Notebook One: Cerebus #21 Material Part Four

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.

Guess what we’ll be looking at this week from Dave Sim’s notebooks? If you guessed pages from Albatross One, you are correct! And if you guessed page 36 will be what we start with, you are even more correct. We’ve been looking at Dave Sim’s first notebook that he used in the production of Cerebus. It covers Cerebus #20 through 28 and had 194 pages scanned. So far we’ve looked at the first 35 pages of the notebook, and a few more, just use the Notebook One tag to find all past blog entries with pages from Notebook One.

Last week we saw pages 31, 32, and 33, that all had Cerebus #21 material.  And since pages 34 and 35 were covered in Captain Cockroach Sketches, we start with page 36. Though I suggest you go to see page 35 so you can get a better idea of what the heck is going on with page 36. Or perhaps just look at it and take a guess:

Notebook One, page 36

Yes, that is just the ink from page 35 coming through the other side of the page. We already saw page 37 back in October of 2016’s Captain Cockroach and Bunky. That entry also has pages 47 and 49 of the notebook. All of them pages with large drawings of the two characters. A bit more eye grabbing than page 38’s “wall of text”:

Notebook One, page 38

The page continues with material for Cerebus #21 with Dave jotting down some ideas for the scene with Cerebus, Cockroach, Elrod, and the city dweller. Elrod’s distinctive voice is seen at the top right of the page with the dialogue “Mistah . . Ah say Mister President. Talking to you is like” Unfortuately Elrod’s sentence isn’t finished.

Near the middle of the page, Dave wrote down the characters: President, Cockroa(ch), Cer(ebus), and Elrod and gives a quick character profile. Like the Cockroach “good boy. Here boy. Try to be calm. What a schlub”. For Elrod the name Mel Cooley is written down. Mel Cooley is a fictional character on the television show The Dick Van Dyke Show played by Richard Deacon. 

Down the bottom of the page is some potential dialogue for President Weisshaupt – notice he hasn’t been named in the notebook yet? – and Elrod. At the top of the next page of the notebook some more plot points and character motivation is written down. Then Dave start writing down what will be on each page.

Notebook One, page 39

While these quick notes of what is to be on each page kind of appear in some form in Cerebus #21, the pages don’t align with the actual issue.

Varkdalorian Variant Cover

Benjamin Hobbs:

One of the next CIH? books coming out is THE VARKDALORIAN. This is probably the main cover.  (But your guess is as good as mine.)  (Unless David is reading this, he actually KNOWS which cover is which.  Check the comments for his notes!):

It was suggested that there should be a LONE WOLF AND CUB homage variant cover. I decided to paint one.  I started with a foggy background:

For the figure of Lone Vark, I started with a sketch:

BYC was added digitally using the stock image. The whole thing was then printed out Then I used carbon paper to copy my sketch onto the background:

Then filled in the figures. India ink was used for the black line work:

The last step was patching over some spots in the background, washing in some more red across the horizon and then scanning it:

Here's the scanned image. The colors are more accurate to the actual painting:

This is a mock up of the final cover. Some of the art will be lost to cropping:

Next Week: Another painting

SDoAR 2.09: Anonymous Asks, Jen Answers

In the comments section of last week's SDoAR post came the following lengthy comment...

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to post this for awhile and I guess today's the day.

I want to make sure I understand what's going on with Strange Death...

1) At some point during Glamourpuss Dave began telling the story of Strange Death, the last issue ending with the car in mid-accident.

2) Some point after this he collaborates with Carson on bridging material, You Don't Know Jack and then a hybrid Strange Death, where Carson takes over from Dave's last page of art (?) and offers his own thoughts and conclusions on the material.

3) Further after that Dave's wrist heals and he is able to resume drawing and is currently working on Strange Death once more.

4) Is this version Dave is working on going to pick up from where his work ended and Carson's began in the Living the Line edition or is it picking up after the Dave/Carson book or some other variation?

5) Dave's goal is to eventually finish Strange Death which encompasses his Comic Art Metaphysics Theory and is a very involved project with no projected end goal in site though he continues working on it and you, Jen, do your best to promote it so Dave has the financial cushion to work on it. Art auctions, the Cerebus spin-off promotions, etc. all are to keep the bills paid and Dave able to work on Strange Death, right?

Am I missing anything? Is this it? Where does the version you've been sharing pages from start, from where Carson took over to finish the Living the Line edition or at some other point?

Thanks,

A Fake Name

TL;DR version...  yes, yes, yes, some other variation, yes, no, yes, page 253.

I actually cover all of this in excruciating detail in the Notes from the Interim Head of SDOAR Division that will be in the Giant-Size Ashcans.

After Glamourpuss ended, Dave decided to publish The Strange Death of Alex Raymond comic book with IDW, the first several issues which are found complete with covers within the Living the Line edition.

At some point later, IDW believed that a hardcover of Dave's work would be more appropriate which is why the individual issue style faded away and the Living the Line version continued with more of a straight up narrative, broken down by increasingly lengthy parts.

Then Dave's wrist gave out and he tried out several artists to continue the artwork. Carson won the sweepstakes, but when the California Test Fundraising edition failed to generate much in the way of sales, Dave decided the whole venture was doomed to failure.

Carson convinced Dave to allow him to publish via Living the Line and after several mishaps the hardcover was released to critical acclaim, but so-so sales from Dave's perspective.

After receiving funds from several patrons, Dave continued with his work to pick up after the pages that Carson had printed in blue ink. Therefore, Giant-Size Ashcan #0 will reprint the 21 blue pages using Dave's mockups and effectively pick up the story from page 253 of the hardcover.

Giant-Size Ashcan #1 will begin the process of printing the new pages Dave has mocked up or drawn and pick up directly after those 21 pages.

And yes, at some point, Dave's wrist and modified drawing motion allowed him to continue drawing, hence the shift from mockups to drawn pages. What the end product is beyond the Ashcans is TBD. 

To quote Dave “As Ted Kennedy might say, we’ll drive off that bridge when we come to it”

Make sense?

Just the GoFundMe Facts, Ma'am

• $10,875.00 raised to date from 182 donations
• 58 new pages released as mocked up by Dave Sim from 11 June to 16 November 2021
• 79 total pages available on Dropbox, including Dave's 2019 mocked-up pages
• $125.00 away from unlocking page 80
• If you have not donated > $5+ donation grants access to all 79 pages and all pages moving forward
• If you have donated, thank you, but if you want to donate monthly, GoFundMe does not offer that option, so please do so as we are in the middle of month #2 of Year 2.

SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe -->> https://www.gofundme.com/f/sdoar-2023

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Preview, Part Eight

This, this, this, this, this, this, this Oxford comma and finally ellipsis comma of which the aforementioned Anonymous duly noted colon

The Oxford Comma is an attribute of an advanced civilization. No communists. The ellipses is the most powerful form of punctuation given to us straight from the hands of God. I believe Jesus was using the ellipses is his writings during the aborted stoning.

Yes.

That's all I got!

x

Jen

SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe -->> https://www.gofundme.com/f/sdoar-2023 <<-- SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe

"Where does Cerebus sign?" (part 1)

 Hi, Everybody!

I still don't wanna go through all them Faxes about this stuff:

Click for Bigger.

So, This.

Then (click for bigger, again):

I wonder what Neal Adams Batman issue Dave is "homaging" in the center panel?

I want it noted that the Bug is CLEARLY breakin' the Fourth Wall in that last panel... ok, maybe not...

Rigamarole:

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Go Fund Me, $175 until the next page is unlocked. 

__________________________

The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe: up to 35% off:

Your store will be up to 35% off

February 25.*

*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.

___________________________

Heritage has Dave Sim Cerebus stuff too.

___________________________

The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill.

___________________________

The Last Day Without nothing.

   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.

   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque

   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques. 

___________________________

Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..., "Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".

___________________________

Next Time: Faxes. And "Where does Cerebus sign?" (part 2)!

"Captain Arnold and his Armpit Avengers are 'Forces Unknown'?"

Hi, Everybody!

I got a dozen or so faxes from Dave, but most of them are about the Akimbo and Cerebus Archive Portfolio #10: Minds Kickstarter. And I gotta sort through them because I think there are duplicates.

Anyway, This.

Then (click for bigger):

Next Time: Stuff. Aardvark stuff. 

Subpostmaster scandal (Dave's weekly update #527)

Hi, Everybody!

Like it says on the Logo:

It's Friday, so that means:

Dave's Weekly Update:

Problems viewing this video? Watch directly on YouTube...

A Moment of Cerebus runs Saturday through Friday.

The Week in AMOC:

• Saturday: Dave discusses the financials of Akimbo and Cerebus Archive Portfolio #10: Minds. You can expect more of this for awhile...
• Sunday: I didn't post. It was a long day.
• Monday: The Monday Report, and the first batch of entries in the Outstanding Achievement in the Filed of Excellence Faceybook group Cerebus month Contest.
• Tuesday: Jen does her post about The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Go Fund Me.  Speaking of which, $175 until the next page is unlocked. 
• Wednesday: An update on the Akimbo and Cerebus Archive Portfolio #10: Minds contest/giveaway/whatever it is. And Hobbs posts so new CiH? art.
• Thursday: Margaret continued looking at the first Notebook AKA Albatross 1. $100 American will get YOU your own copy so she can move on to a different notebook. Howthat works: Send One hundred American dollars to Dave Sim, P.O. Box 1674, Station C, Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4R2, Canada. It can be a check, a money order, or just a Ben Franklin. (Make sure that your Money Order is international. Otherwise Dave can't get paid (It's why I'm just sending him a hundred dollar bill...).)
• Friday: that's this post. You're reading the Friday post right now. This is like that bit in Spaceballs. 

Okay, so that was the past week in AMOC. You're welcome.

_______________

If you missed out, CAN10 will join the others available here eventually...

And you can get Akimbo thru Diamond:

CIH PRESENTS AKIMBO ONE SHOT or CIH PRESENTS AKIMBO ONE SHOT SGN ED

Speaking of Diamond, You can order a copy of the Cerebus #1 Facsimile Edition. Also available in Signed: Cerebus #1 Facsimile Edition Signed. (Final Order Cutoff for online orders is the 29th. Non-online orders are due the week before (or is the week after? Eddie wasn't sure when he told me.)) 

And I know the Cerebus fans Down Under get soaked on shipping, but here's a Dave Sim related Kickstarter where the North Americans get screwed: Greener Pastures #8 "What's  Greener Pastures #8? And how does it relate to Dave Sim?" I hear you ask. It's got Dave Art. Margaret's buying a copy.

And since the topic is Kickstarters, Living the Line has a new one: TIHKU!

Okay, back to Bizness as unusual:

Rigamarole:

__________________________

The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe: up to 35% off:

Your store will be up to 35% off

February 23-25.*

*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.

___________________________

Heritage has Dave Sim Cerebus stuff too.

___________________________

The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill.

___________________________

The Last Day Without nothing.

   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.

   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque

   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques. 

___________________________

Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..., "Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".

___________________________

Next Time: I've been sick, and I think  I got about thirty faxes from Dave. So, obviously, something is on his mind...

Notebook One: Cerebus #21 Material Part Three

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.

This week we’ll be seeing more material from Dave Sim’s Albatross One, his first notebook used in the production of Cerebus. Before this notebook, he would use sheets of paper just laying around the studio. We started this journey in Albatross One a while back starting with page #1 and Cerebus #20, and now we’re up to page 31 and Cerebus #21 material. If you want to go back and see all of the other Albatross One, aka Notebook One, posts, just use the Notebook One tag.

Last week we see dialogue from Captain Cockroach which is in all caps and you can tell by how Dave lettered it on the notebook page that Captain Cockroach was all excited and shouting. Well, the next page in the notebook continues that:

Notebook #1, page 31

In-between the Roach’s dialogue and the town person’s responses, there are some other world building bits, like the top right corner:

President issuing his own currency. People have been hoarding money. Now it’s flowing again and the President’s currency is worth more than Lower Felda’s.

Down the bottom there is a note for page 9 and some dialogue, but that isn’t what happened on page nine of the issue when what actually happened on page 9 was Weisshaupt giving Cerebus the backstory on Captain Cockroach starting with how he found the Roach and Elrod after Cerebus #12.

The next page of the notebook makes a reference to this at the top of the page – “Flashback to President discovering Cockroach and Elrod in #12”. There are notes about the Captain America – Bucky connection and as Dave wrote “inspiration to the people – absolute switch to blistering KKK white power Pro Felda Rah-Rah-Rah”.

Notebook #1, page 32

And there is the phase we all know, near the bottom of the page “Beat the Hsiffies – buy bonds”. 

The next page of the notebook has more on Cerebus #21. It seems to be President Weisshaupt explaining to Cerebus how he seized power from the tribunal, how Cockroach is the people’s hero, and how he plans to “split for Mealc. . .with lotsa dinero.”

Notebook #1, page 33

Since Dave used both sides of the pages to the notebook, there is a light image of the next page, 34, behind all the writing on this page. Don’t fear, you don’t need to wait until next week to see pages 34 & 35. Those pages were covered in Captain Cockroach Sketches from January 2022. So next week we will probably be starting with page 36.

Cerebus In Public Domain Romance Cover Rough

FROM DAVE SIM:

IF IT WAS YOUR CHOICE, WHICH Dave Sim "Homage to Jeff Catherine Jones" ORIGINAL COVER WOULD YOU PICK? TWO CAN 10 AKIMBO BACKERS ARE DECIDING RIGHT NOW! STAY TUNED TO KICKSTARTER/AMOC FOR THE (we hope) EVERYONE GOES HOME HAPPY SHOCK SURPRISE ENDING OF THE YEAR!

Benjamin Hobbs:

Last year I showed some panels from a Work In Progress, Cerebus In Public Domain Romance (That's the working title. There's an ever growing list of possible names for the book.)

The cover will be painted. Having not painted in several years, I decided to pull out the ol' paints and make a rough. It's acrylic on wood.

Next Week: More painting.

SDoAR 2.08: Up next on BBC1 -- Anonymous and Frey!

Anonymous and Frey? Sounds like a damn British drama series! Shakespeare and Hathaway. Charters and Caldicott. Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). And now Anonymous and Frey!

What the hell are you babbling about, Jen? Fine. Picture the scene...

Anonymous to the rescue! $250 worth of donations in the past week unlocks another page! 

And as if that's not enough, Philip R. Frey to the rescue... again! Another four! Count 'em, FOUR more new REMASTERED pages completed in the past week for SDOAR 2024 Giant-Size Ashcan No. 0 REMASTERED.

As for me, the SDOAR 2024 Giant-Size Ashcan No. 1 REMASTERED very detailed review continues!

Just the GoFundMe Facts, Ma'am

• $10,875.00 raised to date from 182 donations
• 58 new pages released as mocked up by Dave Sim from 11 June to 16 November 2021
• 79 total pages available on Dropbox, including Dave's 2019 mocked-up pages
• $125.00 away from unlocking page 80
• If you have not donated > $5+ donation grants access to all 79 pages and all pages moving forward
• If you have donated, thank you, but if you want to donate monthly, GoFundMe does not offer that option, so please do so as we are in the middle of month #2 of Year 2.

SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe -->> https://www.gofundme.com/f/sdoar-2023

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond Preview, Part Seven

This, this, this, this, this, this Oxford comma and finally ellipsis

That's all I got!

x

Jen

SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe -->> https://www.gofundme.com/f/sdoar-2023 <<-- SDOAR 2023 GoFundMe

Draw an Aardvark, Win Fun Prizes!

Hi, Everybody!

I dinna post yesterday because I's busy.

Anyway, Over on the Outstanding Achievement in the Filed of Excellence Faceybook group, James Banderas-Smith is running Cerebus month. There are prizes:

If anything in there strikes your fancy, join the group and draw Cerebus for a chance to win it.

Your competition:

Good Luck!

And Mondays:

And Akimbo and Cerebus Archive Portfolio #10: Minds Kickstarter:

Anyway, you can get Akimbo thru Diamond:

CIH PRESENTS AKIMBO ONE SHOT or CIH PRESENTS AKIMBO ONE SHOT SGN ED

Speaking of Diamond, You can order a copy of the Cerebus #1 Facsimile Edition. Also available in Signed: Cerebus #1 Facsimile Edition Signed. (Final Order Cutoff for online orders is the 29th. Non-online orders are due the week before (or is the week after? Eddie wasn't sure when he told me.)) 

Rigamarole:

Greener Pastures #8 

Living the Line has a new Kickstarter: TIHKU!

Oliver' Simonsen's Cerebus movie: The Absurd, Surreal, Metaphysical, and Fractured Destiny of Cerebus the Aardvark it's currently available on "Plex", "Xumo", "Vimeo On Demand", "Tubi". If you're in Brazil..., "Mometu", "Nuclear Home Video".

__________________________

The AMOC TeePublic Shoppe: up to 35% off:

Your store will be up to 35% off

February 22-25.*

*Sale dates are not final and therefore subject to change.

___________________________

Heritage has Dave Sim Cerebus stuff too.

___________________________

The Help Out Bill Messner-Loebs Go Fund Me, or buy Rodney Schroeter's book with proceeds going to Bill.

___________________________

The Last Day Without nothing.

   "      "     "        "  Dave's signature.

   "      "     "        "  an Old Cerebus Remarque

   "      "     "     Auction catalog for the Panoramic Remarques. 

___________________________

Next Time: Jen. Alex Raymond. Stan Drake. Stan's new car.