Press Release
Aspen Comics is proud to announce that their upcoming new series IDOLIZED will feature a series of covers shot by renowned photographer Michael Schwartz, and featuring supermodel Rachel Clark. For the exclusive IDOLIZED photo shoot, a special costume was constructed, allowing Ms. Clark to appear as IDOLIZED’s dark and disturbed super-powered protagonist, Joule.
“We’re thrilled to be working with such amazing talent for IDOLIZED”, said Aspen President Frank Mastromauro. “Rachel and Michael are major names in the fashion industry, and they’ve brought something truly special, unique, and absolutely gorgeous to our covers.” Rachel has been the face of Louis Vuitton, D&G and Victoria’s Secret’s ‘PINK’ line. She’s appeared in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Vogue, and in ad campaigns for Levis, Louis Vuitton, D&G, Barney’s and Neiman Marcus. She’s walked the runway for the likes of Christian Dior, John Galliano, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Salvatore Ferragamo and numerous others. Perhaps most importantly, she’s also a total comic book junkie and a major World of Warcraft player.
Michael Schwartz shoots for an amazing list of some of the biggest names in the fashion and entertainment industries, including Victoria’s Secret, Hugo Boss, J Crew, Universal Music, Madewell, Polydor Records and editorial clients such as V Magazine, V Man, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed & Confused, Dansk, Exit, Metal and now Aspen Comics.
“It was really exciting to bring a drawing to life,” Schwartz raved, “especially with such an amazing model to help make this happen.” The shoot took place on Sunday, January 15th in New York, and nearly 1500 images were taken over the course of the day. In fact, there so many spectacular photos taken, that the Aspen editorial team had a nearly impossible time narrowing them down to just 1 cover image for each issue. “At some point, we may have to collect all of our other favorites and publish them in a book of just the photos,” said Aspen Editor-in-Chief Vince Hernandez. “They’re just really, really cool, stunning images and we want to be able to get as many of them out there, in print, as possible.” Of course, each issue of IDOLIZED will be having traditional comic books covers as well, and they’ve got an incredible line-up of some of the biggest names in comics providing those covers, including ART ADAMS, JOE BENITEZ and a painted cover from KERON GRANT.
IDOLIZED is Aspen’s first-ever superhero series, so they’re pulling out all the stops. It tells the story of girl with super-powers and a tortured past, who seeks revenge, and ultimately finds redemption, over the course of competing in a televised super-hero competition show. Essentially, it’s “True Grit” meets “American Idol” with capes. The series is written by Michael’s brother David B. Schwartz (acclaimed writer of Image Comics’ “MELTDOWN”, “Aspen Showcase: Ember” and “Fathom: Blue Descent”), with explosive art by Micah Gunnell (“Shrugged”, “Executive Assistant: Orchid”, “Dellec”) and colors by David Curiel (“Executive Assistant: Orchid”). The first issue will debut in June 2012.
Please visit www.Facebook.com/IdolizedComic for more details on the series.
