So Dave Sim has started his kickstarter campaign to digitalize Cerebus in its entirety and then some. From the kickstarter’s page:

STEP ONE:  CEREBUS DIGITAL HIGH SOCIETY

Continue to convert HIGH SOCIETY into digital files by producing a HIGH SOCIETY combination e-book, audio book/ digital graphic novel/ oral history/weekly serialization at (so far) iVerse, Diamond Digital and Comixology and hope revenues can help things along by the time I’m getting paid early next year (The “Hail Mary” Pass Scenario)

STEP TWO: CEREBUS DIGITAL 6000

If more than $6,000 is raised (this is where I suspect John is pulling my leg: MORE than $6,000???) then the money would be put aside to do e-books/audio books/digital graphic novels/oral history/weekly serializations of ALL OF THE CEREBUS BOOKS, Beginning with CEREBUS (500 pages), CHURCH & STATE vol. 1 (600 pages). CHURCH $ STATE vol. 2 (600 pages), and JAKA’S STORY (500 pages).  

There is a video:

And plenty of cool rewards. Go check it out and donate so we can get all of the Cerebus epic digitalized – just look at all those extras to the digital copy! Picture Homer Simpson going ‘ummmmm. . .’ and drooling with his tongue stuck out, and that it what I’m doing right now. . .

oh, yes! The link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/189735833/cerebus-high-society-special-audio-visual-digital

For the past couple of days we’ve been given hints by John Scrudder, one of the producers of CerebusTV, on what Dave Sim’s latest project will be since CerebusTV’s last episode has aired. Via his twitter:

and then another reference to it the next day:

And then today in the Cerebus Facebook group John posted a link to potential rewards for the Dave Sim kickstarter project:

Would anyone support a Dave Sim Kickstarter project? Well – it’s coming, and it’s coming soon! Here’s a really quick glance at some of the smaller pledges – we’re talking the $10 – $35 pledges (and that’s not including the MAIN ITEM BEHIND THE PROJECT!!) Disregard the Ultimate Cerebus photo. I needed to cap the foot notes – all in all there’s going to be 26 Pledge items!! Stay tuned faithful Cerebites and ye shall be updated!!

The link: http://www.behindthepanels.com/dave-sim-other.html

So while we wait for what the project is going to be, I’m going to guess that it has something to do with this: the digital versions of High Society, which according to this Reddit post have audio commentary and narration. Dave mentions the digital versions in episode 112 of CerebusTV (episode 28 of season 3) – which is still up at the CerebusTV site. Just click on the ‘click to watch Flash’ link in the upper right hand corner.

I’m excited to see what Dave’s kickstarter will actually be for – I don’t have any insight on this one, I’m waiting to see for myself.

So in the latest episode of CerebusTV, episode #112 (aka season 3 #28), started last night and plays for a week (with a stoppage on Sunday to observe the Sabbath) at SimTV on youtube:

There are a couple of big announcements - one is that he is shopping a digital version of High Society to Comixology, iVerse, graphic.ly and Diamond Digital and that the rights would be non-exclusive so it is possible that all of those digital publishers would carry it. The digital version appears to have some extras – like Dave talking about the creation of the book and using pieces from the Cerebus Archive to high light those talks, the digital versions would contain the front and back covers along with all the Aardvark Comment letters pages.

I already own High Society in single issue and phonebook editions, but I’ll be getting this also – for it is so much easier to carry around my phone or netbook then it is to carry around the phonebook. Plus those cool extras will be nice. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the letters pages will be searchable – but somehow I doubt it – though I do have hope.

Another announcement was that the Dave Sim Art website will have the CerebusTV episodes for download for 99 cents a piece as soon as the guy helping Dave gets it up and going. It was mid-April when he filmed the episode, so hopefully the episodes will be up soon.

The one other announcement was that Zootanapuss and bunny will be coming to an end with glamourpuss #26 – it was fun while it lasted, but I guess that is all Dave had in him for that concept.

There was also a non-announcement with the episode’s title “EPISODE 112: SECOND LAST EPISODE EVER!” Seriously? There was no formal announcement from Dave that I’ve heard of, but  it looks like season 3 will be it for CerebusTV. I’ll be sad to see it go – as I enjoyed the “weekly visits” with Dave, getting glimpses into his creative process and behind the scenes at Aardvark-Vanaheim. But I understand that he probably has a lot of work to do with glamourpuss, Cerebus Archive and now the digital High Society – and beyond hopefully!

So with some help of other Cerebites and eBay, I’ve been tracking down the first printing history of the Cerebus phonebooks. I think I’ve pretty much got it summarized here:

What we know so far:

• CHURCH & STATE II in July 1988 was the first “proper” signed & number limited edition
• CHURCH & STATE I in June 1987 had two “first printings”: the first had no page numbers so Dave asked who wanted to keep that edition, and then he signed and numbered that limited quantity and scrapped out the rest of the print run. A new first printing was done with page numbers, but not signed & numbered.

Questions remaining:

• Why did the S&N quantity go from the low 400s to 5,000 with FLIGHT?
• How did signing 5K not turn Dave & Gerhard’s hand to mush?
• Are there any other CEREBUS phonebook 2nd printings that were signed & numbered to specific distributors or others?
• Will I ever find a first printing of MELMOTH?