New Fresh Romance Series from Rosy Press

Image Credit Rosy Press

Press Release

”Romance is coming,” promises FRESH ROMANCE, a new digitial romance comic magazine from Janelle Asselin, Senior Editor of ComicsAlliance.com and former DC Comics editor. If funded through the now-live Kickstarter campaign, Asselin’s new imprint Rosy Press will debut FRESH ROMANCE in May 2015. The first issue of the monthly anthology features sundry stories ranging from a clandestine, queer high school love affair to an impeccably researched and illustrated Regency-era romance. In addition to three forward-looking romances, each issue of FRESH ROMANCE delivers a relationship advice column by a quartet of divorced writers, behind-the-scenes art coverage, and a fashion report.

“Rosy Press specializes in publishing romantic fiction and nonfiction aimed at attracting a diverse readership,” says Asselin. FRESH ROMANCE forges a new future for romance comics with modern characters, stories and a wide array of genres. FRESH ROMANCE’s inaugural stories include:

- A twist on the iconic high school love story by Kate Leth (KATE OR DIE), Arielle Jovellanos (FIVE), and colorist Amanda Scurti, in which a queer couple keep their relationship under wraps by pretending to compete for the same, equally secretive guy.

- A Regency-era romance by Sarah Vaughn (ALEX + ADA) and Sarah Winifred Searle (SMUT PEDDLER) about a couple headed to the altar despite a mutual lack of enthusiasm for their marriage. (Spoiler: period costumes and culture are consummately researched.)

- An otherworldly tale by novelist Sarah Kuh, who has a three-book prose book deal with DAW Books and who is penning her first comic with Sally Jane Thompson (RED JACK) and colorist Savanna Ganucheau, in which a cynical, supernatural barista is trapped in this world… until she helps enough lonely souls find love.

- ; The first cover from Kevin Wada, a former fashion illustrator, who uses his hallmark watercolors to depict Leth and Jovellanos’ high school heroines.

Rewards available exclusively through the FRESH ROMANCE Kickstarter campaign support three-month, six-month, and ongoing subscriptions, including the opportunity to be drawn into a story, an original comic to propose marriage to your loved one, and one-of-a-kind prints and commissions, including: Five commissions by Chris Burnham (BATMAN, INC. THE UNNAMED); a Gene Ha (TOP 10, 4-Time Eisner Award Winner) sketch commission; a Dustin Nguyen-drawn original page from the Stephanie Brown BATGIRL series; a commission of Harley Quinn by DC and Marvel artist Carmen Carnero; and an original page from the Stephanie Brown BATGIRL series drawn by Pere Perez.

“With our digital platform, FRESH ROMANCE can reach a diverse set of readers,” said Asselin. “FRESH ROMANCE is the comics answer to the popular modern romance novel, and we can digitally deliver it to anyone, anywhere, anytime.” FRESH ROMANCE content will be available in a variety of digital formats: via ComiXology or as a PDF, CBR, or ePub file, and will always be DRM-free. Unlike their real-world counterparts, FRESH ROMANCE stories never end – they will later be published as ebook collections.

“Thanks to our ongoing anthology format, the kinds of stories we feature will be constantly evolving,” said Asselin, who recently appeared in the documentary SHE MAKES COMICS. “The magazine will be R-rated, so while not all of the individual chapters or stories will be racy, there will be some adult content. These aren't your mom's romance comics. Our goal is to bring avid comics readers and those new to comics together to enjoy the romance genre.

For updates, follow Rosy Press on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.

Janelle Asselin is the Senior Editor at Comics Alliance and a freelance writer and comics editor. In her ten years as a comics pro, Janelle has also worked for Newsarama, DC Comics, Fangoria Comics, and Disney Publishing Worldwide. At DC Comics, she edited BATMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS, BIRDS OF PREY, and KNIGHT AND SQUIRE. Asselin is also an outspoken advocate for women in comics, and has worked to bring awareness to sexual harassment and discrimination issues in the comics industry. A lifelong scholar, Asselin holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Southern New Hampshire University and an MS in Publishing from Pace University. She lives in Los Angeles with her awesome husband and the best cats in the world. Visit her onine at www.rosypress.com, http://janelleasselin.tumblr.com/and on Twitter @gimpnelly.

Arielle Jovellanos is an illustrator and comic artist (Five, School Spirit) based in New York. She likes sitcoms, showtunes, and storytelling structure. Also alliteration, apparently.

Kate Leth is a writer and artist best known for her webcomic Kate or Die and her work on the licensed comics Bravest Warriors, Edward Scissorhands and Adventure Time. She has a lot of tattoos and feelings.

Amanda Scurti is an illustrator, cartoonist, and colorist. She is a graduate of SVA and, when not voluntarily drowning herself in comics, enjoys petting dogs.

Sarah Vaughn is the co-creator and co-writer of Alex + Ada with Jonathan Luna, published by Image Comics. She is an avid lover of historical romance novels and vintage romance comics.

Sarah Winifred Searle hails from spooky New England, where she writes and draws comics about relationships, history, and mysteries. You may recognize her work from Smut Peddler,Colonial Comics, Symbolia, or a bunch of other cool things. She is also exceptional at petting cats. Learn more about her work at swinsea.com.

Sarah Kuhn is the author of the forthcoming Heroine Complex trilogy, starring Asian American superheroines, for DAW Books and the geek romantic comedy novella One Con Glory, which is in development as a feature film. Her writing has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter,Back Stage, IGN.com, StarTrek.com, Geek Monthly,Creative Screenwriting, and the anthology Chicks Dig Comics.

Sally Jane Thompson is a comic creator based in the UK. Currently drawing 19th c adventure "Red Jack" with writer John Dickinson for children's comics serial The Phoenix, her work includes coming-of-age graphic novel Atomic Sheep (AAM Markosia), and comics and illustration for various publishers including IDW, Soaring Penguin, Imagine Publications and more. Her work focuses on thoughtful stories drawn with organic, expressive lines.

Savanna Ganucheau is a colorist and illustrator currently living in Melbourne, Australia. Originally she’s from New Orleans, Louisiana, and misses it dearly. Honestly, she could really go for some boiled crawfish right now. She loves to make friends and talk to people. Chat with her Twitter – @srganuch anytime!

5 Great Songs from Supercar

Supercar is one of my favorite J-Pop bands. Like many otakus I usually hear about a band through anime. I was first introduce to Supercar when they did a song "Storywriter" for Eureka Seven. After listening to that song I was hooked. I decided to give you guys and gals my favorite top five songs from Supercar. You can check out the player below and here is a brief history on Supercar.

O & G: Supercar Countdown

Otakus & Geeks

Hailing from Aomori Prefecture, Supercar was formed in 1995 when bassist Miki Furukawa placed an advertisement in a local magazine seeking fellow musicians. Junji Ishiwatari responded and convinced childhood friend Kōji Nakamura to join as well. Junji and Kōji soon recruited drummer Kōdai Tazawa, an acquaintance from middle school. After writing songs and recording demo tapes, they received a record contract. In 1997 they released their debut album, Three Out Change, and their second album, Jump Up, in 1999. This album was followed by Ooyeah and Ookeah, both also released in 1999. With the 2000 album Futurama, electronic experimentation took a larger role that would characterize the band's sound for the rest of their career. The 2002 release Highvision continued the electronic development, and the single Strobolights did not even contain a guitar. They released their last album, Answer in 2004. Perhaps their most experimental album,Answer contained balance of both rock and electronica.

They are famous for their 2005 song featured in the anime Eureka Seven, "Storywriter".

In 2005, Supercar broke up following a final concert, released under DVD as Last Live. Following the breakup, Furukawa and Nakamura have pursued successful solo careers.

Despite the break-up, Supercar released two remix albums named RE:SUPERCAR 1 and RE:SUPERCAR 2 in 2011. The albums are redesigned version of some of their tracks throughout their career together with never before heard songs. The limited edition of these albums sported a different CD jacket and bonus CD containing some of their untitled tracks and demos.

Comic News: 90's X-Men Animated Series to Join The Marvel Universe in Secret Wars

Marvel has announced via Polygon a new digital first series based on the hugely popular '90's X-Men cartoon. X-Men: '92 brings the team from the iconic animated series back to the battle as part of Secret Wars.

X-Men: '92 is co-written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims, with art by Scott Koblish. It premieres digitally in May, and will see print in June.