Otaku and Gaming Clothing Company Urban Alchemist Launches

New York, NY (October 23, 2006) -- Former employees of Central Park Media and Be Beautiful Manga today announced the formation of Urban Alchemist, an independent clothing company dedicated to creating high-quality, original shirts and accessories for anime, video game, and comic book fans.

"We're very excited to be starting something new," Kevin Sopko, former Central Park Media Sales Coordinator and Urban Alchemist's Director of Sales, stated. "We love comics, anime, and video games and are taking this to the next level through Urban Alchemist."

Urban Alchemist's first two shirts feature the yaoi-inspired phrases "I Want An Uke" and "I Want A Seme" and are available now. Uke and Seme are Japanese terms for passive and aggressive men heavily used in yaoi, a Japanese genre of comics and animation revolving around romances between intensely beautiful men.

"Every yaoi fan I've met has been a wonderful, passionate person,"
Peter Tatara, former Central Park Media and Be Beautiful Manga Marketing Manager and Urban Alchemist's President, said. "It's because of this that Urban Alchemist's first shirts are for yaoi fans. We're going to expand to offer a lot of different clothing for a lot of different people, but we're starting with yaoi because all its fans have been nothing less than an absolute joy in the past."

Urban Alchemist's "I Want An Uke" and "I Want A Seme" shirts are for sale now on the company's website, www.urban-alchemist.com, for $19 each. For specific questions, wholesale information, or high-resolution images, Urban Alchemist can be contacted directly at answers@urban-alchemist.com.

About Kevin Sopko:
Kevin Sopko is a Renaissance Man who balances his interest in comics, games, and animation with a background in hockey and track. Sopko's formal education at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York prepared him for his time at Central Park Media where, as Sales Coordinator, he opened and maintained several of CPM's largest accounts. Now Director of Sales at Urban Alchemist, Sopko is responsible for all the company's retail sales. In his free time, Sopko writes for video game portal www.RPGDL.com.

About Peter Tatara:
While Marketing Manager at Central Park Media and Be Beautiful Manga, Tatara crafted much of the company’s public face, was responsible for planning publicity events, and created both consumer and retailer product awareness programs. Now President of Urban Alchemist, expanding upon his experience, he supervises all marketing, advertising, production, and website design. In his free time, Tatara is a writer and amateur filmmaker whose work, most notably the Johnny Robo miniseries, can be seen at www.giantrobotsfightinggod.com. He graduated from Ithaca College's Park School of Communications.

About Urban Alchemist:
Urban Alchemist is a New York City-based boutique apparel company specializing in high quality, unique, niche clothing truly expressive of modern and retro underground culture. While most companies focus on the trendy and the popular, Urban Alchemist seeks to make anti-popular shirts and accessories for anime, video game, and comic book fans. The company's products can be purchased directly from www.urban-alchemist.com.