Welcome back to 1982! Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, and The Thing captivate at the cinema. At home, we're tuned into Dynasty, Knight Rider and David Letterman’s late night debut while Michael Jackson’s Thriller, The Clash’s Combat Rock, and Rush's Signals dominate the airwaves. But the big news is Dave Sim’s Cerebus Tour Book has just hit your local comic shop! Well, that's how it almost happened. In 1982, Dave Sim and Deni Loubert hit the road and comic-shop circuit like rock stars, meeting fans, creators, editors, and the minds behind Marvel, DC, and the sci-fi world. Now for the first time ever, that unforgettable adventure is collected in a book that celebrates the spirit, and energy of the early indie comics scene — straight from the source! Inspired by The Rolling Stones ‘81 tour, Dave and Deni got the idea to take their self-published (and mostly unknown) book on tour to 25 stores in 23 cities over 38 days.
Dave Sim kept a detailed tour diary while Deni took photographs of the shops, sights and people they met along the way. After the tour, Dave got to work on the 1982 Tour Book, even finishing the camera ready paste-ups for the printer. But then, he mysteriously shelved the project, which disappeared into his archive for more than four decades.
Now, 43 years later, we are pleased to bring this long forgotten book to life. Dave Sim opened his archive to 20th Century counter-culture specialist and historian, Dagon James who refined the material to its most compelling components, bringing this pivotal period in his career into sharp focus. This book captures Cerebus at a turning point — not yet a phenomenon, but already reshaping what creator-owned comics could be.
The Cerebus 1982 Tour Book brings Dave and Deni back together for the first time since Cerebus #70 in 1985 which was Deni's final issue as publisher. We are fortunate to have a new introduction penned by Deni alongside new contributions from industry legends Diana Schutz, Bill Sienkiewicz, Maggie Thompson, and Chuck Rozanski, along with some other surprises! In addition to the diary and photographs, we managed to track down a large number of drawings that Dave made during the tour which are published here for the first time. This book is an illuminating time capsule capturing one of the most exciting periods in the history of comics!
The Cerebus 1982 Tour Book is loaded with nearly 200 photographs, drawings and other rarities, most of which are published here for the first time!
