ATHENA VOLTAIRE Flies to GRAPHIC SMASH

Critically-acclaimed online comic ATHENA VOLTAIRE will be moving from ModernTales.com to its sister site, GraphicSmash.com on April 4. The comic, which Warren Ellis described as “if THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING were actually, you know, good,” was recently named one of the best webcomics of 2004 by The Webcomics Examiner. The series follows the exploits of the titular heroine, a globetrotting aviatrix, as she battles Nazis, mercenaries and the occult.

Since its launch in 2002, ATHENA VOLTAIRE has been the creation of writer Paul Daly and artists Steve Bryant & Chad Fidler.

“We’re thrilled to be moving to Graphic Smash,” said Bryant. “We’ve enjoyed our time on the Modern Tales flagship site, but are looking forward to being matched up with other top-notch action-oriented comics, like GUN STREET GIRL, JAZZ AGE and SUPER REAL.

Barb Lien-Cooper, creator of GUN STREET GIRL, says “ATHENA VOLTAIRE is a work created for all the right reasons: the joy of creating comics worth reading and the deep desire to draw the audience into a compelling fictional dream. I couldn’t be more pleased that AV is joining Graphic Smash.”

ATHENA VOLTAIRE kicks off its Graphic Smash run with the short story “A Rescue on Formosa.” Bryant describes the story as a fast-moving adventure yarn: “lean and mean—a great starting point for new readers.”

The comic has received rave reviews from Sequential Tart, Ain’t It Cool News, Comics World News, Broken Frontier and more. Among Athena’s supporters are fellow comics pros Tim Bradstreet (“rollicking high action!”), Mark Schultz (“stylish storytelling”), Mike W.Barr (“I’m in love with ATHENA VOLTAIRE!”) and Beau Smith (“enough butt kickin’ to keep a boot factory in business for life”).

Modern Tales, founded and published by Joey Manley, is the leading publisher of subscription-based comics on the Internet. Graphic Smash, Modern Tales’ subscription site devoted to action comics, is edited by T Campbell. For more information, visit www.moderntales.com or www.graphicsmash.com. For more information on ATHENA VOLTAIRE, visit www.athenavoltaire.com for artwork previews, plot synopses and more.