The Dave Sim's Notes From The President Archive
Hello and welcome to the Dave Sim Memorial Notes From The President Archive. This is verison 2 of the "DSMNFTPA", the original version (and the hard work of transcribing the original notes) was by Ampersand, who (like the majority of Cerebus fans) was nice enough to let me put the archives on this site when the original went offline. Since then, I've scanned in a lot more NFTP and added to the ever growing archive.
In Cerebus, Dave wrote an editorial, entitled "Note From The President". In these notes, he wrote about anything that captured his interest. From the original DSMNFTPA:
"Sim's editorials in Cerebus comprise an impressive (if eccentric) body of writing, and I thought it would be fun to put some of the editorials on the web. I've started with a series of editorials in which Sim wrote about how to be a cartoonist, and how to self-publish, since there is acute interest in these questions.
All of Sim's "how-to" essays are now (1/14/96) here, and I'm adding Sim's editorials on other subjects as time allows. The choices of which editorials to add are pretty much aribitrary."
Of course, All of Sim's editorials are (c) Dave Sim, and are collected here with permission. Dave Sim can be contacted at Box 1674, Station 'C', Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2G 4R2.
- Issue 72: Dave offically names Church and State and talks about it a bit.
- Issue 74: Dave talks about the covers to issue 39 and issue 74 and Gerhard's backgrounds.
- Issue 75: A story 'bout Neal Adams and contracts.
- Issue 76: New rules for comic cons
- Issue 78: Latest projects and Cerebus' dreams.
- Issue 79: About ending the Friends of Cerebus Fanclub and how Alan Moore could write the post 300 Cerebus story.
- Issue 81: About money and reaching issue 300 or just March 2003.
- Issue 87: Reader reactions, how Aardvark Comment should be run
- Issue 91: Seeing Eric Clapton at a NYC club
- Issue 92: Seth and Bill Marks and how Seth got Diana Schultz's voice.
- Issue 95: On DC's misunderstanding of the creative people that work for it.
- Issue 96: Girls, listen up, how not to get Dave Sim to dance with you.
- Issue 97: Thoughts on quitting smoking
- Issue 98: ...And on marijuana
- Issue 99: On the Pope's infalliblity and the rape of Astoria in issue #94
- Issue 100: Fame
- Issue 102: Bits & Pieces
- Issue 105: On the making of On The Making of Issue 104 video.
- Issue 108: Superman's 50th birthday
- Issue 109: Tribute to Jules Fieffer
- Issue 110: The tragic consequences if Dave ever really let go.
- Issue 112 / 113: Dave talks about Jaka's Story.
- Issue 114: How Jaka is based on three different women, and what Dave thinks about some of his characters.
- Issue 119: Dave talks about Jaka's Story
- Issue 120: Magic the Wonder Pony
- Issue 128: Space Exploration
- Issue 131: What Gerhard Does
- Issue 133: The price increase to $2.25
- Issue 139: Melmoth, its shortness, lack of Cerebus and more.
- Issue 140: Dave talks about the reaction to the end of Jaka's Story. And how he isn't a feminist anymore.
- Issue 141: Dave talks about free movement of creators.
- Issue 142: Birth isn't all that great.
- Issue 143: Synchronicity with the Rolling Stones and Harlan Ellison.
- Issue 144: Dave on nationalized child day care, bitches and Bill Loeb's Journey.
- Issue 145: Dave comments on Gary Groth's response in TCJ #140.
- Issue 146: A letter from Dave to Neil Gaiman about Neil's 24 Hour Comic.
- Issue 147: A postcard from Mike Moorcock and Dave's response.
- Issue 148: Summing up Oscar Wilde part 1.
- Issue 149: Summing up Oscar Wilde part 2: Dave likens being an adult comic book reader to being homosexual.
- Issue 150: Mike Moorcock responds to Dave's Note in 147.
- Issue 163: Some on the Washington DC stop of the tour and a bit on Ken Viola.
Notes on how to become a cartooning self-publisher:
- Issue 168: Opening thoughts on becoming a self-publisher; paper, pencils, and erasers.
- Issue 169: Pens, ink and brushes.
- Issue 170: Word balloon design and placement; whether to draw comic books or become a plumber.
- Issue 171: More comic books vs. plumbing; draw fast; draw like yourself; don't redraw and re-redraw.
- Issue 172: Pros and Cons of working on comics you don't own.
- Issue 173: Comicon self-publishing success stories; what if you have a really good Batman idea?
- Issue 174: How not to waste time and just produce comics; self-publishing is in the blood.
- Issue 175: Balancing creativity and business needs; dealing with mail and telephone.
- Issue 176: Promoting your comic at a convention.
- Issue 177: More on the mindset needed to stay on schedule; creating comics is like baseball, is like sleep.
- Issue 178: The perils of Hollywood, merchandising and "the real world."
- Issue 179: Balance between being the biggest fan of your work and the severest critic.
- Issue 181: Finding a printer; knowing how productive you really are.
- Issue 182: The importance of sincerity in your work.
- Issue 183: Cash flow problems when your book is "taking off."
- Issue 184: Pre-selling original art; selling original art in general; commissioned work is a royal pain.
- Issue 185: It won't just happen; make a start and stick with it; knowing you're on the right track.
- Issue 187: Copyrights, trademarks, and taxes.
- Issue 188: Can a writer self-publish?
- Issue 189: 3 speed bumps: keeping early issues in print, cash flow, and reprint collections.
More Misc. Notes:
- Issue 200: Dave's Top 10 Answers to: 'Why an aardvark?'
- Issue 202: A note to retailers and fans.
- Issue 233: Child-proof cigarette lighters
- Issue 234: Round to Judy
- Issue 235: Round to Dave
- Issue 237: How one has to be married to be President of the United States.
- Issue 239: Just how sick Dave (and Gene Day) was during the making of Cerebus #1.
The text to #zero's NFTP is very interesting. Dave talks about trying to sum up a 300 issue epic and why he calls his editorial the Note From The President.
In the NFTP for the Cerebus Jam issue, Dave talks about where those stories fit in with respect to the regular series.
Dave Sim's 1993 Pro-Con Speech. Dave sums up the basis for his self-publishing philosophy, in a long but invaluable speech. Topics include: why companies will screw you over, why you can't sue, and how to get started self-publishing.
Also, from Cerebus #171, Gary Reed's Guide to Self-Publishing.
"Probably the most frequent email request I get is to reprint the text to the infamous issue 186. This issue, more than any other thing, is what earned Sim his misogynyst reputation. (Note: since the DSMNFTPA only has permission to reproduce Sim's editorials, whereas the issue 186 text is technically part of the storyline, this link will take you off this site.)"