Roel Torres, Frankenrocker, and the Modern Myth Wine Project - A Tale of Two Industries, Part 2
Two Wines Inspired by Two Comics! Part 2 Covers co-publisher/creator Roel Torres, his Frankenrocker & the Jailbait Punks, and Frankenrocker Cotes du Rhone.
It’s here! Part 2 of 2! The story is now complete! (for the time being, anyway)
For Part 2 we interviewed Bad Kids Press co-publisher and fellow comics creator Roel Torres, who wrote the comic that started it all, FRANKENROCKER & THE JAILBAIT PUNKS. (Video is at the bottom of this article.)
The comic follows Frankenstein’s monster leading a punk band of teen girls who are all selected to stop a war on a far distant planet. It is INSANE in all the right ways, with art by Polish sensation Lukasz Kowalczuk that could not be more perfect.
Frankenrocker Cotes du Rhone - a Vin du Pays (country wine) blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah - was the first Modern Myth Wine Project wine to be released earlier this year. This is a wine that’s gentle and approachable in that Vin du Pays way, where the locals drink it daily, but in contrast to the Red Menace Merlot from Part 1, this has the tannic backbone and structure of a Cotes du Rhone.
The Grenache offers rich red fruit flavors and lively acidity, with the Syrah blending in with blue and purple fruit, chewier tannins, and black pepper notes.
These wines are currently only available in Massachusetts (yay post-Prohibition three tier system), though that will hopefully change in the near future. For the wine newbies in MA, I’d recommend starting with the Red Menace Merlot. For those with a slightly morre developed wine palatte, jump right in with the Frankenrocker CdR!
Mis en bouteille, baby! (Meez on Bootay)
One fun fact about the Frankenrocker Cote du Rhone - the cork had this phrase stamped on it. But what does it mean?
Basically, that the wine has been made and bottled by the producer. So it wasn’t bottled later by the buyer, which in this case would be Arborway / Pipeline / Modern Myth. Instead, the wine is enitrely the product of the French producer, only later purchased as fully bottled, finished wine, to be labeled as “Frankenrocker”, because the buyer thought it was the wine they were looking for. That’s a kind of pairing in its own right!
EVEN MORE FUN FACT: Accoridng to the Urban Dictionary, the phrase also means having a date or experience of the utmost intense pleasure with a partner that is as “fine as wine”.
“What are you doing this evening?”
“ Why, having a date with a [gender] who is Mis En Bouteille." (Or, perhaps in this context, “Meez on Bootay”, ammirite?)
Artist Lukasz Kowalczuk
Roel will be the first to tell you: the best part of Frankenrocker is the stunning stand-out art of Polish artist, Lukasz Kowalczuk. They met on an earlier wrestling-themed anthology, and Roel was so blown away by Lukasz’s style (which I describe in the interview as 80’s underground comix meets Garbage Pail Kids) that he had to pitch him Frankenrocker. And talk about a pairing!!!
FUN FACT: A previous guest on our show,
’s Christie Shin, name-dropped Johnny Ryan’s PRISON PIT comic as one of her faves. Turns out, Lukasz here translated the Polish edition of that! Check that link for an interview all about Lukasz and what he’s currentlly up to outside of Frankenrocker.The Interview w/ Roel!
The main event! Watch our full interview with Roel here, where we talk a TON about getting into the indie comics scene, supporting your artistic work, finding collaborators, evolving into national distribution, and of course, the origins and nitty gritty details of Frankenrocker. Click over to YouTube proper for clickable chapters, if you only want to hit certain highlights.
And read/watch Part 1 here:
