Notebook 36: Cerebus #284. . .Kind Of

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.

After a blank page from Dave Sim’s 36th notebook book last week caused us to look at some preliminary artwork used in Latter Days, we have three pages this week full of text. Dave’s 36th notebook contains materials for Cerebus #265 through Cerebus #300. There were 58 pages scanned and the cover says there were 108 pages in the notebook. Many of the pages were nearly blank – with only a cover issue number box, but those pages were scanned in. Dave put a cover issue box number, leave a blank page, and then put another issue box number. This would give him three pages to work with for that issue of Cerebus. 

But not with Cerebus #284’s three pages.  And whooo, boy. You thought there were walls of text in Latter Days, well, get ready for the preliminary writings for those walls of text:

Notebook #36, page 55

Notebook #36, page 56

Notebook #36, page 57

Yup, three nearly solid pages of text. It appears to be Dave reading The Basic Writings of C. G. Jung (as he mentions in ‘Notes on Latter Days’, back of the Latter Days phonebook, page 504). And if you haven’t read ‘Notes on Latter Days’, here are Dave’s thoughts on Jung and Freud’s writings: 

“It was interesting to read Jung’s theories only insofar as I found them to be just as obscure, jargon-rich and devoid of content as Freud’s, equally unfound on anything remotely resembling scientific proof albeit skewed, as I found them to be, in a different and more mystical direction.”

So where in Cerebus #284 does any of the above text make it into the story? The final page of that issue:  page 20, aka page 380 of Latter Days, in Konigsberg’s journal. My eyes are getting too old to read all that tiny text and do a gap analysis between the notebook pages and that page of Cerebus #284. 

To make up for that, here is a piece of 9” x 12” tracing paper with a preliminary sketch of Konigsberg in his jester’s outfit when he is playing the fool:

Maine's I Scream ruler & Prelim art front

Back of preliminary art

Yes, there is pencil on both sides of the paper, so it was probably used on the artwork for Cerebus - as Dave would draw on the tracing paper, then flip it over so the pencil was on the Bristol art board he used for Cerebus artwork, and then use another pencil to transfer the drawing onto the artboard. This appears to be for page 3 of Cerebus #282, aka page 323 of the Latter Days phonebook:

Cerebus #282, page 3 top panel