Convention Confessional

Posted: Tuesday, September 6, 2005
By: Darren Schroeder

Creators: Robert Reilly and Steven Walters
Publisher: Self Published.
Address: 10 Kettering Ct, Robbinsville, MJ, 08691, USA.
Price: $2.95(US), 3.95 Can

The tragic comedy of small press publishing comes to life in this louder than life collection of short tales from the floors of several comic conventions. The queues, the lack of sales, the soul destroying 3 word critiques from complete strangers are all here, along with a few lighter moments.

Though I have walked in the shadows of comic conventions I fear no evil because the power of comics is with me. At least, That's what I tell my self. Conventions can be very demoralising. You sit waiting for the public to buy all your comics, but they seldom do. At the ones I attend in New Zealand all the kids just run past on there way to find some gaming cards or get the autograph of the voice talent for some anime series. Seems life isn't to dissimilar in the states for the one of these stories.

I found myself laughing out loud at some of the exploits of the Steve and Rob. They show us the down side of the conventions, but keep a sense of humour about the whole experience. They give some people a hard time for being arrogant and and rude, but don't take any cheap shots at the strange mass of humanity that make up the convention going crowd.

The artwork adds to the comedic tone of the book by leaping into pure fantasy elements in amusing exaggerations of the events described. The angry comic creator "hulks out" in anger and confronts the draconian convention staff. This is what the comic format is perfect for, and Steve and Robert know how to make it come together on the page, making their points well and entertaining the reader at the same time.

This is an essential buy for any comic creator who attends conventions, but should also make for a worthwhile read for the innocent bystanders. If you see these guys at a convention, go buy one of their comics, it will cheer both them and you up at the same time.

In a Word: Merrymaking

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