24-Hour Comic Day Coverage

A smattering of articles like this one in mainstream media reminded me that I had up until now completely ignored 24-Hour Comic Day, which went off over the weekend with vigorous particpation across the U.S. and at points worldwife. 24 Hour Comics Day is a day set aside when a lot of people attempt to do a 24 page comic in 24 hours. The 24 in 24 is a comics exercise associated closely with Scott McCloud (I would assume created by him, too) that enjoyed a certain currency among working pros in the mid-1990s.

You can find a blog taking in reports from all over the world here, reports from the effort as it unfolded at Lambiek here, Scott McCloud's congratulations to participants here, and the official site here.

I have to admit, as an outside observer I'm just not that enthused by the 24-hour comic thing anymore, whether or not people do it all on the same day. There was a time ten years ago where the thought that you could just make a comic in that period of time and have it be good was a slightly radical notion, one electrifying enough on a certain level that cartoonists made the effort to make their own 24 hour parties like so many kids with water pipes who had just discovered a new drug. There also appeared to be a lot more established cartoonists participating, which not only seemed to make for better comics -- I can still remember Dave Sim's and Neil Gaiman's, for instance, much more clearly than the recent ones I've seen -- but also meant they were coming from a place of constant but labored production that gave the exercise of a complete comic in a short piece of time a bit of a crackle. Now it sort of feels like Woodstock '99, you know?

I'll probably just get hate mail, but really, I'm reasoably certain I'm just missing something, and I doubt I'm alone. I would be more than happy to grant anyone space who would like to present the opposing view.
 
posted 7:49 am PST | Permalink
 

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