A Look at Albino Lullaby

At Otakon we drop by Albino Lullaby from APE Law. We do a quick interview and Justin tries the game out.

Women of Anime: Re-L

This month at Otakus and Geeks we're showing love to the ladies of anime. All month love we will talk about our favorite ladies from anime. To kick things off we head into the futuristic domed city of Romdeau  with the anime "Ergo Proxy." The character is Re-L.  One thing that I love about Re-L is she is one tough cookie. When we are first introduce to Re-L you can tell she's not your typical anime girl. Re-L is cold, seems to void of emotion and is hellbent about her mission on the job.  Re-L is a character that I feel a lot of women will be a fan of. She is designed realistic, she's intelligent, she is goal oriented. She is a woman with many different layers. While Re-L is very driven, intelligent and goal oriented she is very flawed. Re-L tends to be quick tempered, a perfectionist and downright cold hearted. This leaves her interaction with characters on the show to view her as a control freak. But pull back the layers and you see Re-L is a very compassionate person. 

Here is a brief history on Re-L via Wiki

An inspector of the Citizen Intelligence Bureau (市民情報局 Shimin Jōhōkyoku?). She is in charge of investigating a series of brutal murders apparently committed by AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus. She is also the granddaughter of Donov Mayer, the Regent of Romdeau. Given her privileged status, she expects respect from people around her, and speaks as such (she addresses Vincent as "o-mae"). Re-l accompanies Vincent on his journey in order to learn more about the mysterious Proxies.

J-Rock Band SCANDAL Announces North American Concerts

Epic Records Japan recording artist, SCANDAL, embarks next month on its most extensive world tour to-date in support of the release of the band’s 20th single – “image” – from its latest album Hello World.

SCANDAL is one of Japan’s most popular rock acts, capturing millions fans with an astute mix of power driven pop-rock. The all-girl, four-piece band also has garnered substantial fan bases across North America, Europe and Asia. Mixing the melodic styles of pop, rock and alternative music with hip fashion sensibilities and unstoppable girl star power, SCANDAL is at the forefront of the burgeoning “J-Pop” and “Japan Cool” global pop culture phenomenon.

Check out latest single from SCANDAL "image"

The SCANDAL WORLD TOUR 2015 “HELLO WORLD” takes the band on its most extensive international tour to-date in support of their sixth studio album for Epic Records Japan, Hello World.

Beginning in April, SCANDAL will perform concerts in major cities worldwide including in the U.S., Mexico, U.K, France, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In addition, a series of 31 live dates have already begun in major cities throughout Japan. Tickets for the North American shows are on-sale now. A select number of VIP tickets (including an artist meet & greet) are also available for each show.

SCANDAL North American Dates Include

May 16th Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Theatre

www.acen.org/content/scandal-anime-central-concert-information

 May 20th Mexico City, Mexico at La Plaza Condeza

www.elplaza.mx/evento/scandal or www.ticketmaster.com.m

  May 22nd Los Angeles, CA at House of Blues Suns

 May 23rd Anaheim, CA at House of Blues Downtown Disney

www.ticketmaster.com/Scandal-tickets/artist/949557 or www.hob.com/losangeles

 Complete SCANDAL 2015 “Hello World” world tour information is available at:

www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/scandal/worldtour2015/

SCANDAL has released six studio albums and twenty singles since signing with Epic Records Japan in 2008 and have become one of Japan’s most potent live rock acts. Each of the group’s albums have placed among the top five in Japan’s official album sales chart – Oricon – and 17 of the band’s 20 singles released to-date have also placed in the Top 20 on the Oricon Singles Charts. SCANDAL’s most recent full-length album, Hello World, was released on December 14, 2014.

 SCANDAL formed in August, 2006 among four high school girls that attended the same vocal and dance school in Osaka, Japan. Taking their name from a shop sign that hung near the studio where they practiced in their early days, the band, which consists of Haruna (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mami (lead guitar, backing vocals), Tomomi (bass, lead vocals), and Rina(drums, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), shared a mutual love of western rock bands and artists ranging from Green Day, Foo Fighters and Paramore to the pop styling of Taylor Swift and Pink. SCANDAL’s dynamic mix of frenetic melody-driven energy mixed with smooth, pop-styled vocals have become the band’s hallmark.

SCANDAL’s music also has been featured in a host of TV shows and movies and the band are enthusiastic fans of anime and have had several songs prominently featured in popular series. The group’s singles “Harukaze” and "Shunkan Sentimental" were featured as the opening theme songs for the anime series Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and most recently SCANDAL contributed the song, “Daybreak Meteor Shower,” as the theme to the latest Pokémon feature film, Diance and the Cocoon of Destruction.

 SCANDAL Official website

http://www.scandal-4.com/

 Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/scandalofficial

 YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/scandalSMEJ

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!