A comiXologist recommends:
Fresh Romance #4
by: Lindsay Smith
I don’t know about you, but I have a select group of comics I refer to when I want to… convert someone.
No, not like that. There are no spiked kool-aid drinks, stranger-danger, basement baptisms here. When I want to convert someone to comics, I have a list of titles that I know will work for someone who says that they just don’t think they “like comics”.
Well, TWIST, until recently I would have told you that I just didn’t really have an interest in comics in the romance genre. Fresh Romance, an anthology from Janelle Asselin’s Rosy Press, has totally bungled my stance on romance comics and I hope the creators behind it are only the first in an exciting revival of this genre.
There are 3 romances per issue of Fresh Romance; “School Spirit” which is a queer high school tale amongst a very charming flirtatious group of friends with a dash of magic added in, “Ruined” which follows a regency era arranged marriage and is utterly compelling despite a familiar story line, and “The Ruby Equation” which shows us what life could be like as a fairy/barista who is so caught up in her assignment to make matches that she gets lost in the numbers and forgets about true chemistry.
In issue #4 of Fresh Romance, out this week, the group flirtations start to catch up with Malie, Justine, and Miles. Catherine and Andrew have finally reached their wedding night… but Catherine might be hiding more than we’ve realized. And Ruby learns just how hot your cheeks can feel when you start blushing… plus she might be starting to understand what chemistry really is.
With irresistible characters written by Sarah Kuhn, Kate Leth, and Sarah Vaughn, accompanied by stellar art from Arielle Jovellanos, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Sally Jane Thompson, Fresh Romance #4 is certainly worth your while, even if you think the romance genre just isn’t for you.
[Read Fresh Romance #4 on comiXology]
Lindsay Smith is a member of the International Production Team. She lives in Brooklyn and has been invited to join multiple cults…. She probably just has one of those faces, right?
A comiXologist Recommends:
Lindsay Smith recommends Thoughts from Iceland #2
If you’re like 97% of the population in my neighborhood, you have been yearning to visit the trendy glacial wonderland that is Iceland. For those of you who can’t swing a plane ticket, Lonnie Mann’s Thoughts from Iceland #2 is the sort of illustrated travel journal gem that you hope to discover at a cool indie comics show.
Lonnie made this comic travelogue after a three-day trip to Iceland in December 2012, and a portion of it was included into the Digital category of the Society of Illustrator’s Comic and Cartoon Art Annual 2014.
The story picks up after his adventures on Day 1 and Lonnie is being violently awoken from a jet-lag slumber by his alarm. There are several missed snooze buttons, but luckily for us he does wake up in time to make his trip to the Sólheimajökull glacier. Thoughts from Iceland is full of many familiar moments that anyone who has travelled outside their comfort zone will recognize, but the reader is also gifted with Lonnie’s attentive (and often humorous) observations of Icelandic culture, folklore, and landscapes.
Hopefully Lonnie will have an opportunity to return to Iceland and pass on more of his experiences there, but in the mean time, check out Thoughts From Iceland #2. I also suggest his Thoughts from Iceland #1, Natalie Nourigat’s Amsterdam Sketchbook, and for the Francophone among us, Christian Clot’s Mary Kingsley.
[Read Thoughts from Iceland #2 on comiXology]
Lindsay Smith is an International Production Coordinator Associate at comiXology. She lives in Brooklyn and stores comics in her sweater drawer, because bookshelves are for people who are way too optimistic about trips to Ikea. .