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 Dave Sim's notebook #16 in June of 2017 in One Fondue Set Please. With 67 pages scanned this notebook covers Cerebus #122 through 125.
On page 50 of the notebook is a sketch of Jaka, a timeline of issues #135 through 139, which turns out to be Melmoth #1, and a quick summary of what happens to each character. Though as we know it wasn't Pud who ended up going to jail for 2 years.
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| Notebook #16, page 50 |
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| Cerebus #124, page 12 |
11 comments:
Something I really noticed with the recent re-read of Jaka’s Story (Remastered), was how much those border edges were influenced by the characters - particularly Oscar’s staggered/stepped ones - which I think was to highlight his disruptive influence between Rick & Jaka.
First time I hadn’t read it as single issues so something like that became more apparent to me. It’s great to pick up new things on a read (as well as all the awesome detail in the remaster.)
Yes, brilliant deviations from the six-panel grid in the book! When it starts to bend or break, watch out.
Dave's skill at laying out a page was one of his chief strengths.
-- Damian
This is an example of the "fonfliff" in Jaka's life. She was a spoiled princess, but she was sexually abused by her uncle, so she ran away.
But, she never got over the princess thing. Thus, even as she was fleeing, she still expected to be treated as a princess (as would all we princes, were we in her shoes).
This is brilliant character development by Dave, over, what?, 20, 25 years.
And, even when she got the love of her life back, in "Going Home", she still managed to fuck it up.
Who was it that once wrote that Dave Sim knows how to write for women better than any other male comic book writer?
What I think is funny is that most fans of "Cerebus" who talk about the seminal volume, "Jaka's Story", speak about it as if Jaka were just the put-upon, abused princess (which, surely, she was), but fail to understand how that abuse made her into the Princess Diana-type that became the buzzsaw into which Cerebus gladly, ignorantly, ran.
She was so devoid of self-awareness, as (to a certain degree) was Cerebus, that everyone in her orbit eventually got burned. You know, like a certain real-life princess.
Jeff S.'s comments say a lot about Jeff, but as usual not a lot about reality. We would all expect the same treatment? Most of us (but not Jeff) are smart enough to realize that when we leave one circumstance for a different circumstance, our circumstances have changed. "Brilliant character development", or arbitrary and inconsistent author-intrusion retcon to force an existing character into line with the author's new prejudices? (To be fair, that's always a hazard of serial publication over many years.) But I too am curious to know who -- and when -- "once wrote that Dave Sim knows how to write for women better than any other male comic book writer?" (Admittedly, that isn't a high bar to clear.) But Jeff thinks himself a price, so that offers an interesting insight ...
-- Damian
Los. Bros. Hernandez come to mind.
If Lord Julius molested Jaka it completely ruins his character; he's supposed to be absurd comic relief.
A Fake Name
I seem to recall Dave saying somewhere that he isn't exactly sure who abused Jaka, but that he's reasonably confident it wasn't Julius.
In one end or the other (either a "Note from the President" or in "Aardvark Comment") of the monthly book, fairly early on, Dave wrote about Jaka as someone who, if there's anything to the reincarnation/karma mumbo jumbo, will not be back for another round in this veil of tears. I have no doubt that her gradual deterioration into a self-absorbed princess was all about Dave Sim's changing views toward women, not any kind of genuine character development.
Or, and stay with me here, she aged, grew world-wise, and world-weary.
Twenty-something girls are fun because they're just starting to experience life.
Forty-something women have already experienced life and either love it (in which case, fun), or they are bored by it (in which case, you'd better make her laugh all day long and fuck her brains out all *night* long).
Older women are the best company, because they don't care anymore; they love just being the characters into which they have grown.
All people, Tony, are characters who develop.
Tony Dunlop, thanks for the clarification regarding Julius/Jaka.
A Fake Name
"Twenty-something girls are fun because they're just starting to experience life.
Forty-something women have already experienced life and either love it (in which case, fun), or they are bored by it (in which case, you'd better make her laugh all day long and fuck her brains out all *night* long)."
Really, Jeff? Are you not someone who prides themselves on your education in psychology? Read what you wrote - at best it comes off as reductive and insulting, at worst, deeply sexist, misogynistic, and dehumanizing. I'm honestly not sure who you're expecting to read that and what you want them to take away from it.
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