Joel Phillips
Apr 24, 2004, 10:48 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/24-COVER.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/24-COVER_t.jpg" align=left alt="24 Hour Comics"></a>Reviewer: Joel Phillips
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story and Art By: Steve Bissette, Alexander Grecian, Paul Winkler, Jakob Klemencic, Matt Madden, Neil Gaiman, David Lasky, K. Thor Jensen and Al Davison
Edited By: Scott McCloud
Published By: About Comics
Intended for Mature Readers
24 Hour Comics is one of the best things I’ve read in a very long time, simply because it is pure creative experimentation given form. It is about as untainted a glimpse into the creative process involved in creating a comic as you can get, at least if you hope to produce something that is as viable as art as it is experiment.
Here’s the story behind 24 Hour Comics, if you haven’t heard it already. In 1990 Scott McCloud (best known for his Understanding Comics) and his friend Steve Bissette (Swamp Thing, Taboo) came up with a challenge for themselves: create an entire 24 page comic book in 24 hours. Story, art, inks, finishes, lettering, everything… 24 pages in 24 hours. What began fifteen years ago as a challenge between friends eventually spread across the world as an open challenge to comic book creators and fans everywhere. McCloud eventually decided to reproduce, in one volume, nine of his favorites. This is what came of it.
There’s a good variety of subject matter to be found in this volume, but there is a darker bent to most everything (McCloud even notes this in one of the story introductions). Just be aware that those darker moods will do their best to wrap you up, and they do their job well. Expect to be affected. Expect to feel something, and expect to think. Read the volume, and then read it again. Some stories demand repeated readings, because there’s a lot there.
My very brief overview of the stories, being careful not to spoil anything:
A Life in Black and White is Steve Bissette’s initial offering under the 24 hour experiment. I don’t know how to describe it other than amusingly tragic and tragically amusing. What will initially seem a goofy premise disguises a depth of thought and emotion that many writers and artists go their entire careers without touching.
Alexander Grecian’s Little Remains needs to be read at least twice. (I read everything in the volume at least twice, and think everyone should too, but this story demands it.) It is simple and oddly familiar, and touches some universal ideas and emotions in a very stripped down, honest way.
Paul Winkler’s Cat is a pure mood piece. There is no dialogue, which is fine because everything in the story is captured perfectly in the art. Near flawless.
The fourth story, by Jakob Klemencic, is untitled, which works out well as it’s difficult to explain. Even if I were trying to give story summaries I wouldn’t with this one. It’s a quirky little tale that defies description, but does a good job engaging the gray matter.
Matt Madden’s First Warning is the story whose art, initially, I found most dissatisfying, but by the end of the tale I have to consider it one of the better entries in terms of the union between word and image. The facial expressions of the characters during the final conversation are worth the price of the entire volume all by themselves.
Neil Gaiman’s Being an Account of the Life and Death of the Emperor Heliogabolus, is a little bit like what a James Joyce novel might be like in sequential art form. It’s not quite pure stream of consciousness, but it’s close. Of course by the end it becomes clear that Gaiman knew where he was going all along, and this feels a lot more deliberate (in a good way) in subsequent read-throughs.
David Lasky’s Minutiae lives up to its title… except when it uses the minutiae to be intentionally broad and far reaching. The parts about sperm are probably deeper than any sperm-based scene has a right to be.
K. Thor Jensen’s The First Koan is a story that forces our brain to go through the same process the character’s brain is going through. Considering the process involves the search for enlightenment, it’s worth the effort.
And last, but certainly not least, is Al Davison’s Invisible Library. This story also demands multiple readings. It’s spiritual and not easily digestible, meant to be pondered over and considered at length. The art would be remarkable had it taken 24 days, let alone 24 hours. McCloud calls this the best 24 hour comic he has ever seen… which is tough to argue with, the tight competition notwithstanding.
Those interested in comics as a medium and the experimentation it allows will be fascinated by the manner in which these tales were created, and will probably be tempted to try it themselves. Luckily for you, McCloud’s introduction includes the complete information on the 24 Hour Comic challenge, and a P.O. Box for you to send your submissions to him. If you’re not interested in this experiment at all, this volume still contains nine truly engaging and evocative stories, each worthy of your attention.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg
STORY:
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OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story and Art By: Steve Bissette, Alexander Grecian, Paul Winkler, Jakob Klemencic, Matt Madden, Neil Gaiman, David Lasky, K. Thor Jensen and Al Davison
Edited By: Scott McCloud
Published By: About Comics
Intended for Mature Readers
24 Hour Comics is one of the best things I’ve read in a very long time, simply because it is pure creative experimentation given form. It is about as untainted a glimpse into the creative process involved in creating a comic as you can get, at least if you hope to produce something that is as viable as art as it is experiment.
Here’s the story behind 24 Hour Comics, if you haven’t heard it already. In 1990 Scott McCloud (best known for his Understanding Comics) and his friend Steve Bissette (Swamp Thing, Taboo) came up with a challenge for themselves: create an entire 24 page comic book in 24 hours. Story, art, inks, finishes, lettering, everything… 24 pages in 24 hours. What began fifteen years ago as a challenge between friends eventually spread across the world as an open challenge to comic book creators and fans everywhere. McCloud eventually decided to reproduce, in one volume, nine of his favorites. This is what came of it.
There’s a good variety of subject matter to be found in this volume, but there is a darker bent to most everything (McCloud even notes this in one of the story introductions). Just be aware that those darker moods will do their best to wrap you up, and they do their job well. Expect to be affected. Expect to feel something, and expect to think. Read the volume, and then read it again. Some stories demand repeated readings, because there’s a lot there.
My very brief overview of the stories, being careful not to spoil anything:
A Life in Black and White is Steve Bissette’s initial offering under the 24 hour experiment. I don’t know how to describe it other than amusingly tragic and tragically amusing. What will initially seem a goofy premise disguises a depth of thought and emotion that many writers and artists go their entire careers without touching.
Alexander Grecian’s Little Remains needs to be read at least twice. (I read everything in the volume at least twice, and think everyone should too, but this story demands it.) It is simple and oddly familiar, and touches some universal ideas and emotions in a very stripped down, honest way.
Paul Winkler’s Cat is a pure mood piece. There is no dialogue, which is fine because everything in the story is captured perfectly in the art. Near flawless.
The fourth story, by Jakob Klemencic, is untitled, which works out well as it’s difficult to explain. Even if I were trying to give story summaries I wouldn’t with this one. It’s a quirky little tale that defies description, but does a good job engaging the gray matter.
Matt Madden’s First Warning is the story whose art, initially, I found most dissatisfying, but by the end of the tale I have to consider it one of the better entries in terms of the union between word and image. The facial expressions of the characters during the final conversation are worth the price of the entire volume all by themselves.
Neil Gaiman’s Being an Account of the Life and Death of the Emperor Heliogabolus, is a little bit like what a James Joyce novel might be like in sequential art form. It’s not quite pure stream of consciousness, but it’s close. Of course by the end it becomes clear that Gaiman knew where he was going all along, and this feels a lot more deliberate (in a good way) in subsequent read-throughs.
David Lasky’s Minutiae lives up to its title… except when it uses the minutiae to be intentionally broad and far reaching. The parts about sperm are probably deeper than any sperm-based scene has a right to be.
K. Thor Jensen’s The First Koan is a story that forces our brain to go through the same process the character’s brain is going through. Considering the process involves the search for enlightenment, it’s worth the effort.
And last, but certainly not least, is Al Davison’s Invisible Library. This story also demands multiple readings. It’s spiritual and not easily digestible, meant to be pondered over and considered at length. The art would be remarkable had it taken 24 days, let alone 24 hours. McCloud calls this the best 24 hour comic he has ever seen… which is tough to argue with, the tight competition notwithstanding.
Those interested in comics as a medium and the experimentation it allows will be fascinated by the manner in which these tales were created, and will probably be tempted to try it themselves. Luckily for you, McCloud’s introduction includes the complete information on the 24 Hour Comic challenge, and a P.O. Box for you to send your submissions to him. If you’re not interested in this experiment at all, this volume still contains nine truly engaging and evocative stories, each worthy of your attention.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/afull.jpg