Finally, some reality we can use!

I don't watch Survivor. Let's get that out there right off that bat.

Ditto to American Idol, The Bachelor, etc, etc, etc. Last Comic Standing is okay. I could do without the bit where they all live in a house together, but seeing behind the scenes of stand-up comedy is pretty interesting.

Is "Queer Eye" Reality entertainment? I'm going to un-ashamedly come down in favor of Queer Eye. Say what you want, I am never bored by that show.

But none of this is my point. I'm not blogging to tell you what I do and don't watch. I'm blogging to tell you about some reality internet programming that you may enjoy.

They just launched the second annual Comic Book Idol.

What is "Comic Book Idol," you say?

Go ahead, say it...

CBI is pretty much what you'd think from the title. It's an "American Idol" style elimination contest, but held on the internet, and the contestants are amateur comic book artists. It starts with an open call, where artists are invited to show their work. The selection crew then picks 10 artists to begin the contest. These guys can be professional artists (some are, some aren't), but can not have ever done comics work for money.

Then each Thursday an assignment is posted on the CBI site. The artists have until Monday to complete their task and post it on the site. Judges critique the work for all to read, and the CBI-reading community get to vote for the artist that did the best job. Each week, 2 people (the ones with the least votes) are eliminated. This goes on for 5 weeks until there is one person left. That person gets some pretty cool prizes, including some actual, paid comics work.

The neat thing is that it is a really great look into just how freaking hard it is to a) master the art of comic book storytelling, and b) do the stuff at all in the very short timeframe provided. 3 days may seem like a lot of time to you, but many of these guys don't sleep for a few days to get their assignments done. Believe me, it's a rough competition. Comics take time.

Anyway, the 10 guys this year are really talented, judging by their entry submissions, and they only just gave out the first assignment, so there's plenty of time to jump in. If I've peaked your interest at all, You can follow the action right here.

Also, I'm thinking about trying my own hand at the assignments they dish out. For my own edification. Since I have my own professional obligations to meet, I won't be doing my work under their tight deadlines, but I'll do my best to do the work fairly quickly. I'll notify you hear when I get the task done, and you'll be able to find it on my website.

Are you still awake out there? Something funny next time, I promise.