Contact: Amanda Emmert
info@comicspro.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

24 HOUR COMICS DAY SET FOR OCT. 3

BAWLS Guarana returns as sponsor

ComicsPRO invites comic book artists of any caliber to bounce into a local comic-book store on Oct. 3 to take part in the 6th annual 24 Hour Comics Day. The event will again be sponsored by energy drink BAWLS Guarana.

The idea behind 24 Hour Comics Day is for artists to set aside 24 consecutive hours to create a 24-page comic book. It’s a test of skill, and of endurance.

“We are thrilled to be the Official FUEL of 24 Hour Comics Day for the second year in a row and are excited to provide that needed boost to keep comic book artists all over the country working through the night!” said Marie Navarro, senior marketing manager for BAWLS.

24 Hour Comics Day was created by Nat Gertler, publisher of About Comics. ComicsPRO took over administration of the event in 2008. In 2008, more than 2000 people participated in the event in 34 U.S. states and 20 countries.
Host sites should register at www.24hourcomicsday.com. U.S. host sites can pick up 2 cases of BAWLS energy drink for their event.

ABOUT COMICSPRO: ComicsPRO is a 501(c)6 non-profit trade organization uniting independent comic book storefront retailers to share resources and to promote comics as an important part of popular culture and literature.
Further information may be found about ComicsPRO at http://www.ComicsPRO.org.

ABOUT BAWLS: Named for the “bounce” the drink packs, BAWLS Guarana is a refreshing, high-caffeine soda infused with guarana – a naturally-caffeinated berry harvested in the Amazonian rainforest. Since 1996, the guarana goodness of BAWLS – smooth, citrus crème soda taste, eye-catching packaging and naturally-caffeinated kick – has fueled the days and nights of millions of heavy-eyed students, techies, gamers and comic book fans everywhere!

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ComicsPRO will be announcing soon that BAWLS Energy Drink will be sponsoring 24HCD again this year. U.S. host venues will be receiving information about how to get 2 free cases of BAWLS for their 24HCD events. More details coming soon!

From Patrick Donley:

We will be joined at this great event by my pal, AiT-Planet Lar publisher Larry Young!

AiT/Planet Lar is a pop-culture company dedicated to bringing high-quality entertainment to the masses through the creation of original projects or producing works deserving of wider recognition. AiT/Planet Lar provides a full range of services from concept to completion including writing, art management, lettering, advertising and promotion, prepress production, ancillary merchandise, and print management. Currently the company is focused on producing Original Graphic Novels to be distributed through mass-market bookstores, Amazon.com, and specialty bookshops around the world.

Larry will be hanging out, reviewing portfolios, and, well, if you know Larry, being Larry!

More info to come!

Patrick Donley
Time Tunnel Comics & Collectibles
300 Mt Lebanon Blvd
Lebanon Shops
Pittsburgh, PA 15234
(412) 207-2911
timetunnelpgh@comcast.net

Registrations are underway! Register as a host venue at the 24hourcomicsday.com website using the Host Registration Form.

If you plan to do the 24-Hour Comics challenge by yourself and post your comics hourly to your own website, you can register as a Digital Participant. Just fill out the registration form with your name and email address, and for the venue address just put the URL of the site where you’ll be posting the comics!

If you’ve registered already and don’t see your venue up on the site, please be patient! Web updates are running slow but we’ll have everyone up there very soon! If it’s been a week and you didn’t receive an acknowledgement of your registration, please email us at 24hcd@comicspro.org.

Thank you!

Hey guys!

Don’t worry–you will still be able to register your 2009 venue, we’re just having problems with our online registration form.

The venues that are currently listed on the site are from the 2008 event, and we’ll be replacing those when we can finally start registration for 2009, which will be as soon as possible!

Thank you!

The 24HCD committee has announced this year’s 24HCD date: October 3, 2009!

Registration will begin on June 1, 2009 at the 24-Hour Comics Day Website.

ComicsPRO, the trade association for comic book retailers, will continue to administer and advertise the event–we look forward to another successful year! Stay tuned for registration and more details.

Nat Gertler, founder of 24-Hour Comics Day, sent along this comic strip by Kevin Cannon:

http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=5949

Event reports from around the world give us a total 2008 estimate of over 2000 participants in 34 U.S. states and 20 countries. Congratulations, again, to all of the 24HCD host venues for a very successful event!

One thank-you, sent to Brave New World in California, sums up many of the participant emails we’ve received since mid-October:

Just wanted to say thank you very much again for the amazing experience that was the 24 Hour Comic Drawing Challenge. I had never participated in one before and didn’t know what to expect. You guys were wonderful and made the evening and subsequent morning very enjoyable indeed. What’s more, I came away from it much more confident in my artistic abilities and also more excited and inclined to draw whenever I can.
So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

-Andy

Congratulations to the 24HCD participants this year–great work! See you again next year!