Nunzio and I had a meeting with MetroMix today. For those of you who don't know what that is (and I confess that I didn't know either until recently), it's a weekly L.A. newspaper (linked to a website) that publishes reviews of local bars and restaurants. They also review movies, TV shows, music. Anything and everything pop culture that's going on in Los Angeles. They had contacted Jason DeAngelis at Seven Seas about doing a one page manga each week towards the back of the issue. And Jason contacted us about writing said manga.

This poses an interesting challenge for us. MetroMix wants a manga that will appeal to the twenty-something Los Angeles crowd. Jason wants something that appeals to the manga audience and can eventually be collected and published as a graphic novel as well as have legs as a potential movie idea. Therefore, we need to script something that stands on its own as a one page story, but fits into a larger whole.

Needless to say, we jumped at the challenge.

And after talking to MetroMix today, we discovered two exciting things. One, they're planning to launch the manga in the issue that comes out the week of the San Diego Comic-Con with a three page spread as well as making it their cover story. This is great timing and gives us something we can show at the convention.

Additionally, they told us the plan would be to collect and bind the pages every twelve or twenty-four "issues." This would then be inserted into the L.A. Times which would be amazing exposure.

Anyway, I don't want to give anything away story-wise yet. We're still hammering out the details. But if all goes according to plan, the first three pages will debut July 23rd. So for all of you in Los Angeles, pick up MetroMix (available in those street side dispensers - the same type of dispenser where you get your newspaper or L.A. Weekly).

And for those of you not in Los Angeles, the pages will be published one week after they're in the paper on MetroMix's website - www.metromix.com.

Stay tuned for more information!