The story is in three volumes, each one a different year for Christie at a manga convention. It was hilarious--one of those books I couldn't read in a public place because of the stares--and sweet, using the melodramatic spazziness manga has to hit all the right emotional notes for the characters and make it realistic and over the top at the same time.

The art is great, switching styles just a little bit to suit the tone of each scene. It's subtle, funny, and it works. It's also easy to follow, which is important for me because without clear art I can't figure out what's going on or who's speaking, no matter what country the comic book's from.

Although I've never been to a real con, I think it captured the atmosphere really well. The first volume is the funniest and simplest, with the only big plotline being Christie meeting Matt, that handsome black-coated guy on the cover. The second volume is more serious, adds more characters and has more real-life-like drama. The third volume doesn't have as much stuff about the con itself because it's keeping track of all the characters, but it's an excellent conclusion. (There may be a fourth volume in the works, but a google search and Svetlana Chmakova's website didn't give me that impression.)

http://fatalisfortuna.blogspot.com/20... ( )

Excellent, sweet and funny! I loved it! ( )

Kearsten says: This was excellent, sweet and funny! I loved it! ( )

I'll be honest: I was a tad wary of DramaCon when I first opened it. A good deal of the OEL I'd read up until that point hadn't been terribly impressive, tending towards parody rather than actually embracing the medium.

I'm glad to say that is definitely not an issue with Volume 1 of DramaCon. Svetlana Chmakova's art is impressive and consistent (her layouts are particularly good), and her writing is solid. The humor probably won't entirely win over those who aren't firmly embedded in the anime & manga community, but for those who are, it's pretty spot-on. The manga takes place entirely at a large anime convention, and Chmakova definitely has built a pitch perfect fictional con. I'm definitely interested at seeing what she could do with other settings.

Perhaps most striking, though, is that Chmakova has a handle not only on what makes a good shoujo manga tick, but also how to adapt shoujo for a Canadian/American audience. The title doesn't lie; the book is full of the delicious sort of drama that's ever-present in shoujo, but the characters are generally well-rounded, likable, and, for the most part, completely believable. Christie, the main character, is neither Super Woman nor a pushover; she feels very real.

All in all, a definite recommendation, even to those who don't typically read OEL. ( )

Dramacon is a great book to read if you like some one but that person later becomes your friend and you don't know what to do. ( )