.HRS.

-.24 MINUTES

- ANDREW FOSTER

- Download the Album

Tommorrow is the day! I am super chuffed. Keep in mind that I have never, ever drawn more than a two page comic IN MY LIFE. I am 99% sure I shall explode. Or cause Drew to explode.

Drew arrived bearing a TWENTY-FOUR PACK of Dr. Pepper. That means one soda every two hours! I dunno, can we make it?

I should mention that we are moving out of this apartment, so our living room is empty except for boxed crap. We shoved all the boxes out of the dining area and set up base camp there. In one corner is our BEAUTIFUL SHRINE:

Its construction allowed Drew to say "Put the dinosaur on top of Jar-Jar," the utterance of which has aleardy made this entire experience worthwhile. It is not a sentance you get to hear enough.

We went to the grocery store to stock up, and I decided we should get only round foods, so we got pizza and waffles. And crackers, which I can gnaw round. Ditto Drew's chips.

We got this thing of waffles because it contained 24 WAFFLES!

And then we got 24 OUNCES OF SYRUP!

And then 24 PIG HEADS!

As Drew entered my apartment, he said, "This is the second most ill-advised thing we've ever done."

"What was the first?" says I.

And he says, "I'll give you a hint: it took a week and a half."

Stop being cryptic, Drew.

At 10:00 tommorrow morning, the ridiculousness begins! EXCITEMENT.

 

 

OGUE

Today is the eve of twenty-four hour comic book day, and I am chuffed, if a little nervous. Tentatively it appears that Anne has agreed to the idea I had going into the endeavor, that each page would have a set length of time connected to it in regards to the eventual album, and I feel that a minute of audio per page is an entirely reasonable length of time. I can hammer out a minute of audio in well under ten minutes if need be, but it frequently takes me many months to bring a song to a satisfactory conclusion. Perhaps noodling for 24 minutes straight will be a good out from having a definite ending, but if I decide to have each one-minute track be an independent entity (which is entirely likely) may God save us all. Our supply list currently consists of:

Anne:

• 2 lap desks
  
• a collection of myriad drawing utensils
  
• a stack of Office Depot laser printer paper
  

  Shrine of Shame/Wonder:

• 1 head of Jar Jar Binks soap dispenser
  
• 1 pirate figurine
  
• 1 Pope Innocent III action figure
  
• 1 Jesus candle
  
• 1 Virgin de Guadalupe candle
  
• 1 robot pig
  
• 7 thimbles
  
• 4 pewter figurines
  
• 2 ham-fisted Robin Hood figures
  

  Foodlettes:

• 24 cans of Dr. Pepper
• 10 bottles of water
• 24 Eggo Buttermilk waffles
• 1 bag Zapps Original potato chips
• 3 Totinos cheese pizzas
• 1 carton Horizon 2% vitamin-D enriched organic milk
• 1 24 fl. oz. bottle of Log Cabin syrup
• 1 box of saltines, brand not remembered
  

  Andrew:

• 1 set of S4 MidiLand speakers
• 1 M-Audio Ozone
• 1 HP-zt1000 laptop
• 1 flames suitcase from Archie McPhee
• various wires, cables
• 1 Rode NT1-A, sans proper cable
• 1 cheap Telex office mic, sans proper adapter
• 1 Microsoft Starck-designed optical mouse
• 1 General Electric SurgePro power strip

All I know is I am surrounded by foods that are connected only in their being of the quantity 24 of whatever arbitrary unit the manufacturers have provided and incredibly high concentration of fat, my mouse pad is a suitcase with flames on, I'm tired, I need to pee a little, and I am more than ready to make a mediocre album in a day. I'll see you bastards in hell, you soul-sucking imps.

-Dr. Vato Magnifico III

 

 

Man, what an awful night! I hardly slept. Whenever I know I am waking up for something exciting that I cannot miss and no one else will wake me for if I muck up, I tend to wake up like once every half hour all night long out of nervousness. Yeah, that happened last night. LAME.

But now I have on my COMICKING PANTS, seen to the right.

I have made an offering at the shrine of lip balm, but kept the primo stuff for myself.

And I am going to play Psychonauts until it is time to wake up Drew and begin!

 

 

All right! Drew is up and we made WAFFLES. But turns out there is only one plate in the apartment, the others having been packed. So we took eating shifts.

We've had our first problem of the day: Drew's computer won't do his microphones, or something, so we can't do samples of me doing BLIBBITY BLIBBITY BLOO. Maybe we can through my computer. We'll see.

Okay, we start in twenny minutes! Time for my second eating shift and then for COMICKING

I still have no idea what I'm gonna do. WHOO!

 

 

Is it cheating if my first three or four pages are splash pages? The answer is NO, if you give yourself something you hate to draw. Like trees.

MAN I AM SO TRANSPARENTLY BAD AT DRAWING.

Also, man, I hate that my sense of humor and visual storytelling hinges on repetition, because that means drawing the same things over again. I HATE CONSISTANCY AUGH.

 

 

Well, the hour nears, and here we are, drawring and musicking away. Things are moving apace, we are going approximately the same speed, and things are looking a-ok. The songs are distinct but connected, the art is looking wicked good, and I'm very happy. Both we and the comic book are going at a leisurely pace, and I feel that improves our chances at a satisfactory completion. This makes Andrew a happy hippo. I hope you all are having as good a day as I am, especially those of you participating in this curious practice. Sha-na-na, sha na-na-na na na. Everything is a-ok. No murder has been made to happen yet, and this pleases me. I would like to buy the world a Coke.

Love, luck, and lollipops,
-Monsieur Baggler

 

 

Almost done with page 3! I hate it a bunch, but page 2 keeps cracking me up when I look at it to check for conistancy. SCRATCHY BLISS! I love that page even though his toes are messed up and do not look properly curly. Whatever, I fail.

I have decided to do a Baxter story because since he is a storyteller I can basically go where ever I want from here. Man, it shall soon go somewhere else, or at least all tight shots, because I HATE DRAWING TREES. I hope I have time to do spot greys and fade out the backgrounds at the end, because I'm not futzing with line weight or anything to give it any dimenionality. I HATE LINE WEIGHT GRRR! Actually line weight is awesome, it is just an impossible task for one such as me to accomplish.

I am ready to not be drawing this background anymore. Oh well, just one more page of it...

We took a break for pizza, our SECOND ROUND FOOD!

SHRINE UPDATE: I have offered it a picture of my sister. In response, the Jesus candle is burning less brightly. Oh no, Katy, you have ruined my standing with Jesus! THANKS A LOT. The Virgen de Guadetc. is still burnin' along happily. I wonder if they'll make it all the way through the day. We may have to make a run on candles later, get ST. JUDAS TUDEO or whatever this time.

I hope Jeff Rowland isn't dead yet.

 

 

It's hour 2, ya mugs! We done been workin for sommat like 2 hours! That's crazy talk! Anne just finished the third page, and needed a song that fit a slightly gross-feeling, remorseful feeling. Much more difficult than ambient and happy, but more rewarding. I chose to do it in 3:4, so as to make it a little more awkward. I think it succeeded smashingly. I've started a precedent of starting each song with resampled bits from the previous song, and that has been helping the flow massively. Quite satisfying, all in all. The cramped-ness of the workspace is getting to me a little, and I've become resigned to the fact that I'm going to be a hunchback after this, but this is still way better than camping. At least there's AC. We ate a pizza, which was boss. I swear it was more fresh than they are at Albertson's. Of course, we did spen $1.50+ on them, so they should taste like gold and rainbows for that. P.S. I am poor. Well, we used the internet for the last time just now, and it's good to know Jeff Rowland isn't dead yet. We won't know for sure until the end of the day, but here we are. Fun all around. In the next hour I will perform a ritual to summon a demon with the use of a moai statue. Cheers!

-Dolemite

 

 

Just polished off page 4. Now IT is my least fav-o-rit. Baxter's pose isn't dynamic enough. WHATEVER. But now I am done drawing those trees and everything, WHOO! Unless I do it again at the end, which I probably will because I like things to be cyclical. Man, thanks, Anne, whatever.

Roomie just came and took away the internets and cable TV, which is probably wise as I would go nuts knowing that I probably had e-mail and LJ to check and I was physically able to but just didn't. You know how it goes.

SHRINE UPDATE: The Jesus candle almost went out! I poured out the excess wax into a Dr. Pepper can. He is still pretty dim, though. The Virgen is still rockin' it. Time to shape up, Jesus.

I should probably leave another offering. Uh. I'll give them a paperclip.

My brain is sort of cramping, as is my hand. And we're not even... very far through, I'm too distracted to think of fractions. Whatever.

 

 

What ho, hos! It's time for your HOUR 3 UPDATE! This hour was the assiest hour of hours so far! There was a one in 3 chance of this hour being the crappiest of the first three, and HERE IT IS! Anne isn't the happiest with her drawing (though I quite like it). I've had to restart FL Studio twice due to bum plugins. So be it, though. Still making entirely reasonable headway, though. So far I like the distant, disconnected sound of page 4, it was just a bastard to get it where it is. So be it, though. I'm going to stretch my legs and buy me a coupla do-nuts. Catch you action cats on the flipside.

-Pope Innocent III

 

 

Oh man, I love this page. It cracks me up. ALSO THANK YOU BAXTER FOR BEING THE ONLY CHARACTER OF MINE THAT I CAN HAVE SING SEA SHANTIES AND HAVE IT BE IN-CHARACTER.

I suggested to Drew that his song for this one be like when in a musical there is that build-up to the big song number, only to have it come crashing to a halt, and he stepped up to the plate admirably. Also the transition from the last song to this song is really smooth, which is aces.

My folks just called to check in, because they are awesome and sweet. I told them how happy I was right now, how it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, since I'm not letting myself be too precious with my art or whatever...

"Well, enjoy the sunshine now," my dad said. "It'll be dark in a few hours."

True, dad!

But this page feels vaguely Little Dee-esque to me, which makes me happy in my heart of hearts.

 

 

Well, here we are. 1/6 of the way into this thing, and it's all OK. We've survived well. The output is still not shite, though I'm certain it's just a matter of time. The latest song I've done, for page 5, is kinda weird and I think it might wind up being the least ambient of the whole lot. I hope so, at least. But it's fun and it fits well. It's a sorta semi-Disney musical intro leadup. I'm really liking the flow of songs, too. Re-listening to the whole thing is an odd experience. Most surprising is how un-forced it sounds. It does sound spontaneous, though, which is OK by me. The do-nut shoppe was closed, which puts a frown on Andrew's face. It almost put a wasp sting there, too. Apparently wasps live in the bushes across the way. Huh. I greatly enjoy forcing myself to output a constant amount of work, and I feel better for the experience. It's a joy to actually do this. Except for the sore legs/feet/back/neck, but so it is. Man, once again, these transitions are the nicest between-song transitions I've ever done. Having a set order and a set source of ideas sets boundaries and allows me to focus on just the sound. Uber-cool. Well, I'm gonna stretch my legs right quick. I may or may not have poisoned Anne's drink.

-Maybe a Bear

 

 

THIS PAGE (6) IS TAKING A LONG TIME. So much for being ahead.

I call this my Jeepers page. It's a very Jeeperian moment, I feel.

 

 

Just finished page 6. Sounds like some crazy huckster salesman theme. Kinda love the hell out of it. One of the few styles I've never been able to do in the past. Has some nice jazz drums at the end. No more whole sentences. More caffeine. Chinese food? Delivery? Sometime. In the meantime, nice drawings. Fun music. Not really tired, having a fun time. Much the same as the hour before. Way different music, though. Hard not writing in whole sentences. Sounds like spooky journal in horror game. Will give in to vampires soon enough. Can't stop them. Succumbing to lycanthropy. Full moon. All against me. Will try to venture forth one more time.

Rest of journal blank.

-Charlie Brown

 

 

Finishing up page 6. So much for being ahead. However, I love the Gummi Bear. I wish we had internet so I had a VISUALLY ACCURATE Gummi Bear, but oh well, whachagonnado?

My hand is really starting to hurt, a lot, and I keep thinking about my Grandma, who was this amazing artist and pianist, but she arthritis got to the point that she just had to give it up. While she was in, like, her 20s. I remember looking at her paintings with such awe, and just feeling that burning sadness in the pit of my stomach.

....this is not the sort of thing to give you speed to carry on.

But anyway, I think I figured out what I am going to do next, though I had to call Bill and ask him what a word was because I could not for the life of me remember the word for "stranding a dope on an island instead of killing them," i.e., "MAROONING." THANKS, BILL.

SHRINE UPDATE: Jesus totally stopped burning altogether, despite an emergency de-waxing. Whatever, dude. Mary keeps on keepin' on.

 

 

Hour 6 was fairly uneventful. I started on the song for page 7, which I'm thinking should be mainly sound effects. Anne is finishing page 6, but she gave me plenty of information RE: the next page, so I feel like I have a good starting point. Though it may be a little vague. I also had me some waffles, and them was the stuff. I likes me some waffles. So, for the most part, there's a lot to do. I think we can still complete this thing, though. Seems reasonable enough.

-Hover Prince Mayhem Extreme

 

 

Only halfway through penciling page 7. Bla. So much for my head start. I am so not even remotely gonna make it to 24 pages. Drew has already finished the song for this page. He's reading comics over there while I catch up. I'll probably just finish inking this malarky halfway through hour 8.

I was in a panic for a while there because I had no idea what story Baxter was gonna tell, but then I decided to pick on Howard Pyle. Because I love him. And have no idea about his real life at all. BUT HE SURE DID WRITE THE DEFINATIVE ROBIN HOOD AND A HELLA BOOK ON PIRATES, DIDN'T HE!

I just finished penciling a panel where he is jumping through a flaming hoop. It makes me laugh UNCONTROLLABLY.

Have a sneaking suspicion this whole schlamiel will only be funny to me.

Wish we had internet so I could look up how, exactly, one spells "schlamiel."

Holy shit, we're only just barely a fourth of the way through. I am 99% sure I am going to die. This is more drawing than I've ever done in one day EVER. Keep in mind that I've never done longer than a one page comic, EVER, unless you count my Niego one which I guess was like one-and-a-half/two pages. Still, seven! In that regard, I have WON the challenge. (Shut up, I have.)

SHRINE UPDATE: Still shrinin'! Mary's burning on, representin' for lay-deez everywhere.

 

 

Well, I didn't do a whole lot this hour. Anne was planning out her strategy for the main story and pencilling stuff down while I read what I haven't of Ex Machina. What I have to say to that is: WTF? So many plotholes. Still a good read, though. Here I am now, though, none the better for about an hour of non-musicking. I have a few more ideas, though, and I think I shall make use of that now, even though we're a bit behind. I don't think we're too bad off. Anne's giggling, so things surely can't be too grim. This is heartening.

-Magnificent Pants the Clown

 

 

I HATES MY HAND. Took a break to shake it out and soak it. It still feels hella broke, but I think I can draw more now.

I finished page 7 and did most of the inking.

 

 

It's break time! Anne was getting a sore hand, I was getting tired of setting up residence on the floor, so we remedied our respective problems with a hand-soaking, Psychonauts-playing break that was greatly fulfilling. We are presently prepping a pizza, I just made sure all my tracks flow smoothly, and things are looking a little less difficult from here than they were from the position of having done comic books for 7 straight hours. Much better. As much as I like my new track, I think the transition between tracks 4 and 5 is the best so far. Quite pleasing. I feel very sorry for Anne having to put up with feeling punk, but so it goes. Onward and upward.

-The Right Honorable Judge Flava Flav

 

 

Finished inking page 7 at 7:00 on the nose. YEAH. Much slower now that I gotta take hand breaks.

I suggested that Drew forge on without me. We were continuing apace, but I fella hella behind between more complex layouts and handery. I feel better knowing that he's not being held back from reaching 24 minutes by my tendons being lame.

I keep forgetting how to draw Howard's face and making him look like a chubbo. SORRY, HOWARD PYLE! I BET YOU WEREN'T HARDLY A CHUBBO AT ALL.

 

 

Well, it's been a slow hour. Anne's still inking page 7, and it looks fab, but I've nothing else to do, so I'm making a one-minute interlude, the comics equivalent of a “Let's Go Out to the Movies”. I like it. Anne should be done soon, so maybe finishing this will give her a chance to get a head start so as I'll have something to work with in a bit. Man, her stuff is looking great though. Maybe this will be enjoyable to people after all! That would be great. What this means is that if you mail me saying that my soundtrack is, to quote Venetian Snare, "a boiling pot of cranberries," I shall sock you in the nose righteously. Cheers!

-Snot Rocket

 

 

Page 8 is all penciled. This one cracks me up too. Man, I sure hope God has a sense of humor, or I'm in SO much trouble. Also note HP's Tim-esque chest hair.

I figured the Virgin candle rockin' on was a sign, so here you go, Mary, here is your cameo! I really don't think you're that snotty or anything, I actually am super fond of you. Please don't cause trouble for me. Thank you.

My spirits are back up, AT THE COST OF MY IMMORTAL SOUL.

Drew wanted a sample to muck with for this track, so we pretended we were Howie and Handy speaking gibberish for a minute straight. I don't think he used it, but it's still pretty indictative of our mental state. It's "mneh.mp3" in the album zip.

 

 

Well, the interlude's done, as is my track for page 8. Anne pencilled the 8th page just fine, and is now inking. Once again, looks great. The Virgin Mary would be proud. I like my track, too. It's fairly straightforward through most of it, but the fun bit was the bit at the end that makes Howard Pyle sound like a moron. Not much else to say. Sore, a little hungry, but once again chuffed. Cor blimey.

-Winston Churchill II – Electric Boogaloo

 

 

Finished inking page 8! Why is this taking me so long? Oh well. Spirits still high. Even though I'm not sure what happens after page 9. BUT I ALSO WHIPPED OUT PAGE 9! Because it is a cop-out speed-up page. But I think important, because it harkens to my earlier timing. YES, THAT IS MY STORY, YOU JERKS.

Man, where is this going next? I've no clue. Man.

I just yawned! OH NOES!

 

 

Working on a song for page 9. Anne and I both agreed that maybe a cop-out isn't so bad a thing if it's used to good effect, so here we are. A mainly empty page, a mainly empty track, and everyone's happy. I still like the way it worked out, so I have no issues with what was done here. Man, these journal entries are getting way too short. I wish I could think of something interesting to say. Poor Anne certainly appears to be getting tuckered. I shoved a DP in her direction, maybe that will keep her going for a bit.
-Dance Dance Revolution

 

 

Page 10! TEN PAGES! HOW NUTS. FYI the hand's name is ZELDA. More jokes that only I find hilarious.

Meanwhile, MY hand is sustaining entirely tolerable hurty levels! I LOVE YOU, NON-ASPIRIN STORE-BRAND PILLS.

SHRINE UPDATE: Mary continues to be AWESOME. I think she is pleased with my offering of a lightly soiled napkin.

Page 10 finished. TIME FOR NAPPING. Hopefully the candle won't fall over and burn the house down. ...shit, now I'm seriously worried. I'm putting it in a less flamible spot. (The wick's too low to re-light it later.)

 

 

Drew doesn't want to wake up to keep going. WHATEVER.

I think I'm just gonna finish my story and go back to sleep, too. I'm just too lame to go much further alone. And, as I said before? This is way more than I've ever done ever afore. So, aces.

Still feel like a pussy. Only able to do HALF? My body = way lame. Here are my plans for next 24 hour day:

- live webcamin'
- semi-public place
- less pussying out on my part
- replacing my hand with a robotic one
- falling to dark side of force
- falling into pit of lava
- etc.

Ha ha ha, I am alluding to Star Wars! HELLO I AM KEVIN SMITH, (swears swears swears)!

 

 

.FIFTEEN

FInished page 11, penciling page 12. The pain is in my arm now, around just below my elbow. How strange.

 

 

"MY HAND HURTS, BLOO BLOO BLOO."

Roughly penciled the rest. I'll finish it tommorrow. My hand is burning from fingernails to elbow, so that's a great sign to QUIT IT.

15 pages! Not too shabby for a bonafide newb.

 

 

Well, I did a song for page 10 that has a bunch of chatter and various weird sound effects designed to sound like the good Mr. Pyle chatting with his hand, but aside from that not much has happened. I woke up here at a about 7:30 AM, as Anne seemed to want to get some sleep. I decided to go to sleep as well, and now I have completed well under half of my goal. So it goes. When Anne and I awoke an hour after going to sleep she asked if I wanted to continue working or get some more sleep. I figured she was hinting that it was too late and too distracting for me to make a bunch of noise, plus I was wicked tired, so I decided on more sleep. Nine hours of sleep later my soundtrack is none the better. This does not change how happy I am with what's there, though. Maybe with a little luck Anne has done a couple more pages. When she retreated to her room I am unsure of what she decided to do herself, so we'll see where we stand.

-A Bag of Groceries

 

 

Yay! Anne is awake, full of waffles, and drawrin again! This is a positive thing. She also has 15 pages, so I have 4 more minutes of audio to make in the next hour. Hot dang! But I think that's doable. That will put me past halfway, and that will make me a happy boy. Well, less talk more musick! Peace out Napoleon!

-Freedom

 

 

Woke up at 8 and finished working. Finished my pencils on the last few pages, and got some more inking done.

We just now officially hit 24 hours, and I have 16 pages pencilled and 12 inked. That is pretty excellent! I reiterate: GO TEAM VENTURE.

 

 

Well, hour 24 is done, and all is punk. I have completed a net 15 tracks, with two more to go. I'm going to finish the other two off just for completeness sake, even though I know it's cheating a little. Nothing I can do about that, though. I'm pretty happy with all that I've done, and things are all a-ok. I really like the way the comic turned out, and I hope the soundtrack is appropriate.

-Andrew Foster

 

 

by Anne Moloney, age 21 -...

1) Even the most awful comic probably took a lot of time and effort to draw, and that should be respected. Anyone who is committed to telling a story like that should be saluted for their efforts, no matter how ill-advised or mediocre the finished product is. ...unless it's Alternation, in which case you're allowed to make fun of it, because SERIOUSLY.

2) This smudge of graphite on my palm won't come off.

3) Mary outlasts Jesus. (She is still going, EVEN NOW!)

4) Mary outlasts both of us, at that. (3/4 of the candle left to burn.)

5) Drawing is hard on your hand, but erasing is hard on your shoulder.

6) Waffles are delicious.

7) Just because your arthritis never, ever bothers you doesn't mean it WILL never, ever bother you.. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

8) Making comics is for chumps.

 

 

...- by Andrew Foster, age 20

1) Dr. Pepper is the nectar of the gods

2) I am not that great a musician

3) Waffles are fuel for goodness

4) The Virgin Mary is stronger than Jesus

5) Concern for the well-being of your fellow comicker only annoys them

6) Remember all cables, even those that are for borrowed hardware

7) Don't sleep. No matter how badly you want to.

8) If it sucks, just move on. Nothing can be done about it without wasting time.

9) Bring a toothbrush

.HRS.

-.17 MINUTES

-

- drninja

- Download the Album

05