Notebook One: Howard The Duck

​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.

Last week we saw a page from Dave Sim’s first notebook used in the creation of Cerebus which had a full page sketch of Howard the Duck on it. In this post we’ll see what comes in the subsequent pages for over the last couple of weeks? Months? We’ve been looking at every page in Notebook #1 and last week we ended with page 59. If you want to see all of the past posts for Notebook One, you can use the Notebook One tag to see them all.

Well, we’re skipping page 60. Why you ask? Because I didn’t scan it in. It was a blank page – nothing was on it, and probably nothing was visible of the other page on it. So we’ll go right to page 61:

Notebook #1, page 61

Looks like the splash page for a Howard the Duck story with some dialogue. The dialogue reads:

You want me ta let ya off at “emergency”

How about letting us off at “imminent catastrophe”

What?

Nothing. Emergency will be fine.

We again skip a page as there is no scan of page 62 due to there being nothing on it.

Notebook #1, page 63

And it is another page layout for a Howard the Duck story. The dialogue:

Eight-ninety! . . .I hope the baby’s cute. 

Paging system: aging Dr. Bong. Paging Dr. Bong. . . Dr. Pong.

C’Mon toots.

That sounds like Paging Dr? . . .it can’t be.

Bong here.

Waugh!

Howard? What is it?

Oh no.

Kidney thief! Dr Bong. Dr. Bong.

What seems to be the problem?

This kidney thief is walking around loose. If someone will get me a wrench, I’ll tighten him.

I hate ta ask someone in your condition ta indulge in a little spontaneous wind-sprint, but I’m afraid it’s necessary toots.

Howard wait.

Again we skip a blank page that wasn’t scanned in, page 64, and go right to page 65:

Notebook #1, page 65

Another page layout for Dave’s Howard the Duck story. The dialogue:

I’m pregnant and I’m not running around after a paranoid duck while the pains are coming closer.

Bev lissen!

Don’t you interrupt me, Howard – pains are coming closer together and I haven’t even got my room yet.

Bev

This hospital is just fine Howard. . .

BEV – WILL SHUT UP AND LOOK!!?

That’s not very nice Howard.

Look at what?

Do me a favour Bev. . .when it’s time to go to the hospital, get someone else to take you. . .

A three-page story of a dream Howard was having and then woke up from. Did Dave mean for this to be the story he wrote for Howard the Duck #8 rather than the frontispiece he did? 

Next week: More of Howard the Duck? Or are we returning to Cerebus #22? Or perhaps Cerebus #21. All I know is it will be pages from Dave’s first notebook.

And you, yes YOU!, can get your own facsimile edition of Albatross 1, details here.