24-Hour Comics Day is an annual challenge for cartoonists to produce a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 consecutive hours. ComicsPRO, the comic book specialty retailer trade group, organizes the day. ComicsPRO invites comic book artists of any caliber to bounce into a local comic-book store or participating venue on Oct. 1 to take part in the 8th annual 24-Hour Comics Day.
The idea behind 24-Hour Comics Day is for artists to set aside 24 consecutive hours to create a 24-page comic book. It's a test of skill, and of endurance.
The original 24 Hour comics challenge was created by Scott McCloud, who has a history of the idea on his site, www.scottmccloud.com.
Over the years, the 24-Hour comic book challenge has thwarted and rewarded such comics luminaries as Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman, Kevin Eastman and many others. On 24-Hour Comics Day, creators of all ages and levels of skill and experience gather at one of the participating sites to encourage each other in completing this creative comics marathon.
24-Hour Comics Day was created in 2004 by Nat Gertler, publisher of About Comics. ComicsPRO took over administration of the event in 2008. In 2010, more than 2000 people participated in the event in more than a dozen countries. Since ComicsPRO took over the event, more than 100,000 pages of comics have been created.
Anyone interested in hosting an official event can register for free at www.24hourcomicsday.com. Looking for a place to take the challenge? Check www.24hourcomicsday.com and look for events in your area. Can't make it to an official event? Register as an online participant and take the challenge yourself!
The event is an all-volunteer project funded by ComicsPRO and supported by Diamond Comic Distributors and BOOM! Studios.
For more information about the event, visit www.24hourcomicsday.com.
ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS (DCD)—Diamond is at the nexus of comics and pop culture. Based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books, graphic novels, and related pop-culture merchandise, serving thousands of retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.
ABOUT BOOM! STUDIOS -- Eisner, Harvey, and Best Publisher Award-winning BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) generates a constellation of bestselling comic books and graphic novels with the industry's top talent, including Mark Waid's series IRREDEEMABLE, new HELLRAISER comics written by Clive Barker, PLANET OF THE APES, 28 DAYS LATER, and Philip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?. BOOM!'s all-ages imprint KABOOM! publishes Charles Schulz' PEANUTS, Roger Langridge's SNARKED, and Scholastic's WORDGIRL. BOOM!'s lit comix-focused imprint, BOOM! Town, recently won the Eisner Award for its first book, Shannon Wheeler's I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER.
ComicsPRO is a not-for-profit trade association of comic book stores. ComicsPRO's goals include public education about the art and commerce of comic books. www.ComicsPRO.org
