FRESH ROMANCE is a Kickstarter that brings romance stories back into comics, which was one a super-popular genre during the golden and silver ages of comics. The comic industry is growing outside of the typical super-hero books and many people are looking for something different to read. FRESH ROMANCE takes talent from across the industry, for this anthology, for a monthly, digital book. Janelle Asselin is heading this project and talked to us about the genre and how this Kickstarter came together.
COMIC VINE: Where did the idea for FRESH ROMANCE come from?
JANELLE ASSELIN: I really wanted to have a company that produced comics regularly - not just graphic novels or one-off anthologies. Those are great, but they’re not the kind of thing I really enjoy doing. I love the month-in, month-out work of monthly comics and so I started trying to think of a way to offer that while also offering a bunch of different stories at once. It’s partially based on the classic 8-10 page romance comics from the 50s and 60s and partially based on the serialized anthologies that manga is released in in Japan. Each year, we’ll produce 360 pages of comics through Fresh Romance and that’s no small feat, but that’s just the beginning.
CV: You have some great talent attached to the series like Kate Leth, Amanda Scurti, Marguerite Bennett, as well as many others. What led you to having these talents work on the book?
JA: Really a lot of it was as simple as reaching out and making the offer, and also being prepared to pay people. I wanted to get a lot of up-and-coming creators but I also really wanted to get some established pros, and either way I really wanted to offer them pay for the work they’re doing, which showed them that I was serious. Many of them I knew from conventions or the internet, like Sarah Vaughn, Kate Leth, Marguerite Bennett, etc. And some I met via mutual friends, like Jen Van Meter and Marissa Louise. But then many of them were pulled from my list of possible creators for Hire This Woman or recommendations of friends or the other creators working on the stories. It’s great too to see how many of these creators are multi-talented. Many of our writers are also artists and many of our artists are also writers. Our colorists are often also pencillers - like Savanna Ganucheau, who drew one of our greeting cards. I think that adds something neat to the whole process when everyone is excited to collaborate and understands what everyone else does.
CV: Romance comics were once a dominating force during the golden age. With the comic market expanding and reaching new readers like never before, do you feel there's going to be a resurgence in this genre?
JA: I definitely do. I’ve heard from a few publishers who said they had some interest in producing romance comics as well. I think there’s an interest from readers and a lot of creators want to give it a try as well.
CV: Are there any romance comics from the past that really inspired you to put this project together?
JA: In terms of format, many of them did, both American romance comics and shoujo and josei manga. I love the monthly anthology style they often brought to the table. I didn’t grow up as a fan of romance comics, so a lot of what I’ve read has been in the last couple years, like the Young Love showcases from DC, or a collection of Wally Wood’s romance comics, or some single issues I inherited of Falling In Love, Young Romance, and Young Love.
CV: The book is currently a digital, monthly series. Is this something that will every go to print and why do digital only?
JA: There are no plans at the moment to take it to print, mostly because it’s a big expense and a lot of work to deal with distribution and whatnot. Digital only allows me to spend most of my money on the creators rather than the printing and distribution, which I really love. It also is a lot more accessible to new readers who maybe haven’t picked up a comic before - and that’s definitely a market I want to bring in. It can be daunting to approach a comic shop for the first time, but readers who want to give Fresh Romance a try can just check it out online.
CV: What challenges have you come across while managing this project?
JA: Well, for one, I am a freelancer who works with creators on their projects and works half of the day as senior editor at ComicsAlliance, and balancing that with a very demanding Kickstarter has certainly been challenging! I don’t know how anyone with a full time job ever manages to do a Kickstarter, because they are a LOT of work. Plus, of course, we’re finishing up issue 1 right now and so I’ve been working with all my creators on their various stages of the process and whatnot. The great challenge of an anthology over just a one-team project is that you have MANY people to stay in contact with and work with. It can be overwhelming at times.
CV: Currently, FRESH ROMANCE has been funded. As more pledges come in, what stretch goals are being offered?
JA: Our next stretch goal is that if we hit $47,500, we’ll add a 10-page story by Gail Simone and Rafaela Herrera that will be in addition to the regular monthly content - but it’s only for one-year subscribers. If we hit $48,000, all our creators get a 30% page rate raise (they all already got a 15% raise). If we hit either of those before the very end, we’ll add another stretch goal, but for now those are the big ones!
Thanks to Janelle for answering our questions and make sure to check out the FRESH ROMANCE Kickstarter!