Tag Archives: 24 hour comics
BALLARD COMICS: Drawing Ballard in 24 Hours, #1
And so it begins, a look at Ballard, the cutting edge scene for foodies and hipsters in the midst of a mellow blue-collar world. We begin with a 24-hour adventure in search of the very soul of Ballard.
Photo by Zachariah Bryan, Ballard News-Tribune
Yours truly made the local paper, The Ballard News-Tribune. The story was published online this week (which you can read here) and the print edition of Westside Weekly came out today, Friday, October 11, 2013.
24-Hour Comics Day 2013: First Look
Here’s a first look as I embark on my 24-hour comics day marathon. There is much to learn from Edith Macefield. And there is much to learn from her house.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics
24-Hour Comics Day 2013: Edith Macefield
Macefield tattoo by Curtis James
I embark upon my 24-hour comics odyssey with thoughts of Edith Macefield. She sounds like a wonderful person. Depending upon when you might have encountered her, she most likely came across as just someone who wanted to be left alone. And isn’t that what we all want more of? Just time to do what we want! And then the famous incident, the ultimate encounter with the ever-encroaching outside world. And what did Edith Macefield do when developers descended upon her and hoped to buy her off, and out of the way? She told them where they could go. No, not even for a millions dollars, would she sell her little home.
Yes, tell the money people they can take it somewhere else. That’s the spirit. It’s an appealing credo to live by, isn’t it? You too can have your little credo stamped onto a tile at the forthcoming Credo Square, a public space that will be created at the foot of Edith’s old house. It’s now owned by a developer, sad to say. He will conduct real estate training in that house. But, as a gesture of goodwill, there will be some sort of public space. And at this public space, you’ll be able to be purchase your credo tile for just $250! That is outrageous and hilarious. Maybe Edith would have found the dark humor in that.
What sounds like a truly good thing is the Macefield Music Festival. Learn more about it here.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, Edith Macefield, Henry Chamberlain, Macefield Music Festival, Seattle, WA
24-Hour Comics Day: Henry Chamberlain in Seattle: Featuring Ballard neighborhood, 10/5-6/2013
24-Hour Comics Day is an internationally observed marathon for cartoonists, on the first weekend in October, with the goal of creating a full length 24-page comic narrative within 24 hours. I have been a happy participant in this event, followed by thousands of like-minded souls, for a few years now. This year, I set my sights on the neighborhood of Ballard, a vibrant part of Seattle with plenty to write and draw about.
Now, here’s the deal, I will be all over Ballard during the 24-Hour Comics Day, October 5-6. If you spot me, stop by and say hello. One of the advantages of including my mug on my site’s banner is that you actually might recognize me from it. So, yeah, I welcome a hearty hello. And, if you happen to be a cartoonist, maybe hang out for a bit and draw along. Or just relax and feel free to share any thoughts. It will be a special night.
For you locals, don’t forget that the first annual Macefield Music Festival takes place that Saturday night at Tractor Tavern. You might spot me there. Earlier in the evening, my partner, Jennifer Daydreamer, will be celebrating her birthday with a few friends. So, we’re really going to do our best to mingle and just pop into a number of Ballard hot spots. Some come to mind, like Hattie’s Hat, Conner Byrne, Kickin’ Boot, The Hi-Life, BalMar, and Stoneburner, just to name a few.
Of course, more details to follow. And, well, have a great time in Ballard. We’ll literally be there all night long. We’re staying at the Ballard Inn, which is awesome.
And, if you stop by The Hi-Life, you can view one of my paintings, “Steampunk Autumn,” which you’ll find if you look over to the long counter in the back.
And a big thank you goes out to Comics Dungeon for helping sponsor this year’s 24-Hour Comics Day! They know comics and they have you covered for all your needs in comics.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, Henry Chamberlain
David Chelsea Talks Perspective and 24-Hour Comics
If you are a cartoonist, most likely you’ve come across the one book that provides all you need to know on perspective, David Chelsea’s “Perspective! For Comic Book Artists.” Well, did you know that this now classic work may have never gotten off the ground if it weren’t for Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics,” which had come out right at the time that Chelsea needed to decide if he was going to pursue work on this book? You can learn the background behind this book and other fun facts as Patric Lewandowski, the chair of the Minneapolis Media Institute Digital Art and Design Program, talks shop with David Chelsea in a recent interview you can read here.
David Chelsea has a really unique deadpan sense of humor that works so well in his comics. Give it a try and you’ll be hooked. If you’re a fan of certain humor with an absurd, witty, offbeat bent (Doctor Who is a good example), then you’re going to dig his work. Consider his latest, a collection of really strange and inventive comics, “Everybody Gets It Wrong! and Other Stories: David Chelsea’s 24-Hour Comics vol. 1” which you can learn more about and buy here. And you can read my review of his 24-hour comics collection here.
There’s a skill, and a certain amount of magic, involved with creating good 24-hour comics. 24-hour comics, the whole idea of staying up all night in the pursuit of a creating a complete comics narrative in the span of 24 hours, originates with comics theorist Scott McCloud. He set up the rules to follow which boil down to do whatever it takes to create a 24-page comic within 24 hours, preferably a page per hour.
This process is a perfect counterbalance to the work David Chelsea has done to make perspective more accessible to artists. With a 24-hour comic project, you are concerned less with precision and more with intuition. It will appeal more to the right side of the brain: the artist, the writer, and the dreamer take over for this one. And, as you’ll see, David Chelsea is quite up to the task.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, David Chelsea, Humor, Perspective
Cartoonist David Chelsea and his favorite story in EVERYBODY GETS IT WRONG
What do the critics know? What does anyone really know..unless they take the time to carefully take in the subject? The subject in this case is David Chelsea’s new collection of comics, “Everybody Gets It Wrong! (and Other Stories): David Chelsea’s 24 Hour Comics Volume 1.” Novelist Mary Robinette Kowal put an intriguing question to the master cartoonist. She asked him which piece in his new book is his favorite. His ready reply, “Jesusland.”
Keep in mind that this new collection of comics by Chelsea was created for 24 Hour Comics challenges. That, my friend, is a challenge created by another master cartoonist, Scott McCloud, who first proposed that an entire comic book be created in the span of 24 hours, one page per hour. The book collects the first six (out of sixteen thus far) that Chelsea has undertaken. It’s a very special set of circumstances that you enter into with a 24-Hour Comic. One of the liberating factors is the freedom you have to do whatever you want in real time. And it makes sense that Chelsea would favor “Jesusland” since he was riffing on the current state of affairs: the 2004 Presidential election and the Republicans mobilizing the Evangelical vote to secure Dubya’s second term.
You can read the interview by Ms. Kowal with Mr. Chelsea here.
Visit David Chelsea here.
And pick up your copy of “Everybody Gets It Wrong” here.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, Commentary, Dark Horse Comics, David Chelsea, politics
Review: Everybody Gets It Wrong! And Other Stories: David Chelsea’s 24-Hour Comics Volume 1
David Chelsea is the sort of cartoonist who can create precise work while also keeping it very fluid. He has mastered his art and he has a wicked sense of humor. Nice combination, don’t you think? If you’re new to his work, you’ll definitely want to check out his new collection that brings together his first six 24-Hour Comics projects. Here’s the deal with these 24-Hour Comics projects, they are just as the name implies, not for the faint of heart: 24 pages of comics within 24 hours.
The site of the 2006 24-Hour Comics at David Chelsea’s studio, photo by Tom Lechner
There is something absurd going on at any given time. It could be a cat climbing a skyscraper in order to deflect a mouse, hired by Donald Trump, to sabotage Harold Lloyd’s efforts to climb to the top of that same skyscraper.
Hmmm, what now? How does that work? How do you get such complexity and absurdity? It’s part magic is what it is. If you follow the rules to a 24-Hour Comics project, as created by comics theoretician Scott McCloud, you can definitely think about what you’d like to do but you can’t script anything beforehand. You can only rely on what’s brewing in your noggin.
What Chelsea does is go in with an idea of what he wants to accomplish and then, throughout the night, he’ll pull out images from out of a sack and use them to guide the story along. So, it could start with a photo of Harold Lloyd.
Then Donald Trump emerges as a villain.
A mouse gets thrown into the mix.
And a cat gets to help save the day.
David Chelsea is modest about “The Harold Project” and describes it as “goofy and insubstantial but no more so than a lot of other things I spent more time on.” Of course, its “insubstantial” quality is what is so beautiful about it, as if out of a dream.
Ironic as it sounds, if there is one thing these sleep-depriving endeavors share, it is a dreamlike quality. Let the tomatoes fight the kangaroos over raspberries! Anything is possible in a 24 Hour Comic. Any takers? Chelsea has been at it to where he’s likely reached an unbeatable status as having achieved the most 24 Hour Comics gigs at 16 and counting.
Nat Gertler, the founder of the annual 24-Hour Comics Day, believes that Chelsea keeps going for the sheer thrill of it. For a cartoonist of Chelsea’s caliber, what could be better than to let loose, like jazz, and float away in a whirlwind of improvisation?
The 24-Hour Comic is the perfect venue for Chelsea to declare that, “Everybody gets it wrong!” and then go about showing up each and everyone one of us for all our wrongness!
EVERYBODY GETS IT WRONG! the first volume of David Chelsea 24-Hour Comics, is a 152-page hardcover, 6″x9″, $14.99, published by Dark Horse Comics and available as of June 5. Visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics here.
And check out the recent Comics Grinder interview with David Chelsea here.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, Comics Reviews, David Chelsea, Scott McCloud
24 Hour Comics Interview: DAVID CHELSEA
If you’re new to the work of cartoonist David Chelsea, then you’ve got to watch, or read, “Are You Being Watched?” and you’ll become an instant fan. Watch, view, and read it here. It all becomes more clear to you now, I would imagine. The lighter than air, seemingly effortless, style and the ever so quirky humor all coming together in a comic that was created in the span of 24 hours. It’s a surreal tale about a guy with a coffee mug for a head who is in love with a rather fickle woman who is obsessed with reality TV. How can poor Mugg attract Mandy? By becoming a reality TV sensation! And that’s a taste of what you’ll find from one of America’s leading cartoonists and illustrators, Mr. David Chelsea.
But not so fast, why 24 hours? That’s a good question. Well, that’s how it’s done in certain cartoonist circles. It goes back to cartoonist Scott McCloud’s challenge to all cartoonists to create a work in the span of 24 hours. And this has led to an official international observance on the first weekend in October known as 24-Hour Comics Day. Of course, you can put on a 24 Hour Comic at any time of the year and some diehard fans do just that. And you’d be hard pressed to find a more diehard fan of this unique activity than David Chelsea.
Panel from “Are You Being Watched?” by David Chelsea
“Are You Being Watched” was David Chelsea’s 15th 24 Hour Comic, drawn March 2-3, 2013, at Theater For The New City, in New York City. And he’s embarking on his 16th this weekend, May 18-19, at Things From Another World, in Portland, Oregon. This is a man who loves to draw comics and is a professional in every way, well regarded and respected in the industry.
Having a chance to pose some questions to him, I am pleased to report back to all of you that Mr. Chelsea and I arrived at a successful interview via e-mail on Friday, May 17, 2013. The following is our exchange. It should prove most enjoyable and informative. Not only does it get published on the weekend of his latest 24-Hour comics adventure but it also anticipates a wonderful upcoming book published by Dark Horse Comics, “Everybody Gets It Wrong! And Other Stories,” a 152-page hard cover that collects Mr. Chelsea’s first six 24-Hour Comics, available June 5, 2013. Find more details by visiting our friends at Dark Horse Comics here.
Enjoy the interview!
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Comics, Dark Horse Comics, David Chelsea, Humor, Scott McCloud, Surrealism
BALLARD COMICS: Drawing Ballard in 24 Hours, #4
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October 14, 2013 · 5:47 pm