve and what Dave sees as the ultimate end point of all this effort would be very useful. It might even help to pull in some extra cash.

What Dave wants to do is a question that only he can answer. At this point, he wants to continue working on the Strange Death of Alex Raymond, with the goal of 1) completing the story, and 2) possibly going back and drawing what he had previously mocked up. 

At present, Dave has no plans to print his mocked up pages or drawn pages and from my perspective, the GoFundMe Dropbox and Ashcans are a way to get these pages out to fans and hopefully encourage Dave to do a proper published continuation of the series, but at this point is very much putting the cart before the horse.

If you have other questions, please share them in the comments and I'll see if I can't clear things up down the line. The GoFundMe page was intended as the primer, but since most of the audience likely spends time here, it makes sense to periodically start from the beginning.

In other news, the latest proof of our Giant-Size SDOAR Ashcan proofs are in my hands and possibly will be in Dave's hands by the end of the week!

Just the GoFundMe Facts, Ma'am

  • $15,087.00 raised to date from 260 donations
  • 79 new pages released as mocked up by Dave Sim from 11 June to 22 December 2021
  • 100 total pages available on Dropbox, including Dave's 2019 mocked-up pages
  • $133.00 away from unlocking page 101
  • If you have not donated > $5+ donation grants access to all 100 pages and all pages moving forward
  • If you have donated, thank you, but if you want to donate monthly, GoFundMe does not offer that option, so please do so as we are at the beginning of month #10 of Year 2.

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Preview, Part Thirty-Nine

Okay, sports fans. The following are links to previous updates that featured pages from The Strange Death of Alex Raymond hardcover. If you click on the links in order, you can begin to devour the magnum opus that is the Strange Death of Alex Raymond...
This
Thisthis
Thisthisthis
Thisthisthisthis
Thisthisthisthisthis
Thisthisthisthisthisthis
Thisthisthisthisthis, thisthis
Thisthisthisthisthisthis
Thisthisthis, this, then...
Ciao!
xx
Jen
SDOAR GoFundMe -->> https://www.gofundme.com/f/sdoar-2023 <<-- SDOAR GoFundMe

Monday 7 October 2024

"By Clovis' teeth!"

Hi, Everybody!

__________________________

Well, do to overwhelming demand, I've made the October 2024 Please Hold For Dave Sim into bite-sized chunks.

You're welcome.
__________________________

Then:





__________________________
Rigamarole:
_______________
Dave/Cerebus adjacent Kickstarters:
Steve Peters he's not even 50% funded, but he's offering New Art Rewards:
With one week to go, we have a very steep climb to the finish line! I've decided to add new original art rewards. I don't know if it'll help, but we'll give it the old college try. All art rewards have the same conditions: I'll draw whatever scene you want, but with either Sparky or Comicverse characters (or, if anybody wants to get really obscure, Rabbit Hell characters). I have several 4" X 9" pieces, which will be used as single panels in a future Comicverse story, or blank Comicverse sketch covers.
I've gotten a few of the sketch covers, and Steve ALWAYS knocks it out of the park. Can't recommend that option enough... Six days to go.
James Habaneros Rancheros Windsor Catherine-Jones-Starky he's made it, fill out your surveys so I can get my stuff...
Shannon Wheeler, totally funded. I'ma getting a copy because I bought the last collection, and remastered goodness is always cool.
Robert T. Jeschonek, launching soon.
John and Scott Palochik, 19 days to go. Dave liked issue #1.
_______________
October 8-13, and 23-28.*
*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.
_______________
The Cerebus Humble Bundle is over, you can STILL get all 16 volumes for $99CANADIAN at CerebusDownloads.com (More if you want the Remastered Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing...)
_______________
Heritage has the original Art to Sparkybus.
_______________
The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill. 
_______________
The Last Day Without nothing.
   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.
   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque
   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques
_______________
Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..."Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".
_______________
Next Time: Jen's got something to say...unless she's "Deathproofing" again...

Sunday 6 October 2024

Please Hold For Dave Sim 10/2024

Hi, Everybody!



Audio:

Video:

I decided to make the videos just a single feature length one.

This may have been a mistake. (It took just as long to make as the shorts do. But without the little "exportation breaks" I get. (Didn't help I had to haul the kids all over creation for their extracurriculars and birthday parties.) I might go back and break it up and reupload the constituent parts...if I get the time.)

  • I remember Jeff Seiler
  • The Continuity of TMNT #8 and Spawn #10 
  • Steve Peters and his ⁠Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter⁠ 
    • Dave has an idea to help "goose" the campaign over the finish line, but we won't find out until the almost last minute.
    • Steve has "decided to add new original art rewards. I don't know if it'll help, but we'll give it the old college try. All art rewards have the same conditions: I'll draw whatever scene you want, but with either Sparky or Comicverse characters (or, if anybody wants to get really obscure, Rabbit Hell characters). I have several 4" X 9" pieces, which will be used as single panels in a future Comicverse story, or blank Comicverse sketch covers."
Like this one I got in the past:
Click for bigger
  • Who used the Lectratone, and when? 
  • Dave's favorite Cerebus covers 
  • What are the beliefs one has to hold to be a Marxist? 
  • A correction regarding last month's discussion of Chester Brown's Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus 
  • Why the earliest Cerebus Trade collections are "spineless" 
  • Does Dave do commissions? 
    • Answer: Yes. A the more you pay the better they'll be...
  • A discussion of Monotheism 
  • A discussion of Jim Valentino 
  • Dave's thoughts on Manga 
  • The amazing price a slabbed Cerebus #1 went for 
  • The two different covers of Swords of Cerebus #1 
  • The 1982 Tour book
Plus, the usual chitchat.

It's two hours and eighteen minutes. Heck, that's almost as long as a GOOD Marvel Movie. Make a bucket of popcorn. Get a large drink. Take an edible (if their legal where you live.) Kick back. Relax. And watch the colors man...

Rigamarole:
_______________
Dave/Cerebus adjacent Kickstarters:
Steve Peters he's not even 50% funded, but he's offering New Art Rewards:
With one week to go, we have a very steep climb to the finish line! I've decided to add new original art rewards. I don't know if it'll help, but we'll give it the old college try. All art rewards have the same conditions: I'll draw whatever scene you want, but with either Sparky or Comicverse characters (or, if anybody wants to get really obscure, Rabbit Hell characters). I have several 4" X 9" pieces, which will be used as single panels in a future Comicverse story, or blank Comicverse sketch covers.
I've gotten a few of the sketch covers, and Steve ALWAYS knocks it out of the park. Can't recommend that option enough... Six days to go.
James Habaneros Rancheros Windsor Catherine-Jones-Starky he's made it, but you  still have 53 hours to get in on the fun!
Shannon Wheeler, totally funded. I'ma getting a copy because I bought the last collection, and remastered goodness is always cool.
Robert T. Jeschonek, launching soon.
John and Scott Palochik, 19 days to go. Dave liked issue #1.
_______________
October 8-13, and 23-28.*
*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.
_______________
The Cerebus Humble Bundle is over, you can STILL get all 16 volumes for $99CANADIAN at CerebusDownloads.com (More if you want the Remastered Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing...)
_______________
Heritage has the original Art to Sparkybus.
_______________
The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill. 
_______________
The Last Day Without nothing.
   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.
   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque
   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques
_______________
Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..."Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".
_______________
Next Time: If I'm not too busy, more later. Otherwise, Mondays...

Friday 4 October 2024

Labour Stats (Dave's weekly update #559)

Hi, Everybody!

Like it says on the Logo:
The little bit on the bottom there...

It's Friday, so that means:
Dave's Weekly Update:
_________________________
A Moment of Cerebus runs Saturday through Friday.
The Week in AMOC:
  • Saturday: I return and have to do this crap again, so LOTS of faxes...
  • Sunday: Cerebus #2. Six pages. You're welcome.
  • MondayThe Monday Report, and Josh Even has a new toy, you could get one too...
  • Tuesday: Jen didn't update us on The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Go Fund Me. She sent me an "apology":
Matt,

Apologies for not posting yesterday. 

I was almost done with the post on Monday, but had to drive up to Lake Placid Monday afternoon to do some stunt driving for a horror movie on Tuesday. Originally, I was slated to do all my work in the morning so I could drive down to Florida where I'm doing three panels for a convention. Unfortunately, we had problems with the SFX, and I was able to head out until 5p, meaning I drove to 1 AM to get down past DC. I was too tired to wrap things up on the post -- and I'm back on the road, writing from a Bojangles in North Carolina. Best fried chicken and biscuits.

TL;DR: Mistakes were made.
Jen
Only Jen would think I would have a problem with somebody NOT posting around here. I mean "I couldn't post because I was STUNT DRIVING IN A MOVIE." sure beats Mags, "I didn't post because Hockey was on" in the excuse department. You better step up your excuse game Hobbs...
  • Wednesday: Hobbs shares a page from an upcoming Cerebus in Hell? issue.. 
  • Thursday: Margaret continues looking at pages from the first Notebook AKA Albatross 1, YOU can get a your very own BETTER-THAN-MARGARET'S-POSTS-O.-M.-G.-YOU-GUYS-SERIOUSLY copy. See here. And she's FINALLY up to High Society.
  • Friday: that's this post. You're reading the Friday post right now. This is STILL like that bit in Spaceballs. (Should I link to LAST WEEK'S Update in these things?)
Okay, so that was the past week in AMOC. You're welcome.

Rigamarole:
_______________
Dave/Cerebus adjacent Kickstarters:
Steve Peters he's not even 50% funded, but he's offering New Art Rewards:
With one week to go, we have a very steep climb to the finish line! I've decided to add new original art rewards. I don't know if it'll help, but we'll give it the old college try. All art rewards have the same conditions: I'll draw whatever scene you want, but with either Sparky or Comicverse characters (or, if anybody wants to get really obscure, Rabbit Hell characters). I have several 4" X 9" pieces, which will be used as single panels in a future Comicverse story, or blank Comicverse sketch covers.
I've gotten a few of the sketch covers, and Steve ALWAYS knocks it out of the park. Can't recommend that option enough... Six days to go.
James Habaneros Rancheros Windsor Catherine-Jones-Starky he's made it, but you  still have 53 hours to get in on the fun!
Shannon Wheeler, totally funded. I'ma getting a copy because I bought the last collection, and remastered goodness is always cool.
Robert T. Jeschonek, launching soon.
John and Scott Palochik, 19 days to go. Dave liked issue #1.
_______________
October 8-13, and 23-28.*
*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.
_______________
The Cerebus Humble Bundle is over, you can STILL get all 16 volumes for $99CANADIAN at CerebusDownloads.com (More if you want the Remastered Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing...)
_______________
Heritage has the original Art to Sparkybus.
_______________
The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill. 
_______________
The Last Day Without nothing.
   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.
   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque
   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques
_______________
Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..."Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".
_______________
Next Time: 

Thursday 3 October 2024

Notebook One: Cerebus #26 Part Four

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.

Maybe instead of rewriting this opener every week, I’ll be a bit more efficient with my use of time and have this standard opening . . .though Boss Man saying I'm giving the notebook away for free, I see it as a way of advertising all the good stuff in the notebook, and wouldn't it be easier to have a hard copy to flip through and read at your own leisure? 

Have you got your copy of Albatross One? That is Dave Sim’s name for his first notebook used in the creation of Cerebus. If you want a copy of the notebook – and trust me, as someone who has held the actual Albatross One, it is a pretty close duplicate and looks great – you can check out this post right here. Well not this post. The one at this link. Go check it out, this post will still be here.

Please buy one so boss man stops yelling at me for "giving the store away for free". Perhaps if he sells one or two or all that he has left, he'll finally give me some PTO. Wait, why am I pushing this, boss man is on vacation. . .I should just take off. . .

And if you don’t want to buy one, you can wait as I release a couple of pages a week and check them out using the Notebook One tag. But trust me, the notebook is much much nicer then my silly little posts.

Okay, now that is done, on with this week’s Notebook One post.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yes, we’re still looking at pages from Albatross One, Dave Sim’s first notebook used in the creation of Cerebus. If you’ve missed this column the past couple of weeks. . .uhhh, let me check my notes. . .since January of 2024, then you’re in for a treat. I’ve been going page by page showing every page from the cover to where we’re at today: page 142. There were 194 pages scanned from Albatross One, and it covers material for Cerebus #20 through #28, plus a few side projects. Last week we saw materials for Cerebus #26 and #27.

So page 142. Why does it look different then the other pages? Because I scanned it from the Cerebus Biweekly issue it came from (High Society Biweekly reprint for Cerebus #26). Why was that? I can’t remember. I had it in the archives as page 141b. But looking at it, we can see it on the back side of what I had as page 142. I doubled check that I wasn’t imagining things, and this “new” page 142 belonged where it belongs using my copy of Albatross One, and it does. 

Looking at the digital copy of Cerebus #26 from the digital High Society, I know I scanned this page in, for the scan I made is right there. So at some point I must’ve. . .gotten stoned and ate it? Like I said, I can’t remember.

Notebook #1, page 142

Up at the top of page 142 you can see a listing of pages for Cerebus #26, but the area for pages #11 through 20 are taken up by some sketches. 

What Dave had to say on the sketches (from that aforementioned biweekly issue): “the dreaded Corn Roach, about whom the less said the better and his alter ego Artemis Strong. Corn Roach eventually became the Moon Roach. Cerebus hailing a cab outside the Regency used at the top of page 13.” And from the digital edition of High Society: “First sketches of the Moon Roach (when he was originally “Corn King Roach” with a couple of ears of corn attached to his mask) and Artemis Strong. Sketch of Cerebus and the cab from later in the story.

The items for pages #1 through 9 are rewritten, expanded upon, down at the bottom of the page. Dave had  this to say about page 142 (from the digital edition of High Society): “Some obvious questions: ‘Why is he going to a more expensive place?’ for which there was no answer, so I just avoided it – which allowed me to plot up through page 9 (which would usually get compacted from there as you can see: the 9 pages have become 6 pages at the bottom of the page).”

The next page of the notebook as Dave says “stray thoughts and sketches that weren’t taking me anywhere – except that Cerebus had to go ballistic at some point.

Notebook 1, page 143

Though we do get a hint of a future phonebook in the text to the far left – emphasis is all me: “Chancellor. Everyone knows the Prime Minsters personal life. . .war between church and state”.

The next page is the plot material for pages #7 through 9 for Cerebus #26.

Notebook 1, page 144

Well, that top line for page #7 kind of rolls over into material for pages 8 through 9: Cerebus is trying to get from the people coming up to him and giving him money just exactly what they want from him. As Dave said about this page: “The Skorz monologue, just the basic contents. Too dry and boring. That’s when I decided to use the ‘Why you not sell me rights for Norway?’ dialect I used to get in letters seeking to do foreign translations (an Aardvark-Vanaheim in-office joke).