The Long Con

The Long Con #1

by Dylan Meconis, Ben Coleman, EA Denich (Illustrations)

The world is over, but the con has just begun. Five years ago, a cataclysmic event obliterated everything within a fifty mile radius of the Los Spinoza Convention Center—right in the middle of Long Con, the world's biggest (and longest) pop culture convention. Underdog reporter Victor Lai barely escaped with his life, but his nerdy friend Dez Delaney—publicist for an indie darling comics publisher—wasn't so lucky.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dystopia, Humor, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Teen

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2019

About the author

Dylan Meconis is a cartoonist and writer. She was raised in Seattle, Washington, but now lives in Portland, Oregon.
She is a member of Helioscope, the largest studio of freelance comics creators in North America.
She is married to her wife Katie, and they have a dog named President Teddy Roosevelt.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the apocalypse aspect of this graphic novel, I think it was done quite well and I enjoyed reading about it. The fandom part was a bit messy in my opinion, there was too much and all the names they were saying were just a bother to remember, that's why I gave up after a short while.
The story ended quite abruptly and now I'm curious to see how it will go on.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this. Some kind of cataclysmic event happened around the world's biggest pop culture convention 5 years ago and the con just never ended. I loved how the different pop culture fans eventually peel off into various tribes. Everything inside the con has kind of devolved into Mad Max levels while the humor has a definite Galaxy Quest type vibe. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading the rest of the story.

Received a review copy from Oni and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jump into nerd culture with the Long Con.

The Long Con is the longest pop culture convention. It appears the Convention caused the apocalypse five years previously. Since he survived the Convention’s destruction, reporter Victor is given the assignment to find out what happened.

Slipping back and forth between the post-apocalyptic present and the pre-apocalyptic past, the plot is interesting and includes many details about conventions. I wish that the characterizations were more fleshed out. However, the humor makes up for it. The Long Con is recommended to those who have either been to conventions or wished they had. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

This is maybe more of a 3.5 rounded up but it was pretty fun and I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens next. I feel like it might be sort of a niche title in that you probably need to be pretty into fandom and have been to some kind of convention before to really relate to the whole thing, but I think it's a really great take on the classic post-apocalyptic genre using nerd culture as a structure and also a pretty good commentary on gate-keeping in fandom. The art was good too and I liked all the different designs, definitely planning on reading the next volume.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just couldn’t resist. Cons? Apocalypse? A reporter who survived but lost his friend? And a trip back to that very same con, which is pretty hard to do, to find out what is going on and if anything is still there? Um, sign me up!

I am writing this one while I am reading, so I am sorry if it is a tad confusing.

I loved how the book started off at fences of where the destruction to place and then switches to the guy who survived the event 5 years ago. He is quickly finding out that, surprise surprise people are still alive at the con this day. How the f they survived? No clue, but I was sure interested in finding out how and what, yeah, the wall around the building has saved them from certain poop hitting, but how do you feed so many people for 5 years? I liked that we saw the con as it was + also met our MC’s best friend (as I would call her that given how close they seemed to be).

I loved the reunion between the two friends. I knew it was going to happen, hello cover? Spoiler?:P

Interesting. So the people inside don’t know that the outside is still around. Mm, a group of people told people that the world is now full of fast-walking zombies. Yeah, I can imagine you wouldn’t want to step outside in that. I would stay inside. Then again, wasn’t there anyone who questioned it all? Or I don’t know, maybe looked out of a window? Or something else? I can’t imagine that in 5 years no one truly questioned it.

I am not too sure how I feel about the back and forth between the now and before the events. On the one hand, yay backstory, yay more information about the con, and yay we are building up to the event that is going to happen soon. But also eh, because it really pulled me out of the now events.
It also didn’t help that we saw parts of shows. While it was fun to see those, I was at first confused at what? Why are we in space? Even later when I knew I could expect it I was just utterly confused by it all.

I loved seeing the con, in the now and the before. The before was all colourful and fun, and I loved seeing all the merchandise, the cosplay, the lines for anything and everything, and the now is all apocalypse and doom, yet the people are still cosplaying (though taking it way to serious). Really, where did they get all those fancy things? Guns, I believe cons do have rules about bringing real weapons, so where did they come from? I am guessing the higher ups, or those with guns, do know what is going on outside. We will see.

Loren was… unique. And very weird. But I did love her hair. When I go grey I will definitely go for that hair style + colour (and yes, also her pink/purple from the before events). I would love to dye my hair now, but it would involve pretty much murdering it, and I don’t want that. :P

Um, did my copy just cut-off at the end? Or was that the end of this volume? Our MC enters the resistance’s office/building, and he says: “What the fu–” and that is where it ends. is confused and mildly disappointed

So I guess to find out more we need to read on? Sure, I can do that. I am still very curious about what happened 5 years ago, why everyone is still acting like the con is ongoing, and why no one (or at least most) don’t know about what is going on outside. Also I do love the art!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

content warnings: violence, mentions of cannibalism
representation: vietnamese-american main character, black side character, minor characters of colour


As a nerd, this was a lot of fun to read. The story is set five years after the apocalypse and follows Victor, a reporter who has just been given a seemingly impossible assignment: go back to Long Con, the convention centre where the apocalypse originally broke out. Many apocalyptic shenanigans ensue.

This book transitions between Victor at said convention with an old friend five years ago and him in present day as he navigates the apocalyptic world. The transitions were done really fluidly and with quite a lot of skill when it came to the time jumps. But there would also be times when it would show snippets from classic geeky shows within the universe of the book, and those honestly didn't do much for me.

The characters are currently just fine, none of them really being standouts but also none of them being awful. They definitely have room to grow in future installments, though, so I'm not giving up on any of them just yet.

My favourite part of this was definitely the commentary about fandoms, specifically comic book, sci-fi and fantasy fandoms. There's discussions on how women are seen as automatically inferior in geeky spaces and get called 'fake geek girls', the way that fans feel entitled to their favourite works and creators, the sexist drawings of women in comic books, and many more.

Even though this was just some okay fun I can definitely see the future potential and am excited for what's to come.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Václav · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if the world's biggest (and longest) pop culture convention got stuck in the apocalyptic setting? Let's find out. During the Long Con some cataclysm happened and the Los Spinoza Convention Center, as the centre of fifty-mile radius no-go zone, got stranded for five years from the rest of the world. The World thinks that all attendants of the con are dead, and the surviving attendants have convinced themselves that the rest of the world is a wasteland with roaming zombies. So after five years of this state, one reporter goes in to find his old friend (and get some story along the way). This is fun, a parody on conventions mixed with a post-apocalyptic survival scenario. You get references on real things or made out stuff with resemblance of specific parts in real stuff and lots of jokes of all sorts. Well, it's not super hilarious, but it is fun (and fan service), the setting is nice and the story is quite good. I could recommend it if you're interested in some light reading.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an Adventure Zone sense of humor- this is the book for you. Dylan Meconis (and company) create a post apocalyptic world that is incredibly funny without being super kitschy. The treatment of nerd culture and convention culture is treated sarcastically and satirically but with a loving touch that only a true fan could. One of my favorite things about this book is that the joke doesn’t get old. I’ve read humorous mash ups before and frequently the joke gets old pretty quickly into the book (grrre Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, and Jane Slayer just to name a few). The concept of post apocalyptic world set in a Comic-con like place could easily fall into that trap of great idea but poor execution- but Meconis and her team make characters you like, they create situations that lovingly mock the ridiculous trope of sci-fi fandoms, they create a world that occupies more space that a SNL sketch.

Now I need to track down her vampire satire “Bite Me!”

[Nore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has a really great concept, and I enjoyed the art, but I had an issue with this that I've had with other nerdy media before: Horrifying, overt violence is played off throughout the volume with a sort of lighthearted, joking tone that I have always found offputting. (That scene in Zombieland where a woman is ejected from a car and becomes a meat crayon? I left the room while my friends laughed. I just can't do it, man! I guess I'm too soft-hearted :( )

I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters, either, which is alright for a first volume - but Loren Ipsum, for all that I love her name, was flat-out annoying.

The commentary on gatekeeping running throughout was nice, and I recognized some of the stereotypes from my own friend groups, which got a smile out of me. Altogether, not a bad comic so far; if the sort of funny violence I mentioned doesn't bother you, you'll likely enjoy this more than I did.

[Sinamile · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review

It's like: What would happen if the world ended during Comic Con.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected I would. It's funny, which I liked.

I think the one thing that kind of bothered me, although it it didn't put me off, was the time jumps (though I liked the titles).

Either way, I really liked this and can't wait for more!

[Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was really good. I've never been to a convention because of a lack of friends and an abundance of social anxiety so I can't say how accurate it is to the reality of going to a con but it seemed like this is how it would be? (except this con does take place at the end of the world as we know it and lasts for 5 years, and I don't think that's a normal occurrence) but I still really enjoyed it and all the conversations about fandoms, canon, comics and other nerdy things. This really is a comic for comic lovers and other kinds of geeks/nerds.

I'm not sure how much you're meant to know at the end of the comic about HOW the world became the way it is (in a post-apocalyptic state), but as far as I could see there wasn't really an explanation. Maybe I missed it or it'll be explained in a future volume. I don't really understand either how food isn't more of an issue, there's only one small group of people for whom food seems to be scarce, and no one else seems to mention it or talk about rationing... I guess there is that bit where Dez steals the hotdogs but how are there hotdogs 5 years after the world has ended? Do hotdogs last that long? How haven't they already been eaten? The food was quite confusing to me, and also I don't really understand who the people are who seem to be in power in the con, are they just cosplayers? How are there real weapons there? I basically have lots of logistical questions, and it may be that there's reasoning behind some of these things, or maybe they're just not explained well.

Other than that there really aren't any issues I had with it. I like the humour and the art, and the way it switches between during the con and 5 years after. I liked the characters and that there are a good amount of female characters and POC, and if the series carries on I'd like to continue to read it!

P.S. a couple of other things I liked a lot- there's what I'm assuming is a funko pop parody stall at the con which was cool, and at one point there was a character that looked a lot like an asian Ramona Flowers. So also cool.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published by Oni Press in February of 2019.

The phrase The Long Con has a double meaning this story. Traditionally, a "long con" is a long-term swindle that is being pulled on someone, like a long-term investment fraud.

Meaning #1: In this graphic novel, The Long Con is the biggest Pop Culture Convention in the world. It has been an annual event for 50 years and it lasts a long time. Five years ago, it was location of ground zero of a horrible (unspecified) "cataclysmic event" that destroyed everything in a 50 mile radius. Everyone assumed that the convention hall was destroyed.

Meaning #2: Reporter Victor Lai was sent to cover The Long Con before the disaster - a duty that he considered a punishment. Now, the outside world has noticed signs of life in the convention center and Victor Lai is sent back into the convention center to see what's going on.

Surprise! The convention hall survived! The people inside it survived! And...the attendees are still having the convention - 5 years later! (thus making this a really long convention). They believe that the rest of the world was destroyed because if you head out for 50 miles in any direction it's all obliterated.

Well, to be fair, they are not really having a traditional convention any longer. They are ...

https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2019...

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's quite a decent amount of genre fun to be had here. Our lowly journalist hero, stuck as he is in the outside world post-apocalypse, is sent back to that particular ground zero, which just happened to be a comicon he'd initially tried to cover for an article. Meanwhile, for the last five years, those in the comicon arena have mutated into flesh-eaters, played out their worst tie-in issues in the cosplay halls, separated into indie vs glossy pulp factions (amongst many), and argued the toss over the smallest minutiae of their beloved franchises. The likes of our hero couldn't get a grip on the con back then and still can't now, and the attendees don't know what the real world is like. Yes, the story could have been a lot more coherent, linear and common sense, but in a world when so many meta titles are just arch, this is knowing in a good way, and sends up comicon life quite well. I would say niche audiences will like this, but that never happens, does it? - niche audiences love every single pixel to death.

[Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Usually I gobble up graphic novels in one gulp, but I enjoyed reading this one episodically.

Writing: witty, full of fun references and creative re-dos of tropes, and yet lots of action

I enjoyed the art quite a bit. Was able to follow characters (many graphic novels with this many characters wouldn't differentiate so well) - and not just FOLLOW the characters - the art enhanced me getting to KNOW the characters, plus never lost track of the action -EVEN WITH FLASH BACKS. Also. Funny.

I wonder who did the color? I loved the color.

Going to def buy Long Con 2. Recommended to comic geeks that like comic cons. Disclaimer: I ain't never been to San Diego. I don't get out much, but we have a con-like activity used to be called Phoenix Comic Con which confusingly changed names to Phoenix Fan Fest locally, so I get enough of what's going on that I can sort of "get it".

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Long Con' by Dylan Meconis and Ben Coleman with art by EA Denich is a graphic novel about the apocalypse, and a convention that is still running.

The world may have ended, but not for the folks in the Los Spinoza Convention Center. They still wander the halls and food courts of pop culture. Enter Victor Lai, a reporter who breaks in and finds his friend Dez Delaney. They travel the halls of geekdom gone long.

It's an ok premise. I think I would have liked more apocalypse and less con. There is a lot of nerd humor, although the properties that are mocked are hidden to avoid scrutiny by studio lawyers. The art was not my style and felt a bit loose.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Heli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this story is really great. Five years ago the world ended. The Long Con has been going strong ever since. Victor the reporter was there when it happened, but managed to get out. Now five years later he's back. We don't know exactly what happened five years ago. Everything you could think happening in a dystopian future is happening. We go back and forth in time and see what's going on in the lives of these characters.
It's a funny story. Illustrations are good and I liked the colors. I believe the story will continue and I'll be in the lookout for the next installment.
Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for a copy of this book.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I absolutely ADORED this book. While reading I constantly kept bothering my boyfriend to read bits I found extra hilarious and/or relevant to our congoing experience. The worldbuilding was top notch, and the illustrations were a hoot - I loved matching the past bits to their post-apocalyptic state in the present panels! I dragged out reading this as long as I could just to make it last and will definitely be seeking out future issues on my own. Highly, highly recommended!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

[McKinlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher. This does not affect my review.*

[3.5 stars] This was a bit weird if I'm being honest. But I felt like it was sort of a commentary on gate-keeping in fandoms, while also being a fun and quirky romp through an apocalypse story. It ended very abruptly though. I'd like to read more, which I guess says something about the story. Hopefully the series keeps going.

[Kristin Lansdown · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of nerd culture this is definitely for you. An apocalyptic catastrophic of a never described nature happens and the area around the convention has been quarantined but the con never stopped! It’s been five years and folks have been living in the convention center, cosplay has devolved into real life roles, food is hard to come by except for hot dog carts. It’s madness! And a fun title with my favorite style of art (idk what it’s called by Oni Press always gives it to me).

[Lizzbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a really enjoyable book, and because of the range of characters you meet--the unflappable pro, the convention newbie, the various hard-core convention-goers--it's really a welcoming book to all, whether you're contemplating going to your first convention or you've been to/worked WAY TOO MANY. It's delightful.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have found this funnier had I actually ever been to any kind of con, but I still thought it was a fun and entertaining graphic novel. I kind of wish they would have just used fandom of shows that already existed because the fandoms they fabricated just took more work to learn about. I liked it, but I probably won't bother to continue the series.

[Tabrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of science fiction or comic book conventions but I was able to appreciate the humor and the absurdity of this world that was created. This is for the fans that wish that the comic books conventions never end.

[Scott Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hysterical satire of a Comics/SF convention 5 years after an apocalyptic event. Lively cartoony art complements the engaging story. Recommended for fans of pop culture.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly, funny and enjoyable. Wonderfully expressive art and a ridiculously great premise.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bunch of not-very-funny convention jokes and not much else.

[Matthew Archibald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. I'm going to read Volume 2 when it comes out.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

the level of meta-nerdiness in this book was... staggering

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart. Funny. Insightful. Nerdy af.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book quite a bit for diving deep into multiple fan cultures of comics and movies and TV. There is also quite a nice focus on race and gender in fans and these media industries.

[Stephanie Metz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read and had really smart takes on fan culture. I’m looking forward to vol. 2!