Preparing for the Campaign

Hi Everybody!

69 ("nice") sleeps left:

Anyway,

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 Dave Sim’s third notebook, back in October of 2021 in Unused High Society Material. The notebook has 78 pages out of 80 scanned and covers Cerebus #37 through 41. On page 16 of this notebook we see some text and a few sketches:

Notebook #3, page 16

The next way up the top is a list of names and items: "Albatross, Dirty Fleagle, Dirty Drew, Hotel owner friend, Suenteus Po, Elf, Holland M. Hadden, Grand Inquisitor, Moon Roach, taxi driver, desk clerk, Jaka, Conniptins, Pigts, Artist-Collector, Bran Mak Mufin, Prime Minister, Blakely”

Dave had this to say of the list: “I was already moving, mentally, into the “Campaign” section of the storyline and wanted to see what kind of a cast I would have for Cerebus entourage. I thought I’d start with everyone I had already introduced since the start of High Society.”

The next bit of text on the notebook page:

Suenteus Po shows up and tells him the w hole works is apt to go – any time now.

Cerebus on the campaign trail, you have nothing to fear but poverty – the troops are doing their job.

Reports get worse

Cerebus elected

They try to take it back

I can’t make out what the small two sketches are, but the sketch in the bottom right corner is an indeed a cover sketch. Dave says this about it “Sketch of the cover of No. 38 at the bottom of the page – Elrod (standing at an easel and doing a bunny sketch) and the Representatives reacting as Cerebus comes crashing through the door.”

But it doesn’t look at bit like the cover of Cerebus #38:

Cover to Cerebus #38

Not that covers haven't changed from Dave's sketches before, but the cover sketch in the notebook has the text on it ‘showdown’ which isn’t part of Cerebus #38, but it does show up on the first page of Cerebus #37, and it looks more like that cover:

Cover to Cerebus #38

So yes, I think that is Elrod standing at the easel, but it was later changed to Cerebus sitting a (shorten) podium with the crowd looking for Cerebus drawings of a tree.