US Tour 1992 tour diary

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 already seen a bit from Dave's notebook #17 - see "Po's monologue about Bran" and then the a three column series on "The Good and Bad of Comics in the Early 90s". As this notebook covers issues 153 to 164 in the early 1990s, there is a bit more in it I'd like to show you. A tour diary of sorts, from his US Tour 1992.

On the notebook's page 55 and 56 Dave was writing some dialogue for Suenteus Po, and the on page 57 we see he must've been at his hotel as he jolts down "Oops, Mitch just got here for the Midnight Comics signing."

Notebook 17, page 57 (as always, click to enlarge)

It looks like Steve Bissette and Julie Doucet were to be at the signing at Midnight Comics in Albany, NY. We also see that Dave tells a short story of how he met Tom Palmer from Marvel Comics. The signing was part the US Tour 1992 and happened on June 20, 1992 according to the back cover of Cerebus #158.

Then on the next page we see Dave writing about how Mitch wasn't coming to pick him up for another half hour for the Midnight Comics signing? This is actually part of the Note From the President for issue #160. Though it is way down the bottom of the note.

Notebook 17, page 58

The rest of the page appears to be a prologue the rest of the NFtP that was in the back of the issue on a page long note with super tiny text. The next page in the notebook is used in the NFtP in issue #160 as well, though edited down and put before the Albany tour stop info.

Notebook 17, page 59

It deals with the Minneapolis stop of the tour, on June 7, 1992. So perhaps Dave started his tour diary at the back of the notebook, and his Cerebus stuff at the front, and the pages before 57 where there is he Suenteus Po dialogue were not done right before he was interrupted by Mitch from Midnight Comics. Perhaps he was in the middle of the line on the bottom of page 57 which is why it just ends mysteriously, we don't find out who the first two people he met were.

This starting out at the back of the notebook would also explain why on the next page - page 60 - we see what becomes the start of the NFtP for Cerebus #160, a bit about the Kansas City tour stop on May 31, 1992.

Notebook 17, page 60

As you can see down the bottom of  page 60, which happens to be the last page in this notebook, is the start of the Minneapolis note, which is continued on page 59.