As a writer, I love the concept and the results which come from the annual 24-Hour Comics Day events; this year’s batch was no exception.
For the non-comics geeks reading this, I’ll explain briefly: Back in 1990, comics author, theorist, and now-luminary Scott McCloud dared his fellow comics artist friend Steve Bissette to draw a 24-page story in 24 hours. The aim of the exercise was for Bissette to become a faster artist, because as anyone who wants to break into the comics business as an artist knows, nobody likes to work with someone who can’t meet a deadline. And just because McCloud is the kind of man who puts his drawing tools where his mouth is, he decided to create a story under the same constraints.
The results can be viewed here, and over the last two decades, many other comics creators have taken up the gauntlet of the challenge. With the advent of the Internet, creators have also begun blogging about their process and it has now truly become a worldwide event which drawn in new participants every year and spawned a book or two.
When it comes to innovation in comics creation, though, I think that this year San Antonio, Texas artist Lea Hernandez took home the prize in coolest and most tech-savvy comic, with an entry that I think she’s calling “Jackwagon,” which she created entirely on her iPhone, courtesy of an application called Brushes.
To read it in its entirety, click here (and note that it’s not entirely safe for work).