Hourly Comics Day is a tradition apparently invented by Simone Veil of Pictures For Sad Children in 2006. I got started in high school, when I was really into drawing and reading webcomics. This page contains every surviving hourly comic since 2014.
I don’t really draw comics anymore, but I’ve kept participating in HCD through the years. They serve as a kind of fossil record of what my day-to-day was like, and how I draw my current haircut. Some themes repeat: I have a personal tradition of listening to Invasion by Savant, which was brand-new on HCD 2015, and my last few comics are typically about the fatigue of drawing comics.
2014
2014 was the first year I attempted HCD. I did not complete the mission. I put up some late-night strips and then had to go help my dad in the woodshop for most of the afternoon. The next thing I posted after 11AM was a tweet reading “THERE IS SAWDUST IN MY NOSTRILS.”
2015
In 2015 I was a junior in high school and I was, as you'll see, an annoying dork. It was also one of the years that HCD falls on Super Bowl Sunday, which has probably happened again but this is the only time I documented it.
(Note: Scott McCloud did not invent Hourly Comics Day.)
2016
In 2016 I did not do Hourly Comics Day because I had to be at school. I probably could have anyway but most of the comics would have been like “I’m at school still.”
2017
This was my freshman year of college. You can see me making up for the hasty, straight-to-ink drawings by sourcing a wacky assortment of paper.
2018
This is easily the most artistic effort I’ve ever put into HCD. Looking back I’m not sure how I pulled this one off while also going to class and stuff.
2019
Another DNF this year. You can see these getting hastier and worse throughout the day, and by the time I was headed home from the bar I guess I just didn’t feel like seeing it through.
2020
This is the most visually slapdash day on record, including an honestly cruel depiction of my friend Charlie. However, I did make up for 2019’s bailout by including some bonus after-midnight strips.
2021
February 1st, 2021 hit while I was briefly living at my parents’ place during COVID, so this one features my little brother again.
2022
This was my last year of college, and the only time I had access to a nice scanner for all my hourlies.
2023
2023 was my first winter in Pittsburgh. I took off from my screen-shop job and told everybody I had a dentist appointment or something. Here we can see some more recurring themes emerge: I typically try to get off work, buy an anniversary present for my partner, and we usually get Thai food from our neighborhood place.
2024
2024 marked my tenth year of hourly comics (not counting 2016). Prety decent level of polish on these, though I wish I had better scans of them.
2025
2025 was my actual tenth year of hourly comics. I also decided to put this archive together, so if you’re here on a subsequent HCD, please wish this website a happy birthday.
2026
This year for some reason the chore of HCD weighed on me more than usual. I ended up doing some shorter ones to lighten the load.
© 2014–2026 Jack Grimes. Made by human labor.