24 Minutes from Mile End

Or the 25 and a half minute comic (due to misreading my clock and the logistics of getting the pages to everyone)

The day began at 7.24 a.m.
By eight twenty four my arms and hands ached from the two boxes of comics I wanted to give away at the Thing.

At nine twenty four, I had arrived, got my refreshments for the day and had set up the table. And then I started tracking who was here for the 24 minute challenge.

Several folks asked about taking part, so we had a list of thirty by 11.24 - the time I was ready to make announcements, although a few people did not seem to have arrived. (Thinking out loud: consider making the next one as many pages as there are volunteers.)

So it was time for my first bit of shouting of the day.
(I resisted the temptation to sing a few songs from "Calamity Jane". Thanks for asking, though.)

The idea of audience suggestions started to seem less worthwhile as I only had 19 forms handed in by the time I needed them ... so I made up 5 myself and decided to drop the "location" because things like "The Albert Hall" and "Toulouse" just seemed too much to ask anyone to draw.

So, everyone came over to collect their page instructions at 12.15
... in fact, there were 26 people (or teams) which led me to ask Bridgeen Gillespie and Ping Teo to share half a page each (sorry !) and Roger Langridge to do the cover.

At this point I should say that NEXT time, I have a few simple changes to the process. Anyone else got any suggestions?
1) preprinted pages with the page directions AND PAGE NUMBERS (!).
2) a line at the bottom for "creator's name / website"
3) a defined drawing area - as the portfolio tables were mostly taken when we started
4) a loudhailer

Anyway, back to my account of the day ...

The frantic drawing began at 12.30, and most people seemed to be happy to do so at their tables (yes, I have photos of all twenty five pages being drawn). I was going to ask Mike Carey to start the action, as he'd written the rhyming couplets which tell the story, but time and lack of a starting-gun/klaxon/siren/hand-bell meant that I did the shouting.

And at 12.54 ... I mis-read my watch ...
And at 12.55, I announced the end of the 24 minutes.

Some folks were worried that their pages were unfinished
(I told you to use the do not disturb signs !)
but there's very little lacking in the art or storytelling.

I collated the original art pages and made my "little mistake" which resulted in two of the pages have been mis-labelled - see if you can spot which ones !

By one twenty four I was in the i2design photocopy shop on Mile End Rd, who had agreed to produce the comic (and they were extremely helpful and fast and let me do most of the collating) http://www.ink2design.co.uk/contact.htm
Unfortunately, I had a problem collating and numbering the master copy pages, so this took me about half an hour.
But the first copy was in my hand by four minutes to two.

Remarkably, by 2.45 I had eaten lunch and gotten a phone call to say that all 100 copies were ready !

And at 3.24pm the comics were on sale in the Thing Hall.
Technically that's a two hour and fifty four minute comic,
but the art is the important part !

A twenty four page comic, plus a cover, created by approximately 33 people in less than three hours !

And, the cohesion between pages created only from a 48 line "script" is most excellent. Even if someone did add an extra eye to J1P the Alien !


If anyone did not get a copy and wants to buy one, they will be on sale in Gosh, or you can send me £1 (or four first class stamps) PLUS a stamped, self-addressed envelope. (email just1page(at)aol(dot)com)


NB I am VERY SORRY for anyone's art that was misprinted or cropped in the quick photocopying stage. That was due to the time it took me to collate things.
The corrected, scanned & improved version will appear in Just 1 Page, to be launched at the Comic Expo in Bristol on May 14th & 15th.


I think the original art should be auctioned as a whole, since it really is a one-off comic, does anyone disagree ?



Thanks very much to everyone who took part, and to folks who cheered us on ! Same time next year to break the record ? (I reckon I can shave an hour off the printing process