Fri. June 21, 2002. 4:42 a.m. Well, it's official. My first 24-hour comic! Been meaning to do one for a while. Solitary confinement, too. Wow. Of course, it's not really a stretch for me. I've been alone for longer. I suppose I should describe my setting. I'm in my bedroom, (obviously), which is a wonderful blank white all over. Walls, ceilings, floor-- all white! Very conducive to mental decay, I'd imagine. The only real decoration is all this stuff I've got taped up on one wall-- all character sketches and technical stuff on my next big project. I have a big jug of water (probably not enough) and a casserole dish full of assorted leftovers. The food doesn't matter, really. I've actually barricaded the door. Not effectively, you understand, but there's something about having a stack of boxes there that makes me feel sequestered. The one thing I do not have is a computer. All the computers are in the communal area, so I'll have to bring this project to "completion" without digital assistance, and that means hand lettering. Ugh. It also means I'm writing out this log on paper, to be transcribed later. I have no idea. Well, I have ideas, but nothing I can use. To be honest, my biggest fear is of finishing 24 pages of utter crap in eight hours.

6:04 am Well, I have a story-- an idea, anyway. I stared at a blank sheet of paper until it came to me. I have definite drawings of Eddie, sketches of other characters, and two double-sided pages of roughs. It's very Electric Sheep, but there's no law against that.

7:01 am Four double-sided pages of roughs. At this rate, (two-double sided pages per hour) I'll be done the roughs in eight hours. I don't know if I can spare that. Perhaps from here on it I should plot out sketches right on paper I intend to use. All this text... Oy. Not good. I don't like to write...

8:00 am Done the first panel. Not a good sign. I definitely have to speed up.

8:13 am Done first page. Better, but still too slow. Must go faster! Haven't left my chair since I started.

9:16 am Still haven't left the chair. Two pages inked. That's an hour a page, I guess. Little more. Gotta speed up!

10:00 am Third page done. My hand and my butt are quite sore-- how on earth am I going to make it through 21 more? Still haven't eaten. I won't until noon. Eddie's voice sucks, but that's what you get when you hurry.

10:36 am Fourth page. Hours: 6 Pages: 4. Cramped. Feel like I'm sprinting into a brick wall, artistically speaking.

11:06 am Fifth page-- Egyptian Establishing shot. Establishing shots suck. My sister, Hannah, has started playing her music. I actually find it welcome background noise. Perhaps I need to get up for a few seconds, stretch my legs.

11:55 am Six Pages. Breakfast Time. I need a break. Hours: 7 Pages: 6

12:02 pm Had a a few mouthfuls of everything-- just a snack, really. Haven't had a bathroom break yet. Back to work-- I think I"m going to insert a page here-- Freestylin', wish me luck!

1:19 pm Aaargh. That last page took a long time. Six Panels. Panels: 26 Pages: 7 Hours Elapsed:9 I'm really feeling tired. I basically didn't sleep last night-- I was concerned about this. I'm going to set the alarm for fifteen minutes and nap on the floor.

1:37 pm Didn't actually sleep per se, but I lay down for a while. That's got to be good. Think I'll eat some more before continuing.

2:32 pm 8 pages. 1/3 of the way through. Dratted pen gradient... this would be much faster with a computer.

3:16 pm 9 pages. I'm definitely spending less than an hour a page, but will it be enough? Out of roughs-- improvization all the way. Oh dear.

3:56 pm 10 pages. Give my family their due-- they may be loud, but they respect a keep out sign. I've put a second glove on my left hand-- makes it harder to handle pages, but at least I don't leave blue thumbprints. This is progressing well, I think. Not so much as a twinge out of my bladder. Think I'll have a snack...

4:36 pm Eleven pages, HALF TIME. Not too bad, really, considering that I needed time to come up with the idea and that the last few pages will be pretty simple. My hand's crampin' up something fierce, though. All this analog writing... ugh.

5:13 pm Twelve pages. The other halfway point. I'm really surprised at my energy. I have just gone for twelve hours drawing. That's a big deal, to me. I hate erasing. I always wrinkle the paper.

6:04 pm Thirteen pages. Another six-paneler. Yeesh.

6:56 pm Fourteen. That one was mostly text. Ouch. Still, it's a major plot twisty one. We're comin' up on the end! ...in ten more hours. Hopefully less.

7:26 pm Fifteen. A rather well-put-together page, if you ask me. Very evocative.

8:10 pm Sixteen. Lots of bold lines and action stuff-- this is as mangaish as I get. I don't like that third panel with the finger-- ew. Still, I don't think I'll have time to fix it. I'm thinking of putting in another page between 15 and 16. The change of mood is too abrupt. Some twinges in the bladder, but I can hold it. Hours: 15 1/2 Pages: 16 Panels: 56(?)

8:25 pm Seventeen was easy, obviously. I like easy.

9:01 pm Eighteen was repetitive.

9:29 pm Nineteen. Or, rather, sixteen, with all above sixteen moving up one. Five pages to go. I need a finale. I have seven hours. Oh yeah.

9:43 pm Read through what I had, decided the tempo was wrong. Added the second little panel-- the new #19. Good stuff.

10:56 pm Done! And not even a bathroom break! Final count: 18 hours 26 pages 72 panels.