Cerebus #53 Wrap Around Cover Sketch

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.

I was taking a look through Dave’s sixth notebook as we last saw a page from it in June of 2022 in Dave Trying Hal Foster on for Size in a look at pages 14 and 15. The notebook covers Cerebus #49 through 59 and had 158 pages scanned during July of 2005. As I was looking through it, I saw some cool thumbnail sketches of Cerebus #53. I wanted to double check it was #53 and not one of the other Countess issues, and I found a page that stopped me in my tracks.

Notebook #6, page 30

Yes, the sketch of the cover for Cerebus #53 stopped me in my tracks. 

Cerebus #53 wrap around cover

Pretty close to the finished cover. The curtains aren’t there, the chair Cerebus is sitting in turned into a bench, and a few other small differences.  Countess Michelle’s pose changed on the finished cover, and on the notebook page it is right beside the cover. The text is also for Cerebus #53, and next week we’ll see more pages from this notebook used in Cerebus #53.