24-Hour Comic Challenge

Fri., Aug. 20, 2 p.m., free, Atomic City Comics, 638 South St., 215-625-9613, bestphillycomics.com.

by Eric Henney

[ all in a day's work ]

Creating your average comic book usually takes extensive collaboration and weeks or months to produce. But, as any veteran of the 24-Hour Comic Challenge will tell you, that's child's play. Originally developed in 1990, the Challenge hosts a small group of comic writers and artists who must write, pencil, ink, color and letter a full 24-page comic from scratch over the span of one day. You wanna sleep or eat? Do it on your own time. The clock stops for nothing, and no sketches, designs or summaries may be brought in beforehand. Philly's participating for the first time this year, and seven brave local artists will attempt the challenge: 24-Hour vet Pete Stathis, Raphael Tiberino, Steven Peters, Brett J. Hopkins, Andrea "Dre Time" Grigoropol, Jason Clarke and Colleen Groh — who, as the greenest writer, must serve the other artists snacks and coffee while completing her own comic. Host venue Atomic City Comics will stay open throughout, running a number of sales, including the artists' own prints and comics. A portion of proceeds benefit Kids Need to Read.