FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
4/4/05
Emo kids everywhere will weep with joy upon hearing of the release of SLG's new comic book series Emo Boy by Steve Emond. Emo Boy, an outsider who is constantly physically and mentally bulllied, uses his super-human sensitivity to sabotage his own happiness and his unpredictable emo powers to confound his enemies. But they should be warned: There lies treachery in Emo Boy. Sure, Emo Boy is, as Emond puts it, "about a character and a story and high school and being alienated and alienating yourself, about silly stories and first loves (and a lack thereof), and finding yourself and growing up and all that good stuff," but it's also about a wicked case of schadenfreude.
"All I can say," Emond (who is currently contemplating whether he will barricade himself in his apartment to listen to the new Weezer album over and over) said about Emo Boy, "is that as much as it celebrates an emo kid, it sure makes fun of him for it just as much! I get to parody bands and shows, and I get to torture this poor little emo boy endlessly. And he does get tortured."
Yes, avert your eyes, emo kids, as Emond's expressive artwork shows you Emo Boy losing his first love to a horrible (and messy) emo accident, dancing awkwardly, getting thrown out of his favorite band's fan club, ineptly attempting suicide, reciting emo monologues and losing at dodge ball -- all in the funniest way possible.
And that's just the way everyone in the lightless depths of the SLG Publishing office like it. "Emo is great, but it's even better when you're making fun of it! " SLG's editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman (who actually really likes the new Bright Eyes album) said. "There's no way you can always be so earnest about misery, so why not turn someone's pain into fodder for ridicule? Steve has really hit on a goldmine for mockery material here. Mock mock mock. Mean mean mean. What's not to love?"
Emo Boy will show you his suffering beginning in June 2005, and because there is such an abundance of that suffering, the comic will come out bi-monthly. Hear this, emo kids: The only way you can keep this brutalization of one your brethren from the heartless masses is to go to your local comic book store and buy every last copy. It will be $2.95 well spent. There is a preview of Emo Boy at SLG's website, www.slavelabor.com. Know your enemy.
