Pages 8 and 9 from Cerebus #93

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.

A couple weeks ago we looked at pages 74 and 75 from Dave Sim’s 10th notebook in Cerebus #93 Page Layouts and Dialogue. Part of page 75 had dialogue for the next couple of pages in Cerebus #93, but the page layouts are on page 76, which we could see from page 75.

Notebook #10, page 76

The notebook pages do show the page layouts for pages #8 and 9 of Cerebus #9. It even shows the dialogue for page #9, but as we saw, the dialogue for page #8 is on the previous notebook page. . .Well, except for the couple of bits along  the top of the layouts. Those two pieces of dialogue go to the last two panels of page 8.

Church & State II, pages 844 & 845

The panel layout from the notebook to the finished pages is pretty consistent, same with the layouts itself.  Only a few minor differences. Like Cerebus’ dialogue in the final panel of page 9 doesn’t use an icy word balloon. And the Roach’s arm in panel one of page 9 is facing a different way. . .slightly. But it does go right arm to left arm as he makes his way up the tower. Just minor differences. Always amazes me how these notebook layouts are so close to the finished pages.