Media Release -- Oni Press, Portland's premier independent comic book publisher, is proud to announce Limerence Press, a new erotic and sex education comics imprint focused on positive, diverse, and approachable stories that reflect a wide variety of emotional and intimate experiences. Limerence Press is launching with printed editions of volumes 1–3 of Oh Joy Sex Toy, a popular sex education and sex toy review webcomic by creators by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.
Oh Joy Sex Toy Volumes 1 & 2 by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.
"I'm incredibly excited to be helming Limerence Press!" said Oni Press Managing Editor Ari Yarwood. "There was a point in my life where I was either going to work in comics or work in sex education, and while I obviously ended up working in comics, Limerence Press is the combination of both those passions. As a queer lady, I'm invested in publishing erotica and sex education comics that reflect the wonderful spectrum of human sexuality."
"Matthew and I are ecstatic to now be working with Oni Press and Limerence!" said Oh Joy Sex Toy creator Erika Moen. "Our shelves have been full of beautiful Oni books for years and we're both so honored and delighted for the opportunity to put our books alongside theirs. We are a small, two-person comic-making team, and with Limerence we're looking forward to having our work reach a broader audience of people who crave fun sex positivity and bad puns in their life. This deal isn't just about getting accessible sex education into more hands and Oni isn't just a comics-printing giant, we're all local and Portland based, so with this deal we're making work happen with both our peers and friends alike, and, well, thats just plain awesome. We couldn't be happier."
Oh Joy Sex Toy Volume 3 Oni Press cover illustrated by Erika Moen.
Limerence Press is printing Moen and Nolan's Oh Joy Sex Toy Volume 3 Kickstarter books, helping the creative team reduce costs. The unique and limited-Kickstarter edition cover will be exclusive to Kickstarter backers, and serve as the books that Moen and Nolan sell directly online, at conventions, and at book signings. A separate Limerence Press cover will be distributed to comic shop retailers, bookstores, and specialty shops—avenues previously inaccessible to the creators.
"Here in the office, we couldn't be more pleased to be partnering with Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan on Oh Joy Sex Toy to help their fun, punny, educational, and sometimes very sexy book reach more bookshelves," said Yarwood. "Future titles from Limerence Press will embrace the excitement and positivity Oh Joy Sex Toy embodies, and we're delighted to have it be our launch title."
"Throughout my time at Oni Press, our focus has been creating quality inclusive stories of all sorts," said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief James Lucas Jones. "With Limerence Press, we are bringing that same passion for diverse, premium content to the world of erotica and sex education for all readers in the same inclusive manner that is our hallmark."
"We're challenging ourselves to find books and creators who intrigue and arouse the reader's emotions, every bit as much as they engage them on a physical level," said Oni Press Publisher Joe Nozemack.
"The idea of 'limerence,' that giddiness of falling head over heels for someone, is something we hope to capture with this imprint," said Yarwood. "Erotica comics can be fun and inviting, as well as sexy, and my goal is that readers will find that titles from Limerence Press have real emotion and affection in them. This line is committed to publishing books that are feminist, inclusive, and queer-friendly—comics that readers feel good about recommending to their friends!"
"We owe a debt of gratitude to C. Spike Trotman and the webcomic creators who are already publishing awesome sexy comics for paving the road ahead, and I hope that Limerence Press will add another venue and voice for erotica and sex education comics with the quality that Oni Press is known for," said Yarwood. "I'm looking forward to the coming years and the fantastic comic creators whose work Limerence Press will have the privilege to showcase."
Follow Limerence Press on Twitter and Tumblr and look out for announcements for future titles this summer!
OH JOY SEX TOY VOLUME 1 (ISBN 978-1-62010-362-3) and VOLUME 2 (ISBN 978-1-62010-363-0) goes on sale at local comic book shops on Wednesday, October 5, and will be available for $29.99 each. It can be ordered by comic shop retailers from Diamond Book Distributors on May 18. Both will also be available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.
OH JOY SEX TOY VOLUME 3 (ISBN 978-1-62010-361-6) goes on sale at local comic book shops on Wednesday, November 9, and will be available for $29.99. It can be ordered by comic shop retailer from Diamond Book Distributors in the #334 July Diamond PREVIEWS catalogue. It will also be available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.
What people are saying about Oh Joy Sex Toy:
"A great and hilarious resource—some of the best sex ed out there!" Dan Savage (Savage Love, It Gets Better Project)
"Our parents had The Joy of Sex, we have the next generation of totally balls-out (and vulva-out!) candidness in Oh Joy Sex Toy!! Oh Joy Sex Toy is sui generis…there may not be a book in print simultaneously this honest, this educational, and THIS HILARIOUS." Amanda Palmer
"Erika Moen is f****** amazing and Oh Joy Sex Toy will change your life for the better." PhD Emily Nagoski, New York Times-bestselling author of Come As You Are
"[...] what really makes Oh Joy Sex Toy special—not just in the world of gadgets but the world of sex—is how, well,joyful it is. Rather than the mechanical monotony of most pornography or the clinical detachment of so much sex education, Moen's comics are funny, charming, even sweet. Everyone she depicts in sexual situations seem to be having a fantastic time—smiling, joking, and sometimes literally high-fiving." Wired
"Erika Moen's Oh Joy Sex Toy is a revolution in laughter and a hardcore exploration of the orgasm. It's a refreshingly frank comic strip about vaginas, sex toys and human sexuality." The Daily Beast
"It is written and drawn with such gosh-darn sweet enthusiasm by Erika Moen (with the occasional guest-shot from husband Matthew, who provides a dude's perspective) that even if your tastes are tamer than Moen's, I think you'll find it a perfectly wonderful read." BoingBoing
"They make sex-ed so freakishly entertaining, I don't even care I'm learning something." Sex Nerd Sandra podcast
"It's still mighty rare in the worlds we live in, to find sex information for those of any age, that is complete and holistic, fun without being flippant, sexy without being smug. Where even sound factual information about parts of sex thought to be un-sexy by a lot of people (like infections and contraception or economics) still has a giant jet stream of pleasure and joy running through it all. But Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan get it. And Oh Joy Sex Toy gives it." Heather Corinna, Founder of Scarleteen.com
"[...] Moen's the most welcoming, honest, and chipper sex-ed teacher ever. Oh Joy Sex Toy's collection of anatomy lessons, product reviews, and interviews is sexy and smart and big-hearted... and there are Star Trek jokes. This is important work, indeed." The Portland Mercury
About Oni Press, Inc.:
Oni Press is a premier comic book and graphic novel publisher located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1997, Oni Press is run by Founder and Publisher Joe Nozemack and Editor-in-Chief James Lucas Jones. Oni Press's curated line includes a variety of best-selling, award-winning, original and licensed comic books and graphic novels, including: [adult swim]'s Rick and Morty, Nickelodeon's Invader ZIM, Scott Pilgrim, Queen & Country, Courtney Crumrin, Wasteland, The Sixth Gun, Stumptown, Wet Moon, Letter 44, The Bunker, The Life After, The Coldest City, and Kaijumax.
About Limerence Press:
Limerence Press, an imprint of Oni Press, was founded in 2016 to publish quality erotic and sex education comics. Led by managing editor Ari Yarwood, Limerence Press focuses on positive, diverse, and approachable books that reflect a wide variety of emotional and intimate experiences.
