Notes for Cerebus #49 & 50

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 some pages from Dave Sim’s sixth notebook in Don’t Swear at a Lady You Slug back in April of 2020. The notebook has 158 scanned pages out of. . .I don’t know, as the notebook didn’t come with a cover. In fact, page 1 / 2 was not physically attached to the notebook itself. 

Notebook #6, page 1

This is one busy page. Issue box numbers for Cerebus #49 and #50, with page numbers listed and notes for those pages. Some of those notes kind of line up with what is going on with the actual pages. For example, issue #49 page 10 says “getting him new clothes. If this all calls through Ambassador”.  Instead of getting Cerebus new clothes, Astoria is handing a very wet Cerebus a towel, and then on page 11 Cerebus gets his new clothes.

The little thumbnails down the bottom of the page are pages #11 – 13 of Cerebus #49 (aka High Society pages 483 – 485). It shows the pages rotating from portrait to landscape while Cerebus gets dressed as he talks with Astoria to someone coming in to talk with them and finally the McGrew brothers learning how to speak a different language.

The top left corner of the page the name “Cook County Saloon” is there with the text “(early)”. The only “Cook County Saloon” I see on google is in Edmonton. Crossed out is a name of a hotel that I can’t make out. A name of Ali Katz with what appears to be a cross street address of 1055 & 103 Ave. If that is in Edmonton, there is a 103 Ave. I don’t know if Ali is a member of the Katz family who owns the Edmonton Oilers. If she is, then it is before the Katz Group brough the Oilers in 2007. Below is what appears to be a phone number with an area code for Calgary, but there are no google hits for it. Though all put together with the text “Across the street and through the back-east” appears to be a meet up.

Page two is less busy than page one:

Notebook #6, page 2

Some bits and pieces for Cerebus #49 and possibly #51. 

I don’t know how this page came loose and managed to stay with the rest of the notebook, perhaps a question for boss man to ask Dave next month.