24 Hour Comics Day Challenge

Can you imagine what you could accomplish if you just set aside a whole day of uninterrupted time?  That what comic book creator and theorist Scott McCloud asked himself in 1990.  He and his fellow artist, Steve Bissette, seemed to struggle to create more than one comic page a day.  Yet, when Steve went to a comic book signing, he was able to sketch drawing after drawing of high quality art with relatively little effort.  They decided to see what kind of comic book they could create given on 24 hours to write, draw and ink.  For years, people took up this challenge on their own in their own homes and submitted their work for recognition to Scott McCloud.  In 2004, About Comics publisher Nat Gertler organized the first 24 hour comics day challenge held in comic book stores across the nation and the world.

What exactly is the 24 hour comics day challenge?

The 24 hour comics day challenge is where creators sit down with their art supplies and reference material and devote 24 straight hours to creating a comic book.  With the increase of webcomics, the definition has expanded to include 100 digital panels of a webcomic.  Participants come to the challenge with their supplies, but should not already have an idea or story plotted out.  All breaks including bathroom, sleep, food or any other types of breaks are included in the 24 hours.  Although success is traditionally measured by the completion of the 24 page comics within 24 hours, McCloud has allowed for two types of “noble failures”.  The first is known as the Neil Gaiman variation where the participant stops at the 24 hour mark.  The second is known as the Kevin Eastman variation where the participant continues to work until all 24 pages are completed.

Why should I consider participating in the 24 hour comic day challenge?

The 24 hour comic day challenge allows people to stretch their ability and use different skills and techniques that you may not use in your everyday creative lives.  Creators can take creative risks and find efficient ways of story telling in order to accomplish the goal.  If you aren’t fortunately to have a local artists networking organization like Tiny Army, the 24 hour comic day challenge can be a great way to network with fellow like minded artists.  Many comic book editors and publishers have said that they like to see more than just pin-ups from aspiring comic book artists.  Having sample pages of sequential art showing the ability to tell a story through that art is essential to securing a job in comic books.  Although it may not be the highest quality work, being able to show what can be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time is something that might be a great piece for a portfolio and an icebreaker with editors.

How can I participate in the 24 hour comic day challenge?

Last year, we had 8 people participate at SpazDog Comics with 2 completing their comics in under 24 hours.  Ryan Cody’s 24 hour comic book went on to by published by Super75 Comics.  Glenn Wichman’s comic can be seen at http://www.babelsphere.com/7dayquest/comic/page.php.  We also were able to team up with Tiny Army, a local Arizona artists group to co-host the event.  This year, SpazDog Comics is proud to be the only Arizona participant in 24 hour comics day.  The event is held beginning on October 3rd with locations across the world.  If you live in Arizona, contact SpazDog Comics to reserve your spot in this year’s challenge.  If you live outside Arizona, go to the 24 hour comics day website to find the nearest location or ask your local comic book shop if they would be willing to host a 24 hour comic day challenge.

Shawn Demumbrum
SpazDog Comics
www.spazdogcomics.com

Email: shawn@spazdogcomics.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SpazDog
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