The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente

The Con Artist (Get it? Because he's an artist and it takes place at a convention) is the story of a comics artist, a few years past the height of his fame, who travels to San Diego Comic-Con and ends up becoming the prime suspect in a murder. So basically, it's a whodunit set in Nerd Mecca, with enough comic book and general geekdom references to rival Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. If that sounds like your cup of tea, this will not disappoint. 

Mike Miller is a comics artist whose best career years seem to be behind him. Though he has written for several successful comics and even had some of his work adapted for movies, that's all in the past. Now his marriage is over, and he basically lives at conventions, traveling directly from one to the next and supporting himself by drawing commissions.

Mike arrives at San Diego Comic Con, the largest comics convention in the world, where he's coming to present a lifetime achievement award to his friend and mentor. Unfortunately, when he's picked up at the airport by his designated assistant for the convention (who is dressed up as one of his characters), Mike learns that his mentor has just died. And things only get worse from there.

At a bar after the first day of the convention, Mike has a run-in with Danny, an old rival and his ex-wife's new boyfriend. After publicly getting into a fight with the Danny, Mike leaves. Unfortunately, Danny turns up dead later that night, and Mike is the prime suspect.

Can Mike clear his name, rescue his life from its downward spiral, and revive his failing comics career? There's only one way to find out.

Van Lente has a TON of experience in the comics industry, and it shows. His in-depth knowledge of the creative process, the inner workings of the comics industry and the convention circuit all lend a real sense of authenticity to the story. 

As mentioned earlier, the story is sprinkled with references to various comic and other entertainment franchises, similar to Ready Player One. So if you found yourself going through Ready Player One saying over and over...



...then you'll find that same satisfaction here. The constant parade of comic and entertainment name drops (both real and fictional) may feel gratuitous to some, but will also be quite familiar to anyone who has attended a comic con before.

Overall, The Con Artist should appeal to mystery fans and people who would enjoy a fictionalized behind-the-scenes look at the life of a comics industry professional. The Con Artist is available at Galesburg Public Library in the adult fiction collection.