If you’re like most comic convention attendees, you probably end up with a ton of random swag like stickers, business cards, and other odds and ends that you really have no idea what to do with it. It seemed like a good idea at the time to grab all that stuff! Or maybe you can never remember that awesome restaurant you had dinner at that one year. Perhaps you’re out of space for all those photo ops you bought! That’s where the Con Quest Journal comes into play.
What’s a Con Quest journal?
In January 2014 at a comicon, Shelley and Ted of One Less Nemesis noticed that a generic journal booth and a photo sleeve booth were two of the busiest tables at the show. They said to each other “wouldn’t it be cool to have a journal to keep all of your photo-ops in, write down quotes from the panels and stick your great cosplay pictures in?” The Con*Quest Adventure Journal™ was born.
I had the chance to stop by their booth while attending Wizard World Philly and chat with Shelley about their neat little book. There really is a page for everything! You’ll find a section for cosplay, where you stayed, panel quotes, sketches, and more! There’s even an area for autographs and it all fits into a nice little binder journal. You can even add pages if you run out of room. While talking with Shelley at their booth, she mentioned they might even switch up the page design each year that way people can easily separate their conventions. You could easily add tab dividers as well if you’re someone who attends a lot of conventions and wants to keep everything on order. I honestly think everyone could enjoy this book, from those of who attend multiple conventions every year to someone who’s attending their first. It would make a great gift for that friend that you’re taking to their first convention! Here’s a sample of some of the pages you’ll find inside the journal.
Plus it comes with plastic sleeves for both photos and business cards. Like many great ideas though it takes money to keep things going. That’s why they started a Kickstarter to help keep things moving! They even have a special San Diego Comic-Con level:
$30 SDCC SUPER SPECIAL EARLY OFFER
We have a limited number of journals from our first production run and we want you to have one for SDCC! If you’re going to San Diego Comic Con and need your journal early, pledge at this level then tell ALL of your friends! If we reach our goal by July 16, we ship a journal AND our custom tote bag out to you before the campaign ends! $30 Super Deal! This is our journal-only reward level at a super price! You will receive one Con*Quest Adventure Journal.
Of course they have different levels and rewards, from $1 to $100. Since I’ve seen the book I can vouch for how well put together it is and the quality. This isn’t a notebook that will fall apart in a few months. If you take care of it, this book could you last you years. Especially since you can add pages to it. Oh did I mention it comes with its own Sharpie? Because it does!
Here’s a little more from the KS:
Like I noted before, the journal is handcrafted in Arkansas (MADE IN THE USA!) from canvas, board and faux leather. The cover and pages are printed locally by our production company and each journal is put together by hand. The canvas tote bags are also hand sewn and are customized to fit our journals, with a long messenger handle that makes the cross-body carry of the journal easy to get to and easy to access. I do not like to scrapbook so we wanted to make a journal that is super easy to just stick stuff in while at the show, inspire you to actually PRINT a few of those really awesome pictures you took with your phone while there, and put those in a place that you can show off. Not only will you capture the great things you love to do at a con in your journal, but you will be inspired to experience new aspects of the show that you haven’t tried before. Never been to artist alley? You will want to get an original sketch right in your journal as your own personal, one of a kind keepsake. You don’t usually attend the panels? You will want to go so you can jot down the most compelling or hilarious quotes that come from some of your favorite actors and artists.
Of course to learn more just go visit their campaign and maybe throw a few bucks their way!
