24 Hour Comics

“The Dare: To create a complete 24 page comic book in 24 continuous hours.”

Sound crazy? It gets worse…

“That means everything: Story, finished art, lettering, colors (if you want ’em), paste-up, everything! Once pen hits paper, the clock starts ticking. 24 hours later, the pen lifts off the paper, never to descend again.”

Cartoonists will displaying their own super-human powers (thanks to plenty of coffee I suspect) when 24 Hour Comics Day rolls around this coming April.

Supporting comic book shops will be staying open 24 hours and hosting artists trying to complete the Herculean task.

“Obviously, with an hour per page you’re not going to get the most polished possible work, but in the works people have created there is an amazing strain not only of raw energy but of cleverness, wit, and pure human emotion, plus a surprising amount of grace,” notes About Comics publisher Nat Gertler.

I have to admit, I’m toying with the idea of doing this myself. True, I’m not a comic book artist/writer per se, but I think it’s a wonderfully challenging idea. I’ll have to keep thinking about it…

24 Hour Comics Day will be April 23, 2005.