Friday, September 30, 2011

Greetings from newcastle NSW


Short hello because we have 5 hrs left for 13pages. EEk.

Almost half time in Sweden - Time for some banjo music!

First 24 hour comics is ready in Rovaniemi

24 sheets is ready, time to celebrate it by eating pizza.

Liveblogging 24 Hour Comics Day in Albuquerque



Once again, Chuck will be blogging Albuquerque's 24 Hour Comics Day. Follow New Mexico's only event at 24 Hours From Q-Town and 7000 BC: 2011 Edition

Half way through in Rovaniemi

Soon it is 4 a.m. in Rovaniemi, half way mark is approaching. About 30 participants are still awake and they keep on drawing. Tough and hard-working youngsters :)

Sweden is ON!

Yet another fantasticular video blog from the comic school in Sweden. For you guys. All in english :D

Britney Victorious!!

Dear Bloggosphere:

I'd like to introduce you to the mastermind behind this year's 24-Hour Comics Day event on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, and a brand-spanking new 24-Comic Artist:

Congratulations: Britney Winn



YOU MADE IT!!! And you made it look easy!



A few words from Miss Britney: 
This is “an indescribable sense of accomplishment.”
[She turns to me and asks if she has to use her right hand for anything--apparently it's thoroughly knackered. I tell her no. Ice that baby and put it to bed for a few days!]
When I ask her what victory feels like, she smiles sweetly and replies: “I BEAT NEIL GAIMAN!!!!”

Also, CONGRATS!! to all the 24-Hour Comic Artists worldwide (especially you, Stefan *wink!*), and a big THANK YOU to the UWM Library, Collector’s Edge, my English 236: Intro. to the Graphic Novel class (especially you, Britney!), and  everyone at ComicsPRO and 24-Hour Comics Day!!!

Rovaniemi is still going strong!

Here we are still awake and new stories and comics are coming out.
Atmosphere is nice and some of us are singing! Outside is dark but not so cold, there are
+6 degrees. This is quite good in Lapland in October...

2 Hours Left of 2011 24-Hour Comics Day

Howdy from the UWM Library on a perfect autumn afternoon (I can say that now, right? Wasn't the equinox this week??). 

We've got just three short hours left of this year's 24-Hour Comics Day. Just 2 hours left to claim this is my first 24-Hour Comics Rodeo. 2 hours of penciling and inking left for Britney Winn, my superstar student who is getting a boatload of extra credit for pioneering this event on the UWM campus. Here's the score at the 22 hour mark. 

True Confessions: I'm black-dogging it. I've listened to Dead Man's Bones a gazillion times. I've probably misspelled more words than I can currently count because basic math has left the building. I know this because filling in the blank on "ONLY ____ HOURS LEFT!" just now left me stumped. 

True Confessions: people only want information when I want to nap. I haven't eaten a proper meal since the PB&J that almost killed me about 7 PM last night. Britney's taken two breaks in 21 hours: one to have a lie down and the other to go to class. CLASS! Can you believe it? To take a test. On the Japanese language. And she's just as happy now as she was yesterday, sketching away, with 3 pages left to go before she's finished her 24-page comic. 



True Confessions: when I heard about 24-Hour Comics Day, I was all "it's no NaNoWriMo!"

True Confessions: 24-Hour Comics Day makes NaNoWriMo look like a hot rock massage. 24HCD is difficult, y'all. Artists can spend a week on one page. ONE page. This event means you bust it for 24 hours and walk  stagger away with at least 24-pages. Plus cover art. Plus finished, edited lettering. To say this is extreme is to put it mildly. 

True Confessions: I get it now. This is so much bigger than I could have anticipated a week ago, or 22 hours ago. I set this up so Britney could have a quiet semi-public place in which to challenge herself. I set this up so comic artists and enthusiasts in Milwaukee would know that there's a NaNoWriMo for them, and that it's kind of a bigger deal. But when I set this up, I had no idea just how much I would learn from one of my students. 

Final True Confessions: when I was trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, I came up with this wild fictitious scenario to help me decide. I asked myself: what's the one thing that you could do happily for the rest of eternity, even if you were stuck in Hell and demons were flogging you while you worked? What's the one thing that could turn demon whips into tickles? I know, I know. You're probably thinking it has something to do with BDSM. But that's not what I'm getting at. 

When I asked myself this question, the only answer that fit was writing. Through writing, I could be so transported as to be on another planet, even while enduring the most horrific torture imaginable. Writing is my Sucker Punch dance. Somewhere in grad school, pressured to publish and give public readings, I lost the pleasure I once associated with writing. I lost writing as a coping and survival skill. It became a chore. 

In the span of 22 hours, hanging out with a young artist a hardly know, and watching her work, I've been reminded of my one thing. Seeing her transported as she works, beyond the need for food, for sleep, for diversion or change of scenery--I remember. Writing is alchemy. Like Grant Morrison said, writing is magick. 

Maybe it's the 22 hours sleeplessness talking, but damn it feels good to be a wizard. 


Go Sweden! Serios makes comics day and night!

One of Sweden's three comic schools joins in for the international 24 Hour Comics Day! We are making videos every hour from 5 pm, september 30th to 5 pm, october 1st. Every fifth video or so will be english friendly, for you guys to enjoy :)



kindly Stefan (head teacher :D)

Intensive drawing at Rovaniemi City Library, Finland


People seem to be very concentrated on drawing. They get strength from chocolate, coffee and energy drinks. We have a head of us still a long night. Hopefully many will survive those hard hours without sleep and get their comic ready before time is up!

Rovaniemi joins in!

Greetings from Rovaniemi City Library near Artic Circle. We have arranged 24hcd in our main library now for few years and it has always been great fun. This time we have 39 really enthusiastic young artist here and the mood is right. It's darkening outside but nice and cosy inside the library.

Getting kids involved in 24HCD

During their regular 24-Hour Comics Day event, Time Warp Comics and I Want More Comics in Colorado are working with Comic Book Classroom to let kids to create their own 24-minute comics while the other creators take the 24HCD original challenge.

What a great way to get kids involved and to make the day accessible to even the youngest creators! Somebody remind to me add the idea to the 24HCD host kit next year.

All In a (FULL) Day's Work

Greetings from the UWM Library in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

We're coming up on just 8 hours left of our first ever 24-Hour Comics Day on campus, and things are falling into place. Britney's drawing hand is moving so fast we've had to put out six fires. I'm no longer sleepy (thanks to six fires). Hopefully our third participant, Lydia, is out there working it, too. Looks like it's just going to be the three of us this year, but that's okay. I'm shooting for exponential growth of nine next year, then eighty-one the year after that...

Besides, party of three this year means more bananas and donuts for everyone. Thanks Molly Mathias!!!

Update: 13 Hours In


Well, it's been awhile since my last blog and the news is there's really no news. In the past 12 hours, I've had two people register for the UWM version of 24HCD. Both are students in my Intro. to the Graphic Novel class. One of them is the student for whom I set up this event on campus. And let me just tell you, Britney is a warrior!! 

After ten straight hours of non-stop work, Britney is about 12 pages into her finished comic. Her beau brought her a huge can of Red Bull she hasn't even touched--she's that on fire for comics! I think she may be saving that Red Bull for her 9 AM class. 

She puts me to shame, her with her 12 finished pages and me with my two naps. This is what it's all about, and this is exactly why I wanted this event to happen on campus. Even if no one else signs up to participate today, I will consider this event a success. Britney got to make her comic in a public place, with someone nearby who loves comics (even if I'm not the best at keeping everyone awake!). And we both got to spread the word about 24-Hour Comics Day to people on campus and in the community. 

My hope is that this event is fifty-people strong next year, with food donated by Pizza Shuttle and Ste Martaen, coffee supplied by Alterra, tea donated by Rishi, supplies for everyone from Utrecht and prize give-aways from Collector's Edge. But even if it's just me and Britney, some carrots and a Red Bull again next year, I'll be more than okay with that. Cause next year, I'm bringing my pajamas.


Even Warriors gotta sleep!!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Story-boarding Like Nobody's Business!

Hello from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee library!


We're about a half-hour into our first annual 24-Hour Comics Day on the UWM campus and I'm super stoked!

Yes, I over-packed, and yes, that first PB&J is already calling my name, but it's for a great cause: getting people excited about comics in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Molly, our Library Event Coordinator, hooked us up with some sweet tables in the middle of the Grind coffee shop, and she printed up signs for us. The library is abuzz with Thursday night energy.

Got two of my students in the thick of it, working on story boards, and I'm here with registration forms at the ready! First cup of green tea steeping, Drive soundtrack playing, drafting pencils working overtime...it's gonna be a great night.

If you're in the Milwaukee area and want to groove on this synergy, come on down!

Check back in with y'all in a few hours. Until then, happy drawrings!!

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures on 24HCD

Matt Madden, co-author of Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (written with Jessica Abel), talks about his first 24-Hour Comic at the DW&WP blog!

The Drawing Words & Writing Pictures blog has many resources for comic book creators! If you're about to take the 24HCD challenge, check out their page for cartoonists. Great stuff!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Night Before 24-Hour Comics Day: A Host's Tale

Hey 24-Hour Comics Day Fans!

Mel here, at Nefarious Fiddlesticks, getting ready for the big event!

This is the first year we're bringing 24-Hour Comics Day to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, and I'm really excited to be a part of bringing 24HCD to Milwaukee.

The week before last, I was in week two of the Fall 2011 semester, teaching the usual First-Year Comp class and a brand-spanking new class I'm super stoked about: Introduction to the Graphic Novel. Oh, what? Spend an entire semester reading and talking about comics? Oh NO! DON'T make me do THAT!! Hang out with comics enthusiasts and aspiring writers and artists?! That sounds just horrible!! Folks, we're only four weeks in and already this is the best class I've ever taught. I really dig my students, and I love this opportunity to share my stoke for comics and graphic novels with students.

So, the week before last, one of my Graphic Novel students asked me if I'd ever heard of 24-Hour Comics Day. I said no. Here we are using Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and Making Comics as our course textbooks, and I'd never heard of 24-Hour Comics Day! My student had signed up as a online participant, but I wanted more people involved. So I proposed setting up the event on campus.

Here we are, almost two weeks later and the night before the first 24-Hour Comics Day kicks off on the UWM campus!

I'm excited, and anxious. I didn't have the time to pull together the kind of event I want to set up next year, with local sponsors, prizes, rare comics in the library display cases, and plenty of free food and supplies. But we're doing this thing!!

Kinda like the night before Christmas, I'm having a hard time getting to sleep. The PB&Js are made, got some tea and my favorite commuter ready to go for tomorrow, and I've got my 24-hour outfit laid out. Got my overnight stuff, art supplies, and 24-Hour Comics Day Survival kit packed! Next step is to have wonderful dreams of endless comic possibilities.

See y'all at 5PM in the UWM Library!

Although I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I imagine, at some point between Thursday and Friday, I'll look a bit like this:

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

24-Hour Comics Day in Seattle, at the Phinney Center


Here is the poster for the 24HCD in Seattle, at The Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Q&A with Nerdage about 24HCD

I recently answered some questions about 24-Hour Comics Day sent by Matt Price, the Features Editor of The Oklahoman and author of the comics & pop culture blog Nerdage.

You can find the interview here!

Everyone here at ComicsPRO is impressed by what you all do with 24HCD--the hosts who do so much to promote the event and the thousands of creators around the world who take the challenge. Fantastic work, and good luck with your event this year!

24 Poster - Muhos


At least thirty participants at Muhos County Library 1.10.
Poster made by Jessi.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Year #5 at Artists' Mediums in VT!

We are looking forward to getting pencil to paper, stylus to screen, etc. 
Let the creative output begin! 

Our event this year is open to comic artists of all abilities, ages 16 and up (younger participants are allowed with an accompanying parent.)  Anyone interested in participating with us at Artists' Mediums* should email their name, address and telephone number to info@artistsmediums.com
or call (802)879-1236 or (800) 255-1290

You can find Rick's handy "Tiny Beginner's Guide" as a pdf here!

*Artists' Mediums is located in Williston, VT, conveniently near I-89 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Host Site Resources

Official host venues in the U.S. who registered by September 1st received a 24HCD Host Site Kit which includes tips for running an event and promotional items for the host to use!

Did you miss the deadline? You can still get copies of the printed materials here!

(Don't forget to register early next year to get the free goodies!)

24 Hour Comics Day 2011 in Albuquerque

24 Hour Comics Day | Saturday, October 1–Sunday, October 2 | noon–noon | Media Arts Collaborative Charter School | 4401 Central Ave. N.E., Bldg. #2 | Albuquerque, NM



Accept the challenge — be a part of 24 Hour Comics Day 2011. Join 7000 BC and make a 24-page comic book pages in 24 consecutive hours. No experience or special skills needed — this free creative exercise is open to everyone.

Test your stamina and learn you what you're capable of, along with thousands of artists of all skill levels from around the globe. Albuquerque has consistently been one of the largest gatherings in the world for this international event. See photos from past years here and here.

This year's location is Media Arts Collaborative Charter School (MACCS) in Albuquerque, at 4401 Central Ave. N.E. If you plan on participating, please send an email so we can get a count of participants.

This event is open to all ages (with guardian's permission for minors). Bring your papers and pens and join us at New Mexico's only 24 Hour Comics Day location in 2011!

Update: thanks to our sponsors …
  • Media Arts Collaborative Charter School
  • Downtown Java Joe's
  • Winning Coffee Company
  • Comic Warehouse
  • Astro-Zombies
    and to ComicsPro for puttting it all together.
  • Thursday, September 1, 2011

    Participant Resources

    We just added a new page to the 24-Hour Comics Day website: Participant Resources!

    The Blitz Comics Survival Kit is listed there as well as the Event Locator. Use the Event Locator to find an official 24-Hour Comics Day event near you!

    Keep an eye on this page for more resources for all of you who are taking the 24-Hour Comics Day Challenge this year!

    Coming soon: Host Site Resources