PORTLAND, Ore. 08/08/2024 — Fan-favorite writer Steve Orlando (Scarlet Witch, Marauders, Commanders in Crisis) will team up with the amazing Italian artist Emilio Pilliu (X-Men: The Wedding Special) for an erotic romance in the style of Mirka Andolfo’s original, Harvey Award winning Sweet Paprika series—and building off characters introduced in the Eisner Award nominated Sweet Paprika: Black, White & Pink #1—in the upcoming, Sweet Paprika: Open For Business. This five-issue, Queer, love-drama miniseries is set to launch in November from Image Comics and Arancia Studio.
Produced by Arancia Studio/The Orangery, the Italian creative atelier that worked on Andolfo’s bestselling Image Comics titles and many successful books (including the 2023 Eisner Award-nominated series Traveling to Mars), Sweet Paprika: Open For Business follows Aubrey Jean, a young employee at Infernum Press, as he tries to impress his hero and boss, Miss Paprika, and figure out his relationship with Persica, a friend with benefits who might want to be more. But just as Aubrey and Persica settle into an open relationship that’s comfortable for them both, their relationship is thrown into turmoil by Kren. And on top of all that, Aubrey finally gets a chance to prove his worth to Miss Paprika by becoming the handler for Infernum Press’s most challenging client—the dreaded, eccentric, and unstable author known as Durian.
Can Aubrey deal with Kren and save his relationship with Persica? Does he even want to be with Persica? And how can he even figure any of that out when he’s got to be on-call day and night dealing with Durian’s next insane request?! "As a writer keen on getting folks excited about my work and that of my collaborators, I've been known to engage in hyperbole. But even so, without hesitation, I've never had a blast working on a book like I have with Sweet Paprika: Open for Business—it's my favorite book to write, every month," said Orlando. "And not just that—I've never synched with a collaborator like I do with Emilio. He's subletted my brain and is elevating every single panel beyond my wildest dreams! Open for Business is raw, it's real, it's provocative, but most of all—it's fun! It's my first office comedy, and I've never loved working with a cast as much as this one! I can't wait for you to meet them!"
Pilliu added: "I hope I do not sound pretentious, but Sweet Paprika: Open For Business is like it was tailor-made for me. The excesses, the romantic parts, the serious ones, the comic scenes, and the spicy ones...it's all perfect, and it's all that I love to draw. I don't think it happens often in an artist's life to work on something and feel totally comfortable!"
"When Steve proposed that we follow up on the story he and Emilio had done for Sweet Paprika: Black White & Pink #1, we didn't think twice," said Andolfo. "The more I read this comic, the more I think I'm a little envious because I would have liked to have done it myself... It’s amazing, deep (no pun intended), funny, 100% Paprika-style. And Emilio is a fantastic artist and colorist. The Arancia team and I are lucky to have such great creators on board, and I can't wait for fans to read the story because I'm sure they will have as much fun as I'm having!"
Sweet Paprika: Open For Business #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 6:
- Cover A by Pilliu
- Cover B by Andolfo
- Cover C by Robbi Rodriguez
- Cover D by Godtail
- Cover E (Hot polybagged) by Pilliu
- Cover F Showgirls movie homage by Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière (Photo Cover)
- Cover G blank sketch
Sweet Paprika: Open For Business #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
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