Mad Cave Studios has announced a new LGBTQIA+ graphic novel from its YA imprint, Maverick, entitled Just Another Summer. Today, The Beat has all the details.
Just Another Summer is a romantic comedy co-written by wives Tilly Bridges and Susan Bridges, illustrated by AoiG. and Giulia Rinaldo, colored by Valentina Briski, and lettered by Chas! Pangburn. The story follows two teen celebrities who are sent to a farm in Montana as punishment for sneaking out and stumble upon love where they least expect to find it.
Here’s the full synopsis:
When scandal sidelines two LA teen celebrities, a punishment summer on a Montana farm forces them to trade red carpets for rubber boots—and to choose between the futures they were raised for and the loves they never saw coming.
Eager for a break from their brutal schedules as A-list actors, teen sisters Hayley and Becky Huxley sneak out to experience LA on their own terms. After a big mistake gets them fired from their gig on a hit TV show, they’re sent to a dairy farm in Montana to learn a little humility!
Sparks fly when they meet farm hand Jake, who can’t believe he has to babysit some pampered rich girls all summer! But Becky’s very into the cute girl at the local diner, and Hayley and Jake start to realize that they have more in common than they think. Even though she’s a cis city girl and he’s a trans country boy — they might just be falling for each other. But they’re from entirely different worlds, it could never work! …or could it?
“Just Another Summer is a romcom about those heady emotional days in your late teens when you notice the world is changing… or maybe it’s that your perspective changes as you learn something new,” said Susan and Tilly Bridges in a statement. “At heart, it’s about realizing that people from wildly different backgrounds, with wildly different interests, are more alike than you thought.
“Even as a writing team, each of us came from very different upbringings, yet we found we had more in common than we ever imagined,” they continued. “We believe that we, all of us, are in this together, and the way forward begins with communication. That way lies hope, understanding, and yeah… maybe even love.”
Artist AoiG. shared a personal connection with the story: “Just Another Summer was an experience for me, not only as an artist but also as a reader. As I worked through the story, I felt increasingly close to its characters. The character I empathized with the most was Jake because, surprisingly enough, I have a friend who is going through a very similar life journey with her transition, and for me, this project became a way to understand her better.
“I hope readers will appreciate all the nuances of this comic and grow attached to the characters, just as I did,” AoiG. said.
Just Another Summer will be available everywhere books are sold on August 4. Pre-orders are available now.
