One of the coolest comics ever | Heroes Con 2023

You know, I’ve always loved comics and have always wanted to write them… and it wasn’t until this past weekend at Heroes Con in Charlotte that I truly realized how far things have come. Comics are such a weird, niche thing that you’d be lucky to break into the industry and even luckier to make a living off of it but I will say…

… that I realized how lucky I truly am after experiencing and tabling at Heroes Con 2023. I was able to connect and meet truly kind and helpful people who all just wanted to share their projects, give advice, chat, and celebrate comics. From my family coming in to support me, my partner Genevieve tabling with me, to the student that came by my table to talk about how much they’ve changed since 6th grade, to the returning reader that came and saw me at Mini-Con, to all the creators that I’ve been befriended on social media — literally everyone one of them were genuinely supportive, kind, and happy to be there and for that I wanted to say “Thank you.”

One of the coolest things that I was lucky enough grab there was literally one of the best, coolest comics I’ve ever read. It was written by the guy literally who tabled right next to me.

But before I share his incredible comic, I’d like to plug TRY NOT TO DIE one last time before the campaign ends on June 23 at 12 pm - We’re incredibly close to our 2nd stretch goal! Consider backing us today before it’s too late! Cross your fingers for us!

TRY NOT TO DIE (click here to support the Kickstarter!)

What if victims from your favorite horror flicks had a second chance to change their fates? What if they had to compete for their lives against each other and their killers and monsters?

Back to Heroes Con and back to that comic that I was telling you about. That comic is…

Attaboy by Tony McMillen

"There's a video game from when I was a kid that no one else seems to remember."

Attaboy is a 74 page action adventure comic disguised as an illustrated instructional booklet for a video game that may or may not have ever existed.

This OGN is without a doubt one of the coolest comics that I’ve ever read. It’s incredibly clever, nostalgic, and, what I wasn’t expecting as much but got a huge dose of, emotional and heartfelt. By the cover and description, it’s a comic disguised as an old NES style, 80s instructional booklet, and it still definitely is that. It does an incredible job at that, actually, especially with the splash pages of Mega Man style levels, villains, and menu screens… but there’s more to it. Way more.

It’s narrated by a kid trying to remember if this game, Attaboy, even exists or not. And in this narration, we learn about how this game is associated with their childhood, with their struggles growing up with their single mother, and how their father’s absence affected their lives and could have affected their lives if they had been there. Again, with how clever and beautiful the book is, the character development of the disembodied narrator and how far we dig into the narrator’s life is just as, if not, even more impressive.

Tony McMillen, the creator, artist, and writer, of Attaboy doesn’t know I’m writing this. He’s an incredibly nice guy and I was lucky to sit next to him at the con. I just know that many people will be glad that they will have read this book if they come across it and I want them to experience what I experienced when I read it. Consider checking out his Etsy store and buying a copy of the book here!

Anyway, check out more of the pics from Heroes Con and back Try Not to Die!