First off, my laptop is picking up a wireless signal again, which I am happy. I got a PC recently to replace the clunker I usedto have. I'm having a tough time getting online with it, though. But I'm psyched to have high-speed again!

Anyway, this past weekend was 24-Hour Comics Day. It started Saturday at noon, and wrapped up the next day at noon. It was founded by Scott McCloud, author of "Understanding Comics". The object is to create a 24-page comic book within the space of 24 hours. I'd never done it before, but cartoonist friends of mine have. I worried that I wouldn't be able to make it. But I decided I'd try it at least once in my life.

It was held at my old school, the California College of Art. So I went down. There were just five of us there: me, Meredith, Mike, Jeffrey M. and Carmen. I knew everyone except Carmen. The turnout was small, probably because there were no SF Bay Area locations listed for the nationwide event. Some of my buddies in the Cartoonist Conspiracy had their own, unofficial 24-Hour Comics Day, and Scott McCloud was probably miffed about it.

Anyway, what I did was, I drew two pages to a 9"x12" sheet. I figured it would be easy to photocopy onto 8.5"x11", and make into a mini-comic. Plus, I found that it saved me time. I could do a two-page sheet in just over an hour. I managed to take a few breaks, to eat and such. I'd brought my lunch, and got dinner at a nearby taqueria. I did have to rest my eyes and hands every so often, but I didn't need any naps yet. Some strong coffee helped, I think!

About midnight, campus security came along wanting to be sure we were supposed to be there. Meredith had arranged for us to have access to that room all night. But we were getting the impression that they didn't want us hanging around. So we went to Meredith's house in the lower Haight. Carmen drove us over. So we just hung around, drawing. I took a couple of naps as the night wore on. By daybreak, Meredith had passed out. So Jeffrey M. suggested we leave so she and her housemates wouldn't be disturbed.

We then changed venue, to a pastry shop on Steiner St. We had some breakfast there, and worked more on the comics. Carmen finished hers first, and she was exhilirated! Our little group soon broke up. I hadn't finished yet, but I was on the last page. I took a bus home. There, I wrapped up my comic. I beat the deadline by about an hour and a half! So I celebrated with a well-earned nap!