Pros and (Comic) Cons

by Hope Nicholson

Following the bestselling The Secret Loves of Geeks comes this brand-new anthology featuring comics and prose stories by cartoonists and professional geeks about the world of comic book conventions from the guests who've attended them across the world. Featuring stories that are funny, sad, sweet, embarrassing, and heartfelt; of a geek culture life that shapes us, encourages us, and exhausts us every summer.

Featuring work by Brian Michael Bendis ( The Man of Steel ), Jim Zub ( Wayward ), Kieron Gillen ( The Wicked and the Divine ), Sina Grace (Iceman), and many more.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, Anthologies, LGBT, Short Stories, Fandom

200 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2019

About the author

Hope Nicholson is the owner of Winnipeg-based publishing Bedside Press. She's an ardent comics fan passionate about bringing new stories to light, and author of the book "The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen" which shines light on characters forgotten by comics history.

Reviews

[Amanda Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't put into words how much I enjoyed this!

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ode to comic cons, the good and the bad - but really mostly good :)

[Lainy122 · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know when you love something so much you can only make unintelligible noises about how good it is? And then someone comes along and articulates everything you adore in perfect prose and fantastic art?
Yeah, this is that. :D
I picked this up because I love Comic Conventions and also Kieron Gillen, and was tickled pink to find a story by the wonderful Kris Straub in here too! Super chuffed!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5. I'd like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been to many cons so I was excited to read this. With that being said, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. There was chapters inside that weren't comics and some of the stories fell flat for me.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mix of stories, some of which resonates more than others. My favorites were the shorts, where odd little moments are captured, like the dinosaur cosplay battle or the economy of buying comics.

[Gamal Hennessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and often charming look at comic book conventions through the eyes of some professionals who thrive in that strange world.

[Dani St-Onge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore books about fandom, and conventions are particularly precious to me. They've been an exciting part of every summer for me since 2006. I was thrilled to see an anthology rotating around them and some of the stories and comics were just as fascinating as I'd hoped, but like most anthologies not everything quite hit the mark.

Pros and (Comic) Cons leans towards the experiences of professionals at cons, of which I have non unofficial minor experience hanging around booths run by family friends etc. I've even recently sold a couple of prints at a con, so these were not inaccessible viewpoints to me, but the lack of variety of view points was definitely notable.

In fact, the best stories and comics were the ones that talked a lot about being a fan and captured the small beautiful moments of cons that can't happen anywhere else. A stranger buying your book, perfectly capturing someone's OC in a sketch, an inflatable dino battle, being stuck in con crush etc. I can definitely see that during the year it was published, when Covid took out most cons, it would have been a beacon of warmth in those times.

However, too many of the stories fell flat for more. While many of the professionals stories touched on being fans as well, some of them felt without point. Comics or stories that seemed to assume the reader would know them and their work already diving right into name dropping other people the reader should know who were all at a hotel or dinner together one time. These stories didn't feel like they had heart or any reason to be told other than "isn't this neat?". The kind of story a buddy would tell you after a vacation, not one that would be published in an anthology about the love of conventions.

I do think those wanting to get into comics will find some unique knowledge here, and I was tickled to see my favourite con mentioned which is rare because I'm Canadian. There were hits here, and a couple of pieces that were touching. The art was pretty and the prose wasn't often painful; but anthologies often end up too mixed to be truly strong.

[Alex Sarll]

Much like the Secret Loves Of Geeks anthologies, with the same editor and format, including alternating prose and comics. But this time it's a celebration (with occasional reservations) specifically of conventions. I was wondering how much I'd get out of it, having only ever attended the anomalous, fabulous, frustrating, much-missed, doomed example of the form that was Nine Worlds, but...well, that turned out to be more than enough to follow along. Contributions range from big names (Bendis, teaming up with Oeming again, reminding me how funny he can be when he's not being utterly misused on the wrong superhero books or taking years between issues of his own stuff) to young people you've never heard of trying to be fun!!! while offering earnest advice, and at least making it as far as endearing. The most trying entry was probably the old-timer still getting excited by the bargains he picked up half a century ago, because what has that to do with my life; the one which most affected me, inevitably, was the convention dancefloor reminiscences of Kieron Gillen, because not at Thought Bubble, but I've seen what that man can do with a disco, so that's my generation's nostalgia, which is obviously far more poignant and important.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a smorgasbord of stories and insights into the Comic Con culture, presented in both graphic and text forms, from a variety of perspectives. It's better than average quality for a collection, with pieces like Anthony Oliveira's "A Queer Guide to Comic Con" (which also is helpful for non-Queer visitors) and Bryan Hill's "The Outsider" being high points to me among the written pieces, and Kieron Gillan & Julia Scheele's "Thought Bubble" my favorite of the graphic pieces. But there are a lot of good to great selections to choose from - the weakest piece wasn't bad, it just sounded like a newspaper article. I appreciated the variety of perspectives provided, both on the level of attendees, exhibitors, and press and also on the LGBTQ and Minority spectrums - Hope Nicholson did a very good job at aiming for full representation, which definitely enhanced the quality of the book. I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of cons and also to someone who has never gone - it does a good job of selling the experience without sugarcoating it.

[Nadina · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I found this in the adult graphic novels section at the library. The title sounded cool and so I checked it out.
I was a bit disappointed when I realized it was half comics and half short stories (well I guess prose is what I realized as I was reading (prose and comics...that was pretty good planning for a title though I did miss that).
So I ended up reading through the comics first. Most of them were pretty good, some of them were not surprising, others gave an inside look at the world of conventions that I wasn't aware of. I mean all of them gave a look into the convention world that I am not really a part of, but some aspects were cool to read, others I just couldn't relate to.
I then went on to read the prose passages, there were a couple of good ones, and a couple of relatable paragraphs. I found others to be quite tedious however.
Honestly, I feel very indifferent about this in the end, and I can not say either way if I would recommend it or not.

[steph🌸 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of both comics and prose that go over various experiences at comic conventions. Maybe it’s intentionally a pun on prose and comics? Not sure.

Most of the stories were fine but the collection itself is truly a mixed bag (as most collections of this sort seem to be), and a few stories felt kind of pointless to be included and the a lot of the prose pieces felt ramble-y and some even felt preach-y or better-than-thou. Some of the prose felt like it all went on so much longer than any of the comics and none of the stories flowed nicely into the next one. Most comics are told from the perspective of someone who works a comic con in some capacity (some even offer a bit of comic career path guidance), so I would’ve enjoyed some other points of view, like the average con goer.

There was also one section of prose that joked about suicide in an unsettling manner.

[Lex Ophiuchus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful collection of essays from editor Hope Nicholson. While I prefer her first two, this one had some good stuff.

Though the stories by Tim Seeley and Bud Plant… Oof. Those were tough to get through. Plus I’m always confused when an otherwise feminist, queer, and inclusive book includes content by creators like Tim Seeley. To go from writers who explore how it feels to work in male-dominated fields (being underestimated, excluded, and objectified) to how Seeley portrays women in the most male-gazey way. Just weird.

I’d rather conclude with some fantastic ones! A Queer Guide to Comic Con, A Writer in Artist Alley, Crunch, The Pastel Take Away, Mistakes Were Made, Cree Supergirl, and Dino Rumble.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice getting an insider/industry perspective on cons in this format, because while I attend them, I've never vended or been a guest, and it changes the experience quite a bit. I love this format of a mix of comics and essays, because it breaks things up and makes it so if you're feeling just like reading the comics, you can, or vice-versa. The diversity of voices and experiences (except that basically everyone mentioned hand sanitizer, which I thought was hilarious) was very heartwarming to read. Also, there's some pretty solid advice in there!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, this was cute but not something I'd probably come back to. It made me nostalgic for all the cons that were canceled this year, but the stories were definitely a mix between sweet and not memorable.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of illustrated and prose stories centered around the fun and craziness of comic conventions. I laughed a lot at these stories since many of them recount experiences I've witnessed, Despite the trials the convention community is something that is hard to let go of if you ever step into it. A great read.

[Severind Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly just not the book for me. I think I went into it expecting something else and was a bit disappointed by what I got instead. The stories weren't all that engaging and I didn't bother reading any of the written essays. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read those, but I just wanted a fun graphic novel and felt more impatient with this one than anything.

[Bookbabble · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever been to a comic-con and wanted to know what it’s like on the other side of the booths and tables, this is the book for you! This is a beautifully curated anthology of stories from people in the industry.

[Anna Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This prose and comics anthology read like a yearbook of fondly remembered convention experiences, mostly to do with San Diego Comicon, but others included as well. It was the perfect book to read as i console myself after Emerald City Comic Con was postponed due to Covid-19 this year.

[Dax · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed many of the stories and got the warm fuzzies of being reminded of my past con experiences, there was nothing really moving or amazing. I do feel like this is the book for you if you want to get into creating comics or working the con scene.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Make a comic or write a book. Pick one.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection! A good way to get hyped for convention season starting up again.

[Jennifer Abella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice view of cons from pros' perspectives. It made me miss the fun and serendipity and chaos of comic cons (but not the physical closeness of crowds).

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays and personal experiences about cons, some prose, some comics. Overall, I liked the comics better than the prose. Really I showed up for Randy Milholland's comic (I've been reading Something Positive since he had a day job) and was happy with the slate of creators across the board.