Every once and a while I'll pick up and indie book with the express purpose of giving it a little more coverage than it would otherwise. I figure, if we're going to devote so much time to comics that have huge budgets (and the marketing to boot!), why not check out something a little more low key.

However, there are dangers to this - it's like playing Russian Roulette. For every book that's thoughtful, insightful, and actually deserves much better, there are two more that make you wonder how it even made it to print.

This is one of those books.

Normally I do a "What I liked" and "What I didn't" list for books, but for this one, I'll just work on the latter.

What I didn't like:

• This book has a problem with lettering, art and a lot of other things that make comics comics. It could have used a lot more editorial oversight and just quality assurance. The book just doesn't look clean, and it's not a matter of "style"; panels really look like rough drafts handed in as final.
• Things like word balloons just being crammed into the page and varying letter sizes just confused the heck out of me.
• The writing is sub-standard, and the plot is quite confusing. I picked this up hoping for something that commented a little on the "Fake Geek Girl" collective drama that has been happening on the Internet right now, and it was pretty much the opposite. Terrible stereotypes about geek girls are fulfilled while being swept under the rug as "quirky" or "just who she is," and it does no favours towards people as a whole. 
• There is little point to this book, in plot, theme or otherwise. Characters aren't developed, and plot points feel irrelevant. If I was someone reading this with little understanding of what a comic convention is, I would be appalled. When there are characters that aren't unlikeable, they're one-dimensional and only exist for the plot's convenience.
• To be frank, this book would be suited towards a gag-a-day webcomic with an over-arcing plot line than a book that's divided into issues. There are panels and lines of dialogue that just feel like they were going for cheap laughs, and then segue back into the plot like they were never there.

The Adventures of a Comic-Con Girl #1
Antarctic Press
$3.99

The Verdict: Those familiar with the literary world know about "Vanity Presses", which pretty much take a person's idea and publish it because the author paid them, rather than to belay any type of quality. This seems like that, in comics form. A barely-one terrible stereotype out of five.