Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova
Dramacon
by Svetlana Chmakova
Tokyopop
Volume 1: 1598161296
Volume 2: 159816130x
This is a great series written by Svetlana Chmakova who will be at the Teen Book Festival in Fairport NY on March 31.
Quick Description: Dramacon is a romantic dramedy about a romance that blooms over the course of several years at an anime convention.
Christie is a budding writer who is attending an anime convention for the first time in her life. She and her artist boyfriend, Derek, get a table in the artist alley to promote a self-published ashcan comic that she wrote and he drew.
Derek is a little too taken with the attention all the female cosplayers are paying him, which upsets Christie and forces her to deal with the player side of Derek that she had ignored up until now. Things quickly become more complicated, especially after she bumps into Matt, a handsome — but shy — cosplayer.
I have some comics that I really like, but I LOVED this one. I read them and then I read them three more times, all in the same sitting. Now I understand why some teens really dig manga. Fruits Basket, Kare Kano and From Far Away are some of my favorites, but this one blows them all away. And guess what? You’re not going to believe this, but she’s not even Japanese! Svetlana was born and raised in Russia, and came to Canada at 16. Its neat that she actually brings this up through one of characters who is a non-Japanese writer.
In the comic some people complain that if the artist isn’t Japanese, it can’t be real manga. But she insists that manga isn’t based on a person’s ancestory, but on the style of the art as well as the style of the writing. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to change people’s minds.
However, that’s not really all that the comic is about. What its REALLY about is Christie. Christie writes stories for manga artists…. well one artist really. Her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who is a little mean. Well really he’s a lot mean. They go to the Comicon to show off their comic book and while there Christie learns a little more about herself and her boyfriend. While there, she meets Matt, who teachs her even more about herself.
