More on Cerebus #69 - the End?

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.

Carrying on with Dave Sim’s seventh Cerebus notebook – print them out and put them in a folder! – we come to one last page on Cerebus #69. Sure, there are 7 scanned pages left in this notebook, but they only cover the never to be X-Men / Cerebus cross-over. . .So lets look at the final notebook page for Cerebus #69. It covers the last two pages of that issue:

Notebook #7, page 150

At the top is Dave’s calendar for December 1984 – a guess since Cerebus #69 is dated December 1984. Dave has Dec 3, 4, 5, 10, and 11, slated for six pages of ‘Eisner’. A reference to the collaboration with Will Eisner for Cerebus Jam, Cerebus versus The Spirit, which has a cover date of April 1985. . .Though from what I’ve seen in the other notebooks, Dave usually saved these ‘special projects’ for the weekends, and the weekends of December 1984 don’t match up with those dates. The dates match up with December 1983’s weekends. Was he working a year ahead in this notebook? 

Since December 3rd says ‘fan club’ and I remember what was on the cover of Cerebus the Newsletter #8: a Paul Smith rendition of Cerebus and the X-Men. In it there is a small article on ‘Cerebus / X-Men. . .’ saying to look for it coming out in the summer of 1984. And as I mentioned at the top of this post, the last few pages of this notebook cover that never to be cross-over. So this notebook must have been done in December of 1983 or November as he got ready for December.

But I digress. . .kind of?

The top right corner of the notebook page has a sketch for Cerebus #69 page 20 and some dialogue for it. Then below it in the middle of the page is a sketch for page #19. Then below that in the bottom left corner is another sketch of page #20. That sketch is more complete then the one in the top right corner. It is also closer to the finished page:

Cerebus #69, pages 19 & 20 (aka Church & State I, pages 371 & 372
Click the picture to enlarge it

The bits of the dialogue match up to some bits of dialogue on the two pages. Though it is a bit out of order.  And title at the bottom of page #20, Elf Request, makes an appearance.