We got to talk to Gina Biggs! If you've been around the site for a while, you know that I listed her webcomic, Love Not Found, in my Best Romance Comics of 2017 post, and that her subscription site, Filthy Figments, gets all sorts of praise in my NSFW Comics piece. So when I asked Gina if she'd answer some questions, I had to rein in my fangirl impulses. You tell me... did I manage?
Suzanne
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After much anticipation, we got our hands on an advanced review copy of SWING, VOL. 1. It's not exactly what we'd hoped for, but we're desperate enough for romance comics that we might stick it out...
Circadia is back! We reviewed the first issue a few weeks ago and, at that time, there wasn't an easy way to get your hands on a copy. But now... you can! Issue #2 is crowdfunding on Kickstarter starting today and there's a Catch-Up tier for anyone who hasn't already started the series. In that first review, we whined a little about the extended production schedule for Circadia, with months between issues. We're pleased to tell you that it's all happening much faster now!
If you've been following Love in Panels for a while, you know that I adore the comic Sunstone. It's an f/f BDSM love story that unfolds over five volumes. It's funny, sexy, and totally gorgeous. In fact, it was on our Best Of 2017 List.
Sunstone is so popular that not only is Stjepan Šejić continuing the story with a new pairing in Mercy, but publisher Top Cow is also putting out two other series that are loosely connected to the Sunstone universe.
Swing, out in May (digital, print is June) is first up, and I've read a preview. It's really good. You're going to want to pre-order this thing, I promise. (You can do that here: digital, print.)
Spinning off from the universe of Sunstone comes a slice of life romantic story about a couple trying to regain the sexual energy from the beginning of their relationship by swinging with other couples. An emotional journey of two people fighting to stay in love.
You can see some preview pages over here!
Sugar comes out in July, and I haven't seen a preview but have already got it pre-ordered because of reasons. "Whoops, we fell in love!" is one of my favorite tropes ever. You can pre-order it here!
A companion book to both Sunstone and Swing, Sugar is about a couple who embark on a relationship that starts as more of an arrangement and ends with them falling in love...but that love has consequences! Julia works three jobs and is trying to finish college in her early 20's. John is recently divorced, still stinging from that breakup and trying to start anew. Neither has ever done anything like this before and the emotional swings they face challenge what could be a perfect match.
Top Cow's Matt Hawkins was on Twitter a few months ago, talking about how hard it is to write romance comics, and I immediately thought "I need to interview this guy."
So hey, here's the interview!
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Swing and Sugar are both connected to the Sunstone universe. How did the books come about?
Happy May Day! Here's a fresh batch of comics up on Kickstarter.
BEAR COMPANY is a short, trans-inclusive anthology about big gay men. The stories are slice of life and leave you with the impression of a warm hug. The Kickstarter lays out the overall goal of the project, and I think it succeeds in presenting short, fluffy comics with an emotional core that's validating and heartwarming. It's short, so you'll have to decide if you can swing the $6 for digital or $10 for print, but here's an overview to help you get there.
I'm completely in love with this comic, but also kind of annoyed that I didn't realize how long it would be between issues and there's a CLIFFHANGER. So, here's my jumble of thoughts, laid out for your consideration.
The first six parts of this series were educational, for the most part. The last one (part 7) was full of Adult-Only comics that contain sexual content. This one, however, is fun for a totally different reason! It's chock-full of comics I've enjoyed reading with kids.
If you need to catch up on the series, just click the "comics guide" tag and you'll see them all!
It's been a while since we did one of these posts. Did you miss them? I'll assume you did.
