Chris Waterman, left, and Carly "Mizzou" Wagner try to
finish writing, drawing and completing a 24-page comic book in 24 hours.
The pair and three others were on the job at Long Beach s Pulp Fiction
from noon Saturday to noon Sunday. (Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer)
Comic book writer-artist James Riot survived 24 hours among sword-wielding warriors, drunk bunnies and a giant, angry foot while under constant web cam scrutiny.
So what's next? Is he going to Disneyland?
Nope, he's going home and doing more work.
The Long Beach resident took a break from his hectic online publication schedule to join a handful of other local creators at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach to burn the midnight ink and generate an entire comic book for 24 Hour Comics Day.
The annual event challenges artists worldwide to create a 24-page comic in 24 consecutive hours. Not an easy task when a typical comic book of similar size can take more than a month to complete.
Despite that obstacle, Riot and fellow professional comic creator, Carly Mizzou, made it across the 24-hour finish line with all their pages done before noon Sunday deadline with a couple hours to spare. Three other intrepid artists also made it through the gauntlet but will have some work to go before completing their illustrated stories.
Part of the challenge is to come up with a story concept when beginning the daylong comic project. For the Pulp Fiction group, those plot lines ran the gamut.
Riot's tale involved swords and supernatural akin to his ongoing King Arthur versus Cthulhu tale "The Path," while Mizzou's story was both fantastical and surreal: It depicts a hard luck, drug-using rabbit that's taken in by a young girl and her family.
Not the kind of comic one would easily forget.
Artist Chris Waterman said he used 24 Hour Comics Day as an opportunity to try his hand at creating comics like the ones that inspired him in his youth.
"I want to do this to push myself to do something with my comic stuff," he said.
Waterman didn't complete his book "Metal Head" but he was several pages into a story where a group of super humans are engaged in combat with a gargantuan, malevolent foot. Yeah... a FOOT.
It's a lot of time working without sleep so things can get hairy before the event comes to an end.
Despite consuming the equivalent of a case of soda pop, Mizzou said she just about reached her limit the night before, but eventually made it back to the drawing table to finish.
"You didn't see it before, but I was curled up on the floor in a fetal position," she said. "I couldn't draw."
According to the 24 Hour Comics Day website, only four Southern California comic stores were listed as participating sites this year. The other three were Galaxy of Comics in Van Nuys, 4 Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga and The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach.
As a past site for 24 Hour Comics Day for more than five years, The Comic Bug draws a consistent crowd of creators to test their drawing ability and endurance. However, store reps say attendance was down a bit from last year.
Daniel Nagami, an assistant manager with the South Bay comic shop, estimated about 40 participants in the event with about half that number toughing it out and turning in the 24 pages.
For those interested in seeing the results of 24 Hour Comic Day challengers, Riot said he and publisher Wowio are inviting participants to submit work that will be collected in a publication that will be made available for digital download at 99 cents per copy.
"We're going to put it up on Wowio and sell it and any proceeds that come from it are going to be donated to the Hero Initiative" he said. "They basically provide retirement funding for comic book professionals we all grew up reading."
Read more coverage at Press-Telegram.com and see James Riot's work at www.wevolt.com/The_Path and Carly Mizzou's work at Creepycarly.com.
Pages from James Riot's 24 Hour Comics Day efforts. Riot got off to a quick start and managed to finish his 24 pages within the 24 hours, meeting the challenge set in motion by comic creator Scott McCloud in 1990 and taken on by hundreds every year. (Robert Meeks / Press-Telegram)
Comic book writer-artist James Riot survived 24 hours among sword-wielding warriors, drunk bunnies and a giant, angry foot while under constant web cam scrutiny.
So what's next? Is he going to Disneyland?
Nope, he's going home and doing more work.
The Long Beach resident took a break from his hectic online publication schedule to join a handful of other local creators at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach to burn the midnight ink and generate an entire comic book for 24 Hour Comics Day.
The annual event challenges artists worldwide to create a 24-page comic in 24 consecutive hours. Not an easy task when a typical comic book of similar size can take more than a month to complete.
Despite that obstacle, Riot and fellow professional comic creator, Carly Mizzou, made it across the 24-hour finish line with all their pages done before noon Sunday deadline with a couple hours to spare. Three other intrepid artists also made it through the gauntlet but will have some work to go before completing their illustrated stories.
Part of the challenge is to come up with a story concept when beginning the daylong comic project. For the Pulp Fiction group, those plot lines ran the gamut.
Riot's tale involved swords and supernatural akin to his ongoing King Arthur versus Cthulhu tale "The Path," while Mizzou's story was both fantastical and surreal: It depicts a hard luck, drug-using rabbit that's taken in by a young girl and her family.
Not the kind of comic one would easily forget.
Artist Chris Waterman said he used 24 Hour Comics Day as an opportunity to try his hand at creating comics like the ones that inspired him in his youth.
"I want to do this to push myself to do something with my comic stuff," he said.
Waterman didn't complete his book "Metal Head" but he was several pages into a story where a group of super humans are engaged in combat with a gargantuan, malevolent foot. Yeah... a FOOT.
It's a lot of time working without sleep so things can get hairy before the event comes to an end.
Despite consuming the equivalent of a case of soda pop, Mizzou said she just about reached her limit the night before, but eventually made it back to the drawing table to finish.
"You didn't see it before, but I was curled up on the floor in a fetal position," she said. "I couldn't draw."
According to the 24 Hour Comics Day website, only four Southern California comic stores were listed as participating sites this year. The other three were Galaxy of Comics in Van Nuys, 4 Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga and The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach.
As a past site for 24 Hour Comics Day for more than five years, The Comic Bug draws a consistent crowd of creators to test their drawing ability and endurance. However, store reps say attendance was down a bit from last year.
Daniel Nagami, an assistant manager with the South Bay comic shop, estimated about 40 participants in the event with about half that number toughing it out and turning in the 24 pages.
For those interested in seeing the results of 24 Hour Comic Day challengers, Riot said he and publisher Wowio are inviting participants to submit work that will be collected in a publication that will be made available for digital download at 99 cents per copy.
"We're going to put it up on Wowio and sell it and any proceeds that come from it are going to be donated to the Hero Initiative" he said. "They basically provide retirement funding for comic book professionals we all grew up reading."
Read more coverage at Press-Telegram.com and see James Riot's work at www.wevolt.com/The_Path and Carly Mizzou's work at Creepycarly.com.
Pages from James Riot's 24 Hour Comics Day efforts. Riot got off to a quick start and managed to finish his 24 pages within the 24 hours, meeting the challenge set in motion by comic creator Scott McCloud in 1990 and taken on by hundreds every year. (Robert Meeks / Press-Telegram)
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