At the end of 2008, The Mirrorball Man (aka Julien Hirt, my writer / artist friend) and I decided to take part in the 24-Hour Comic Day and each draw a 24-page comic in 24 hours. (You can read my effort here.)
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The following text dates from that period and was published on my blog before and during the event. The comments in italics were added shortly afterwards as a postscript. For this new publication, the text has been very lightly edited for the sake of clarity, and some photos have been replaced by illustrations.
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So here’s what I wrote two days before the fateful date.
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03:24:31 on Octobre 16, 2008
24-Hour Comic: Soon!
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I’ve only got one day and two nights left before the 24-Hour Comic Day marathon. For the past two weeks, I’ve been training intensively to prepare for this challenge.
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First of all, I’ve been trying to find the best technique to draw effectively for 24 hours. I’ve tried a bit of everything: pencils, ink, markers, cut-out paper, graphic tablet, various paper formats and grains… I’ve also tried out different styles, more or less gestural or detailed, ligne claire, rough lineart, shaded, hatched, flat… I think I’ve made my choice, but I’ve still got tomorrow for the final tests.
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Of course, in two weeks of training, a few ideas have inevitably emerged. A few characters or story outlines. Normally, none of this should be used for the challenge itself. However, it’s difficult for me to be completely strict about it, and if I run out of steam on the day, I may well try to grow the seed of an idea found during this preparatory phase.
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For inspiration, I will rely on the news of the day, my bookshelf and the Tibetan method. And also on you, dear reader! 🙂 If you leave an idea for a story, a theme, a title, a subject, whatever, in a comment below, I promise to examine your suggestion with the utmost seriousness. (So I won’t be reading any comments on this post until the morning of the 18th).
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24-Hour Comic Day: Here we go!
PS: Supplies and work area. I chose simplicity and reliability for this challenge. A notepad, a pen… I was thinking of using markers for flat shading, but in the end I didn’t have the time. I sometimes used a pencil to sketch the composition of some panels.
It’s 8.00 am. I’ve been up for ten minutes… Let’s go!
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I’m going to read [my sister’s] comments [on my blog] and eat cereal.
PS: Looking like I fell out of bed. No shower… hygiene is often secondary in comics. I wanted to start as early as possible so as not to finish too late the next day. Unfortunately, the second part of the plan didn’t go as expected.
I’d like to thank [my sister], [my nephew] and [my niece] for their ideas. This comic is for them.
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HERE ARE THE SUGGESTIONS I RECEIVED:
My nephew suggests illustrating "the superhero he invented, called Birdman. He's yellow with an ultra-bright, very sharp beak (it's his weapon). When he's not being a birdman, he's a journalist; he does what Superman did (in his day), i.e. he delivers newspapers!" My niece suggests doing "a story about her friend Tic, who is invisible. She collects lots of little pebbles. She can climb very high mountains too. And sometimes she eats squashed slugs." As for their mom (my sister), she'd love to read "a comic about the friendship between a fairy and a troll who should each live in a different dimension (the fairy's and the troll's are different), but out of friendship they stay on earth, the only dimension where everything is already so crazy that even their friendship is possible. But for how much longer? Will the fairy run out of steam among all those humans? Will the troll be able to tame his nature and not explode in the face of so much (human) stupidity?"
It’s already 10:00. I’m trying to concentrate in spite of [my son], who just picked the perfect day for tantrums :-S After thinking a bit about the subject and the characters, I’m going to do some storyboarding. At least the first few pages…
PS: I improvised the comic as I went along, but for the very beginning, I did sketch out three pages of storyboard for reassurance and to give myself some sense of direction.
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16 h 00. 6 pages done. It’s going to be hard to make up for the two hours “lost” thinking about the story…
PS: Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t remember much about my basic plan. I made sketches of a few characters and must have had a vague idea of the story. I think that was essential for me to be able to start drawing. But this initial idea almost completely disappeared along the way…
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20 h 15. Ate on the fly. Time flies…
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PS: Pasta in tomato sauce with spicy meatballs and a Coke. The workspace is a bit precarious: a table edge lit by a bedside lamp…
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21 h 30. Received two Amazon packages, with the new Prince… Must-stay-focused… 😛
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Beginning difficult page 12… T-shirt change.
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PS: Up until now, the story had more or less followed its natural course. It’s like getting on a plane and looking at the scenery as you fly along at random. But once the first half is over, I have to make some choices in preparation for landing. Normally, this is the time to take a long break and meditate on the next part of the story. (While doing some reading and listening to some music, why not?) But here, the constraints of the exercise impose a minimum period of reflection. On almost every page, I have to make choices without being sure of the consequences. It’s like closing doors and hoping that the last one will be a way out…
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A fresh T-shirt is needed to start the second part of the story.
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3 h 30. I wanted to ring midnight and 2 a.m., but there was too much pressure… Pages 12 to 17 were full of pitfalls. I’m halfway through page 18 and need to eat something…
PS: Not too many changes in the hairstyle since this morning, but the eyes are starting to get seriously red. With page 18, I thought things would get easier after the distressing moments of pages 12 to 17. But there were still a few surprises in store…
Behind me, [my son] is sleeping.
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6 h 30. Climax. 3-4 pages left to juggle the ending… 😛
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PS: With four pages to go, the direction is “locked”, even if I don’t have all the details of the execution. I can choose between two dramatic options, each of which will give a different mood to the story. I try to pull off a final twist.
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8 h 00. Finished page 22. Advanced stage of decomposition. Officially in “Eastman” mode now…
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PS: From the website of Scott McLoud, the originator of the 24-Hour Comic: “If you get to 24 hours and you’re not done, either end it there (“the Gaiman Variation”) or keep going until you’re done (“the Eastman Variation”). I consider both of these the Noble Failure Variants and true 24 hour comics in spirit; but you must sincerely intend to do the 24 pages in 24 hours at the outset.”
PS: These 24 hours are also an interesting hair experience, I think…
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12 h 30. Finished after a quick reread. Phew! I’m dead…
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Well, let’s take a look at this new Prince record… 😛
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PS: What ? More than four hours for two pages…? Apart from a noticeable slowdown in motor functions, the main reason comes from the fact that I had “saved for last” a few details, including the large opening panel on the first page… A strategically sound but tactically painful choice.
On the next day…
Well, all that’s left for me to do now is scan the whole thing so you can judge the result. I’m sure I’ll have a few more comments to make later on, but I’d already like to thank The Mirrorball Man for having raised the idea of doing a 24-Hour Comic in the first place, and for taking up the challenge with me this year. It was a unique experience for me, comparable only in recent memory to Laurent’s tattoo session. Thank you Julien and congratulations on your 24-Hour Comic “Street Cosmonaut”, which is in fact a 24-Hour Webcomic, since you crazily published your pages live on deviantArt.
Kisses also to [my wife and son] for their variable but sincere support.
