Here is a story written about me and the other artists attending the 24 Hr Comic Challenge this Saturday. From McKnight Journal 10/17/07 and Pittsburgh Tribune Review 10/18/07:
Comic book artists take part in marathon
by Daveen Rae Kurutz
Staff Writer
October 17, 2007
It normally takes Barry Linck at least a month to pull together a tale of “Phineus Magician for Hire” — but not Saturday night.
That’s when the comic artist behind the boy magician will join thousands of others around the world for 24 Hour Comics Day — a one-day event where comic artists try to create a 24-page comic book in 24 hours.
“It’s a good opportunity to network with other Pittsburgh comic artists,” said Linck, 37, of Baden. “This is a neat communal opportunity.”
This year’s event will take place locally at the Bellevue Creative Treehouse, beginning at 9 a.m.
“It’ll be a little artist warzone,” said Jesse Hambley, founder of the Creative Treehouse. “It will be awesome and pretty intense.”
This is the first year the event will be held at the newly formed Creative Treehouse, said Hambley, 24, of the North Side. Recently, the site hosted a Creative Marathon that brought in more than 50 artists to complete projects throughout the day. But comics are a new frontier for the Treehouse.
“I’m a newbie on this,” Hambley said. “I think it’s just a good opportunity to get artists to come together and work to grow a stronger community.”
There are many benefits to participating in the event, Linck said. While last year he only got through 15 pages of his issue before sleep commanded him to head home, a good story idea came out of the event, Linck said. This year, his goal is to complete the comic, which won’t hit the web until this winter.
But more than anything, the event gives comic artists the opportunity to bounce ideas off of one another.
“When you’re doing a comic, you’re usually working by yourself,” Linck said. “I just advise people to come with ideas and an open and creative mind.”
Participants don’t have to be experienced comic artists — in the past comics have been created using stick figure characters. According to the event’s website, 24hourcomics.com, many comic characters face a blizzard or fall into a dark pit in the later pages of the comic — allowing artists to use a pure black or white page.
Coffee and energy drinks are an additional supply that might be useful for many artists. Staying awake is a major challenge for participants, Linck said.
“Last year, I left in the middle of the night, but there were people lying down on the couch for naps,” Linck said. “It’s not necessarily stressful, but just trying to be motivated to keep working when you’re that tired.”
Nevertheless, the event offers participants an opportunity to get back in the swing of comic artistry, whether they are seasoned veterans or are putting the ink to the page for the first time.
“It’s sort of magical how it happens when you’re doing it so quickly,” Linck said. “I liken it to improv — you make things up on the fly and go with it. This is the comic book version of it.”
Phineus + Magician for Hire 