The Long Con #1 Review

The Long Con #1

Writers: Dylan Meconis, Ben Coleman
Artist: EA Denich
Colorist: M. Victoria Robado
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Oni Press

Review by Michael Farris, Jr.

The Long Con #1 introduces the longest running Comic-Con…at least it was until a cataclysmic event centered around the con created a post-apocalyptic world. The idealistic journalist Victor, who was at the Con when the event happened, is striking out on story ideas with his editor. (Un)fortunately for Victor, his boss has a new idea: go back to the con and write about what you see outside of the quarantine zone. Victor goes back to the convention center but doesn’t seem quite prepared for what he discovers.

The release date of this book can’t be coincidental. San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and I’m sure more than a few people are back at home feeling the burnout. This book asks: what if that con lasted forever?

The aspect of this book I think I appreciated the most was the balance of a gritty post-apocalyptic world with humor. Actually, who am I kidding? This book is mostly humor, and it is perfect. It almost makes the apocalypse look adorable, if slightly unsettling. But there’s so much included in the story, the dialogue, and the details that emphasize the quirky and goofy humor throughout the book. The Star Trek-like show, the reference to journalists feeling out of place at a nerd convention, and so much more had me completely engaged.

And then I got to the end of the book. Have you ever been drinking the best coffee of your life, you go for another sip, and then you find out there’s no more coffee left? That’s what it was like when I got to the end of the book. There’s a lot of mystery and unknowns that you’re dying to find out about, but that will just have to wait until the next issue!

The art works in complete tandem with the story. Like I said, there’s no shortage of humor, and the art is almost Scott Pilgrim-esque in character design, and the backgrounds and details are worth mining for extra laughs.

Verdict: Buy it.

The description of a post-apocalyptic comic-con that runs forever had me intrigued, and I’m happy to report that intrigue paid off. It’s a humorous but enthralling story that you won’t mind being stuck in forever.