When Rubber Hits the Road: Welcome to Genghis Con

Like most comics, we should start with an origin story.

Genghis Con was conceived on the patio of Grossman’s Tavern in Toronto. Pints in hand, Oliver and I found ourselves in conversation with a friend of a friend who happened to mention he was entering something called the Mongolia Charity Race. This is a thing. It is also, apparently, a 10,000 mile trek across two continents, stretching from England to Mongolia, that takes three to six weeks. Madness, really.

We figured it would make a good setting for a story.

This was in June of 2013. Now, almost exactly two years to the day of that original conversation, we’re ready to get the wheels rolling.

What you see now on this very site are the first six pages of Genghis Con. It’s the start of our heroine Alexis Shrapnel’s journey from down-on-her-luck grifter to… Well, you’ll have to wait and see.

Now, some shout-outs to those who have helped things along so far: Thanks to Conor McCreery for taking the time to give us some valuable feedback. Likewise, thanks to Kathleen Gallagher, Kevin Parnell and Mike Marano for their guidance and encouraging words. To Andrew Stevenson, the man behind the Toronto Comics Anthology. And going even further back, thanks to Ty Templeton, whose comic writing classes got Oliver and me in the same room.

We realize we’re just starting out here; there are still many, many pages to go. But it feels good to say this: the rubber has finally hit the road.

Enjoy Genghis Con.

– DR.