Review: Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova

Title: Dramacon: The Ultimate Edition
Author/Artist: Svetlana Chmakova
Genre: Manga, shoujo, graphic novel
Perfect for: comic readers who a)love romantic comedies and b)have ever been to an anime convention!
Star rating: 5/5 stars


Taken from Goodreads, "When amateur writer Christie settles in the artist alley of her first ever anime convention, she sees it only as an opportunity to promote the manga she had started with her artist boyfriend. But when she unexpectedly falls for a mysterious cosplayer, things become very complicated. Because what do you do when you fall in love with someone who is going to be miles away from you in just a couple of days? Web-comic vet and Ignatz Award-nominated creator Svetlana Chmakova gives us a funny, romantic, behind-the-scenes look at an anime convention--where sometimes even two is a crowd!"


'Dramacon: The Ultimate Edition' is a collection of all three volumes of the Dramacon series bound in hardcover with enlarged print. Confession: I have enjoyed many shoujo mangas in the past. Confession: I've been to at least eight anime conventions (if not more). Confession: I love everything about Dramacon!


There are so many good things about this manga style comic. For me, there are three things that make a manga good. They are quality art, strong storytelling, and great characters. Do well with these three things and you have a winning story! 


In my opinion, 'Dramacon' excels at all three elements! Artist/Author Svetlana Chmakova has a great artistic eye. Her characters are adorable and expressive and her images overall always seem to get the message across. Her style is manga inspired, but you can see her own unique style in there, too. The two page spreads in 'Dramacon' are all fantastically drawn.  Take a look!

Story? 'Dramacon' earns high marks in that area, as well. I love the premise of this manga. The story revolves around two people (Christie and Matt) who meet by chance at an anime convention. The convention elements in the story are fantastic. From personal experience, I can say Chmakova captured the typical convention goings-on really well. As far as story elements, 'Dramacon' has a good mix of romance and comedy, making it great shoujo!


And the last thing-- characters... I love the characters in this manga. Christie has some great sarcastic lines and her 'inner thoughts' are fantastic, especially when they completely contradict what she saying out loud! Matt, the hot male lead, is well rounded and really likeable. The secondary characters all have their own little bit to play in the story, as well. The fact that they have a reason to be in the story and even some side storylines of their own, make them a great addition to 'Dramacon'.


So, if I leave you with nothing more than one thing, let it be this. 'Dramacon' is good, clean, fun and if you are at all into shoujo manga or even romantic comedies, you should try this out! It gets 5 out of 5 stars and is available everywhere books are sold!