MOUSE GUARD AND ASP RACK UP ANOTHER AWARD
Mouse Guard wins 2007 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award

Kearny, NJ -- June 10, 2008 -- Archaia Studios Press (ASP) snagged another ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award picking up the Bronze Medal in the Graphic Novel category for David Petersen’s MOUSE GUARD: FALL 1152. This is now the fifth straight year ASP has been honored by a ForeWord Book of the Year Award, the same number of years the graphic novel category has existed in the 10-year history of ForeWord’s awards.

As per tradition this year’s awards, where 60 categories are represented and awarded for the best in independent publishers, were announced at last weekend’s BookExpo America in Los Angeles.

“I have to do everything possible to keep Saxon, Kenzie, and Lieam from letting their egos get too carried away,” bemoaned MOUSE GUARD creator David Petersen. “Awards just make them incorrigible. But they know as well as I do that I am a lucky guy: I not only get to draw characters I love and tell their stories, but I’m honored by an ever-increasing readership. You don’t do this kind of work for awards, but it’s certainly nice to be recognized by such folks as the ForeWord Magazine award committee.”

The hardcover edition of MOUSE GUARD: FALL 1152 (ISBN 978-1-932386-57-8; $24.95; a 192-page; ages 10+) collects the first 6-issue MOUSE GUARD series and includes 12 pages of bonus material. Random House’s Villard imprint makes MOUSE GUARD available in a trade paperback edition (ISBN: 978-0-345-49686-7, $17.95). In MOUSE GUARD: FALL 1152 we are introduced to the fearless guards Saxon, Kenzie, and Lieam, dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. In this fanciful, dangerous and medieval world, the three Guardsmice stumble onto much more than they bargained for…intrigue, betrayal, and a deadly, traitorous plot.

To see excerpts from MOUSE GUARD: FALL 1152, and its sequel WINTER 1152, go to:
http://www.aspcomics.com/mouse_guard.php

To learn more about the forthcoming MOUSE GUARD ROLEPLAYING GAME, go to:
http://www.aspcomics.com/mouse_guard_rpg.php

In the graphic novel category of previous ForeWord Magazine awards, ASP has won:

**Gold Medal (2003): ARTESIA
**Silver Medal (2004): ARTESIA AFIRE
**Honorable Mention (2005): THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS
**Bronze Award (2006): ROBOTIKA

All ASP titles are available worldwide at finer comic book shops, bookstores, amazon.com, the ASP Store at Indie Press Revolution (www.indiepressrevolution.com), and electronically at DriveThruComics.com. ARTESIA is now available at WOWIO.com, with other ASP titles to follow.

ABOUT ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Mark Smylie founded Archaia Studios Press (ASP) in 2002 as a new home for his epic fantasy comic book, Artesia (first published by Sirius Entertainment). Artesia, winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Best Graphic Novel of 2003, and its sequels -- Artesia Afield and Artesia Afire -- gave ASP its foundation. Artesia: Adventures in The Known World, a roleplaying game written by Mark, expanded ASP into the world of gaming; the game won the Origins Award for Role-Playing Game of 2005. Now Mark and publishing partner Aki Liao have expanded ASP to include a line of idiosyncratic and creator-driven comic books and graphic novels in the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres, as well as translations of several of Europe’s best titles. More information can be found at www.aspcomics.com