Henderson Oracle

Issue date: 4/2/07 Section: News

One long laugh- Students attempt the comic strip that first appeared in the late '80s on the first floor of the Russell Fine Arts building on April 13 [Click to enlarge]

The Henderson Comic Book Club is hosting the comic book Work Day with the intention of gathering artists and writers together to produce eight-page comics in eight hours or, for some of the more dedicated artist types, 24 pages in 24 hours.

The idea, said Nicholas Langley, a sophomore majoring in digital art, is to come to the first floor of RFA April 13 with no story boards or completed pages and do original work within the time frame.

Writer, artist and publisher Scott McCloud started the 24-hour comics artistic movement in the early '90s with the A Day's Work event, wrote Langley. McCloud has since kept the movement going with online publications, conventions and speeches, including a guest-speaking event for the Henderson Comic Book Club. His movement was the inspiration for this event.

"He's probably best known for his book 'Understanding Comics,'" Bill Triplett, cashier of the Alternate Worlds comic bookstore in Hot Springs, said. McCloud is the writer, artist and sometimes publisher of independent comics and the creator of "Zot," a science fiction comic in the '80s which, according to McCloud's Web site, has been continued online.

According to Triplett, McCloud is mostly an independent artist, either self publishing or publishing with small, low-budget companies, and has done no work for either DC or Marvel Comics.

His 24 Hour Comics Event, according to Langley, has inspired comic book events, day-long stage performances and two-day long movies. Langley stresses the need for originality in the upcoming workday. "The Workday Comic is an event that is trying to encourage the creation of new creative material," wrote Langley. This means no superhero comics. Though characters can be heroic and brave and plots can be fantasy or science fiction, the Comic Book Club wants to keep the event away from the conventional ideas that dominate the comic book industry. Langley is asking that all manner of artists get involved; for example a writer can team up with a sketch artist.

"A variety of work requires a variety of people," wrote Langley. "I'd like to see a lot of people who have no idea how to lay out a comic book so they won't be confined to predetermined expectations." Artists should not worry about their drawing skills. The point is creativity and originality. "If you can sort of draw, go for it," Langley said. "There will likely be a lot of material that looks sloppy but has a great story."

Finished comics will be displayed in the first floor of the Huie Library and published online.

This is good exposure for artists and writers. It is something to put in a resume and it counts as publication credit for English majors.

Anyone interested in the Work Day should contact Langley at shoesterhsu@yahoo.com or Randy Duncan at duncanr@hsu.edu to sign up for the event and get more information. Langley asks those interested to state whether they will be attending as a sketch artist, a writer or both.

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