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.
Notebook #5 covers Cerebus issues #70 to 79. It contained 100 pages at the start, but only 86 pages to scan, with page 83/84 being blank. Starting with page 58 there is material for issue #76, the issue in which Cerebus tells Weisshaupt to go to hell. There are a total of seven pages for the issue, starting on page 56. However, on page 58 is when it starts to get interesting:
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Notebook #5 page 58 |
The next page is mostly dialogue, the top of the page starts with the text from page 10 (phonebook page 502).
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Notebook #5 page 59 |
It also looks like Weisshaupt thinks that "living without hallucinations is like breathing through one nostril." (used on page 14, C&S I p. 506)
Skip to page 61, where we see Weisshaupt telling Cerebus about the other aardvarks in Estarcion, which starts on page 10 (C&S I p. 502)
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Notebook #5 page 61 |
Though the 'Go to hell'. That does.
Hat tip to Reginald P for the request.