• When is 24 Hour Comics Day 2005?
• Who can host an official 24 Hour Comics Day 2005 event?
• What is required of me to host an official 24 Hour Comics Day event?
• What support will About Comics give me for hosting the event?
• Will About Comics be offering any 24 hour comics-related product that this day will promote?
• How do I line up cartoonists for this event?
• Will all the cartoonists show up?
• Am I going to have an exclusive in my area?
• Does the event have to run midnight-to-midnight?
• Isn't the date a little close to Free Comic Book Day?
• Okay, so how do I apply to host an event at my store?

When is 24 Hour Comics Day 2005?

April 23rd, 2005.

Who can host an official 24 Hour Comics Day 2005 event?

Events can be hosted by any comic book shop, educational institution, museum, or previously-established comics club in the world.

What is required of me to host an official 24 Hour Comics Day event?

• A room to draw in, including chairs and tables. While many retailers are planning to host the event in store, thus putting the cartoonists on display, this is not a requirement. It could be any space with tables and chairs, (hotel meeting room space, space at a local school). This space needs to be available to the cartoonists for at least 27 hours, so that people who do not complete their work in 24 hours can still finish up, and those who arrive late still have a full day.
• A nap room: a quiet separate room with cots, sleeping bags, or reasonable sleeping surfaces, for those who feel they will they'll be able to keep going better after catching forty winks. (Some shops are planning to use RVs or simply a van with a mattress in the back; you should consider the risks in doing this, particularly if the vehicle will be in a place that risks break-in or collision.) This should be open for the same period as the drawing room.
• A bathroom! People need bathrooms. People drinking a lot of caffeine to stay up need bathrooms a lot.
• Food. This is apt to be a "snacky" effort, so full multi-course meals aren't needed, but some substantive food will be need, and at multiple times (and not the same food all the time -- yes, pizza should be involved, but not solely pizza).And plenty of snacky bits.
• Drink. By which I mean primarily caffeine in key liquid forms (coffee, sodas, energy drinks), but also some non-caffeine ones for those who choose to go that way. And yes, water is needed and useful. We don't particularly recommend alcohol, as it has the effect of putting people to sleep, but some folks did offer beer last year.
• Access to a 24 hour convenience store or supermarket, because needs will arise.
• Manpower: someone from the store (someone not doing the challenge themselves) should be on hand at all times. This should be done in shifts, so that someone alert is always on hand. It might be good to have two people on hand, particularly if you're hosting this in an open store, so that one can run out for any emergency supplies.
• Transportation: I'm not worried about folks getting to the event, but none of the participants should be allowed to drive themselves home after being up for 24 hours. This is not just a kindliness thing, this is also a safety thing and a liability thing. You can provide transportation, or you can require cartoonists to give you the name and the phone number of the person who is going to pick them up. The last thing any of us need is for some sleep-deprived cartoonist to cause a major accident.
• Drawing supplies. While the participants should bring their own drawing materials, it's still good idea to have a supply of drawing paper on hand. You don't need full-size comic book drawing paper; because folks doing 24 hour comics generally draw smaller. If it's convenient, have some other drawing supplies as well.
• Copying and shipping. After the event, you need to mail us photocopies of all of the comics created at the event. If you have a good photocopier on hand, that would be the best way to handle this, so that people don't have to wait for you to copy it elsewhere or to return their art later. If someone doesn't want to leave their art with you or you really don't want the hassle, you can alternatively provide the participant with a stamped, addressed 9"x12" envelope with sufficient postage for mailing 25 photocopied pages.

What support will About Comics give me for hosting the event?

However, there are things that we provided last year that we will not be providing this year. We will not be providing the video tape of Scott McCloud talking about the 24 hour comics phenomenon. We will not be mailing out certificates of participation to the participants (although we may provide a certificate form that you can print out yourself.) We will not be offering returnable copies of any of our products.

Will About Comics be offering any 24 hour comics-related product that this day will promote?

Of course! April 2005 will see the release of 24 Hour Comics All-Stars, which will include the very first 24 hour comic book done, by Scott McCloud. Plus it will have comics by Paul Smith, Tone Rodriguez, Dave Sim, Sean McKeever, and more.

Plus, you will still be able to order copies of the original 24 Hour Comics anthology, edited by Scott McCloud with tales by Neil Gaiman, Al Davison, Steve Bissette, and more. And then there's 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2004, the ultra-thick book with stories by Josh Howard, Eric Wolfe Hanson, Ken Lashley, Christian Gossett, and many more.

These books will be available on a non-returnable basis through Diamond Comics Distribution, FM International, Cold Cut Distribution, and on a returnable basis through Diamond Book Distribution.

How do I line up cartoonists for this event?

First, let me clear up one misunderstanding I've gotten from a retailer. About Comics will not be providing professional cartoonists to the retailers. We will be publicizing the event to the comics community and use our list of stores to steer interested folks to you. While we do know of professional comics creators who are intending to be involved in the events, we expect the vast majority of folks will be amateurs. Art students, your local minicomics community, the folks who buy your copies of Draw and Write Now! and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel and even How To Draw Manga are all likely folks.

So what do you do to get your local cartoonist community, amateur and pro, involved? First, you have to publicize it. These easiest way is in store -- put up some of the downloadable signs, hand out the flyers, talk to any of your customers that you know are cartoonists. We also recomend using the customizable press release we will provide to get local press attention. And getting signs up at your local art school, college, and possibly the art supplies store could all help.

We will get you sign-up forms. Do keep in mind how much space you have, and don't overbook your space (and realize not only that folks drawing take up more space than people just sitting there, but also that people staying together all night need space to stretch, to walk around, and perhaps to simply get out of each other's face at times.) You are, of course, allowed to set a limit of how many people may attend.

You may charge for participation.Last year, almost all retailers chose to forego this, seeing all of the expenses as reasonable promotional costs (and the only exception that I'm aware of was a store that used the money they raised for charity.) Remember, these cartoonists are helping your store look like a hip place where things happen, and this whole event should help you get the word out about your store. If you are charging, keep the price reasonable, and make sure that the charge is included on your flyer and other materials.

(Even if you can't talk the local known professionals into taking the 24 hour challenge, you might be able to convince them to make surprise visits during the event, giving encouragement to participants. Do keep it a surprise, because that way if the pro fails to show for any reason, no one is disappointed.)

Will all the cartoonists show up?

Probably not all of them. You can expect a certain amount of people flaking out. This isn't surprising; even the best-intentioned of folks are apt to find out that there's something they have to do during a fixed 24 hour period. Most of the sites had most or all of their cartoonists show up and many had people join in at the last moment; there was only one location where the flake rate really caused problems with the event (leaving one poor soul drawing alone in the store window... turning out a well-done if morose story.)

Am I going to have an exclusive in my area?

We are not going to guarantee exclusivity in any area. Most retailers are likely to have a de facto exclusivity, but if an area has more than one shop that is cool enough to host such an event, it likely also has enough cartoonists to get attendees at both. And in addition, some colleges are likely to host events. We will encourage college locations to coordinate with local stores if possible.

Does the event have to run midnight-to-midnight?

No. In fact, I recommend starting at 9 AM on Saturday and running into Sunday. The downside about starting at midnight Friday/Saturday is that you have trouble getting rested cartoonists. Most will have been up since Friday morning, a tough way to start a marathon session. Nine AM will let them start rested, and thus be more likely to complete it.

However, there are up-sides to starting at midnight. First off, it sounds cooler. If you're holding it in store, it's easier to publicize that your store will be open all day Saturday. And if people are stopping by the store at normal hours, running midnight-to-midnight means that they're more likely to see the heart of creation. Plus, some media-savvy retailers feel that it's easier to get TV coverage if the event starts at midnight.

It's your choice. Pick times you think will do best for you.

Isn't the date a little close to Free Comic Book Day?

It is exactly two weeks before FCBD, and that may sound a bit tight for holding two major events at your store. The closeness (which was not intentional -- the date was selected before the date for FCBD2005 was set, and was selected for much the same reason as FCBD was: to try to conform to the dates for previous years) actually has some advantages. This does give you the chance to prime press attention for FCBD, getting reporters in to cover the event as it's happening gives you a chance to talk them into coverig FCBD before the event and thus drive more people to your store. And you can pick your favorite of the stories created at your event and (with the permission of the cartoonist) produce your own exclusive photocopied giveaway comic for FCBD!

(Note: the 2005 date is also on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which may cause conflicts or staffing problems for some locations.)

Okay, so how do I apply to host an event at my store?

Simply email us at info@24hourcomics.com. Tell us that you agree to the conditions listed above. Let us know your store/school/organization name, location (or multiple locations, if you want to have events at multiple locations), phone number(s), website address if any, and also any questions you may have. In fact, you can email us at that address even if you just have questions and are still far from committing.