With the release of Con & On #1 from Ahoy Comics today, we are delighted to be joined by writer Paul Cornell.
Hi Paul, thanks for joining us.
On the 12th of July, Ahoy Comics will be releasing the first issue of Con & On. How would you describe the series?
We’re covering several decades in the life of a big comics convention across five issues, with a big cast. It’s a satirical tragicomedy about how the comics industry has changed in that time and how it damn well hasn’t.
Could you tell us about the origins of Con & On?
I’d been thinking for years about writing a murder mystery set at a big comic con, but then I realised that AHOY’s penchant for satirical comedy meant I could tell my juicy anecdotes and didn’t need the murder.
How did the collaboration with Ahoy Comics come about?
I’d loved working with them on the Edgar Allen Poe anthologies, so I asked them!
What can you tell us about Eddie, Deja, Anthony, Don and Finn?
The first two are aspiring comics creators in our first issue. They’re in for a hell of a bumpy ride that takes them on violently opposite trajectories. The latter three are part of the first wave of Brit comickers in the US, cosmic, dapper and wild man respectively. They’re in for enormous changes that rattle their lives and their pints.
How did Marika Cresta join the team?
AHOY recommended her, and I’d loved her Captain Carter.
Con & On is about the comic book industry and conventions; did you always want to write a comic about these subjects?
Pretty much. You just build up a ton of anecdotes, and you can either just tell them in convention bars or make a comic out of them.
Are some of the stories in the Con & On series based on your own experiences or on stories that you; have been told about?
Absolutely! I’m actually in this for a couple of pages in a later issue. Loads of it happened to me or to people I know.
What has it been like; working with Marika, Paul Little, Rob Steen and Ahoy Comics?
Marika brings great acting, great character design, a real feel for how it is to sit in line for a day to get into a big TV panel. Paul provides exactly the right atmosphere for, for instance, a bayside park inhabited by masquerade contestants and the homeless, and Rob Steen’s letters are just perfectly arch.
Do you think Con & On could give some comic fans insights into the comic book industry?
Yes. Horrible, horrible insight.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
I for one welcome our insect overlords.
A big; thank you to Paul for sitting and chatting with us. We would like to wish him and the rest of the team; the best of luck with Con & On.
