Broken Frontier

Oni Press is pleased to announce the May release of the first LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE OMNIBUS, a trade paperback collection containing the first three installments of the romantic series by J. Torres and Eric Kim.

When Joel signed up to teach English in Korea, he thought it would be, well, he can’t really remember what he was thinking when he signed up anymore. His time in Korea has been nothing but misunderstandings, unfortunate food choices, and homesickness, and he can’t wait to go home.  Luckily his year is almost up. But now that he’s met Hana, a beautiful young woman, all he can think of is staying close to her. Can he overcome the culture clash to be with his true love? And even if he can, does she understand that he loves her, or is it just another misunderstanding?

“One of the things that people may not know about us at the Oni office is that we’re all suckers for a good love story,” commented James Lucas Jones, Oni Editor in chief.  “J. and Eric have created a romance that is funny and sweet and poignant; one that deals with the reality that the road to love isn’t always a smooth one.”

LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE was the first Oni book to debut as a series of mini-original graphic novels, a format that falls halfway between the standard stapled periodical and the full sized original graphic novels that Oni is known for.

“The mini OGN format gives us a lot of flexibility,” explained Jones. “There are some stories that have a strong serial component, but need just a bit more space for each installment.  LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE is one of those books; there’s just so much going on that we couldn’t bring ourselves to make J. hold back.”

“We’ve received a fantastic response to the mini OGN format,” Publisher Joe Nozemack commented. “At the same time, we’re very aware that there are fans who prefer trade paperback collections to serials, and this OMNIBUS is for them.  As it contains the entire first story arc under one cover, it’s also the perfect jumping on point for new readers. This format will allow retailers to consistently have this great title available for their customers, as well as offer it to libraries.”

“In my perfect world, everyone would read this title,” Jones concluded. “This collection brings us one step closer to that.”

LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE OMNIBUS will contain 200 pages of black and white story and art. Shipping to comic book stores in May with a cover price of $11.95, it will carry an ISBN of 1-932664-41-6.