Rick's Arm Healed

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 last saw notebook #25, which covers Cerebus #213 through 241 and had 96 pages scanned, last July in Some Dialogue from Cerebus #213.

On page 57 the notebook was held so it was ‘landscape’ and has a sketch for some page layouts:

Notebook #25, page 57 (click for bigger, as usual)

The closest pages I can find is page 62 and 63 of Cerebus #222, aka Rick’s Story, page 62 & 63:

Cerebus #222, page 62 & 63

The only dialogue on the two page spread is said by Cerebus and is pretty close to what is on the finished page: “you arm is not “ and I can’t make out the rest. The thought triangles appear to be ‘fine’ and something illegible. 

In the actual issue Cerebus doesn’t touch Rick then, but on the previous page. The layout is pretty similar, one panel the entire length of the page, and then smaller panels with the top row being Rick and then the bottom being angelic Rick freeing his arm of the wrapped bandages. The last panel is different, as there is no large angelic Rick. 

It makes me wonder how long it’d take Dave to do such a sketch in the notebook.