Dramacon, Volume 1

Dramacon is a manga for everyone who's ever gone to an anime convention or simply wanted to attend one. It packs all the excitement, humor, disappointments, and sheer craziness of an anime convention in a smaller, paper and ink format which is much easier for home consumption than a full-sized convention.

Volume one introduces us to Christie, an aspiring comic author attending her first convention. With her are Derek, her artist and boyfriend, and two friends, all of whom clearly have prior con experience under their belts. Christie finds the con scene a bit intimidating -- from transportation issues and lost reservations to crazy cosplayers and huge crowds, it all gets to be overwhelming to a newcomer. But her friends don't notice her show more floundering-- especially not Derek who is too busy flirting with scantily clad cosplayers under the guise of selling their comic.
Frustrated beyond words, Christie takes off by herself into the con, where she runs into a mysterious cosplayer, a handsome guy in dark shades with a few insecurities of his own...

Dramacon is one of several OEL (Original English Language) manga launched by Tokyopop. I know, OEL manga makes people roll their eyes. But try this one before you snub it. Svetlana Chmakova’s grasp of the medium is solid. Her style makes heavy use of manga visual conventions: big eyes and small mouths abound; anger marks, sparkles, and sweatdrops appear during moments of high emotion; and, yes, characters even become chibified. But not content merely to imitate Japanese artists, she has taken these elements and combined them with clean panel layouts and a style all her own.

The story so far will appeal to fans of shoujo first and foremost. Romance definitely plays a central role in this volume -- Will she dump Derek? Will she connect with the cosplayer? -- and there are also hints of a coming of age story, as Christie tries to find her feet not just at the convention but also as a writer. But even fans of anime and manga who do not read much shoujo will find something to enjoy in this one. Between the fun supporting characters, the hidden references to other manga series, and the nods to fan culture, there's something here for every fan. show less

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 show more 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/2009/05/dramacon-all-three-volumes-by-svetlan... show less

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 show more 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. show less

This manga was introduced to me by my brother's girlfriend and I loved it almost immediately. Chris is our heroine and she's a pretty typical high school girl. Except that she's American (or Canadian) whereas most manga are based in Japan.

The whole of this first manga takes place in a weekend; the weekend of the big anime convention. Chris goes to help sell the manga she's written with her boyfriend. Things don't turn out so well when her boyfriend starts schmoozing all over some other girls and Chris (who had never been to a convention) takes off in a blind rage and gets lost. She runs into Matt and it was love at first sight, or it was for me anyway. :) Matt is different. He gets the anime stuff and does the cosplay but the cosplay show more makes him feel like he fits in. Together they're great.

By the end of the con they've gone through a couple of trials and tribulations and want to exchange numbers and somehow they do but nothing comes of it. Christina waits until next year's convention (book 2) to see Matt again.

It's a terrific manga and the first North American manga I've read. It has a briliant defense of American manga the storyline is concise and heartwrenching. show less

Rereading this to gain one iota of dopamine that high school me had when reading this for the first time.

It worked. My heart.

Loved it then. Love it now.

Okay this totally gave me flashbacks from my first time visiting a con earlier this year.

Okay this totally gave me flashbacks from my first time visiting a con earlier this year.