#IReadsYou Review: BLUE FLAG Volume 2

BLUE FLAG, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Kaito
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1302-8; paperback (June 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
224pp, B&W, $12.99 US, $17.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Ao no Flag is a high school romance manga written and drawn by Kaito.  The manga was serialized on the online manga magazine, Shonen Jump+, from February 2017 to April 2020.  VIZ Media is publishing Ao no Flag as a paperback graphic novel series, entitled Blue Flag, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

Blue Flag focuses on an unassuming high school student named Taichi Ichinose.  It is his senior year at Aohama High School, and he finds himself in the same class as shy Futaba Kuze, of whom he has conflicted feelings.  Taichi and Futaba begin to fall in love, but each has a same-sex best friend – Taichi's Toma Mita and Futaba's Masumi Itachi – who are in love with them.

As Blue Flag, Vol. 2 (Chapters 6 to 12) opens, it is time for Aohama High's school festival.  Toma accepts the position of cheer squad captain on the condition that Taichi and Futaba participate.  The problems are that Taichi does not want to participate, and that Futaba is deathly afraid of performing a cheer in front of the student body.  Later, Masumi makes a series of surprising confessions to Taichi about her “boyfriend.”  Plus, Toma, the captain of the school's baseball team, looks for success at the high school summer tournament

[This volume includes the bonus story, “After the Festival.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Blue Flag manga is not any one thing.  It is a mixture of genres and themes:  romance, high school drama, coming-of-age, shonen, LGBTQ, and light comedy.

Blue Flag Graphic Novel Volume 2 is my first experience with the series.  The series is so easy to read that readers do not have to read the first volume to understand the story.  I would, however, recommend that due to the ending of Vol. 2 readers at least start the series with the second volume and not start with the third volume.

Kaito presents characters that are likable, even lovable, simply because the four leads have genuinely different personalities.  That makes the desire, yearning, self-doubt, and internal and external conflict feel real because the characters are truly seeing things from their own different points of view.  This is a high school romance that has dramatic heft.  As usual, readers get a superb English translation from Adrienne Beck that makes every thing resonate with the reader.  Also as usual, Annaliese Christman's lettering sets the tone for individual moments as well as for larger scenes.

I am utterly shocked by how much I like this second volume of Blue Flag.  Honestly, I didn't expect much because of the title and Vol. 2's cover illustration.  Neither hints at how powerful the story is.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of coming-of-age stories and of LGBTQ-themed manga will want to read the “VIZ Signature” title Blue Flag.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: TEACH ME, TUTOR

TEACH ME, TUTOR
DMP BOOKS/Juné Manga – @junemanga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Sakira
TRANSLATION: Valeria Paolini
LETTERING: JF
EDITOR: Lindsay M
ISBN: 978-1-56970-834-7; paperback, (April 2020)
194pp, B&W, $16.95 US

Yaoi/Drama/Romance/Manga; Rated “18+”/Mature

Teach Me, Tutor is a yaoi manga anthology collection from manga creator, Sakira (the creator of Sailor Men).  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  The main feature of Teach Me, Tutor, a five-chapter serial that finds two old friends in a master-pupil... sexual situation.

Teach Me, Tutor opens with the title story, “Teach Me, Tutor.”  Mitsuhashi Minami needs a tutor to improve his grades in college.  Along comes his old neighbor, Arakawa Uta, whom Minami once called “Uta-kun.”  It isn't long before Uta's tutelage leads to improved grades for Minami, and then, Uta-kun is demanding that Minami call him “Sensei.”  Next, Uta it tearing Minami's clothes off and tying him up.  It seems as if it is time for the tutor (Uta) to teach his pupil (Minami) about the joys of rough sex.  But does Minami hate... or love this new direction in his education?

Later, in “Stalking Love,” Minami and Uta are a couple living together, and Uta's jealous side often rears its ugly head.  When a friend of Minami's, a straight student named Irie Tadakuni, starts asking Minami for relationship advice, Uta is suspicious.  Minami thinks his lover is just being jealous as usual, but is there something to Uta's concerns about Takakuni...?

In “My Dear Teddy Bear,” 27-year-old Asari Soushi, a beautician, finds a small apartment.  Much to his surprise, however, he gets an unexpected roommate, 36-year-old Momoi Atsumu, an office worker.  Soushi can't help but wonder if his landlords aren't pulling a “double contract scam.”

Soushi soon finds out that this tall, dark, and handsome older man is hugely muscular... romantic... horny... and apparently shy and embarrassed about that.  With the help of some choice root vegetables, can Soushi be the aggressive “seme” (top) that Atsumu's uke (bottom) needs?  Plus, what happens when Atsumu's young daughter(!), Umika, moves in?!

[This volume includes an “Afterword” and a bonus comic, “Manga Report of L.A.'s Autograph Session!!”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The “Teach Me, Tutor,” serial is not the best that this Teach Me, Tutor collection has to offer.  Arakawa's Jekyll and Hyde personality is more Hyde... if Hyde were a sexually sadistic, bondage maven... and rapist.  “Teach Me, Tutor” is a bit odd even for my odd tastes, but it does have its humorous moments.  I do like that the fact that Sakira fills her illustrations with the depictions of copious amounts of flowing bodily fluids.

The two-part “My Dear Teddy Bear” story is the best of this volume.  It is sweet, romantic, cute, silly, and ultimately heartwarming.  The Soushi-Atsumu dynamic is a winner, and it gets even better when Atsumu's bold and sassy daughter, Umika, is added to the mix.  I wish Sakira would have given us an entire volume featuring the “My Dear Teddy Bear” characters, who eventually form a family of endearing characters.

Teach Me, Tutor finishes off with a ridiculous, but mildly amusing story about two dudes who have been fightin' friends since childhood.  “Our Cowgirl/Riding Situation” is one of those “just-get-a-room” state of affairs.  I think that this single-chapter story would also make for an interesting stand-alone volume.

Sakira fills this volume will tall, brawny, muscular men, and she draws the muscles and muscularity in exacting detail.  The muscles bulge, and just about each big, muscly ass has an anus waiting to be penetrated by finger... or by one of those long, thick dicks that every male character seems to swing in this book.  In Teach Me, Tutor, yaoi means yowza!

Valeria Paolini, via her English-language translation, manages to find both drama and comedy in Sakira's script.  JF deftly letters around all the bulging muscles and... the bulges.  Teach Me, Tutor isn't the greatest yaoi manga, but it is great to see gay sex depicted in comics (or, in this case, manga) as big, sweaty, and sticky fun.  Also, I do have to give Sakira much credit for celebrating the rip-roaring joy of masturbation in these stories.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Yaoi manga fans and Sakira fans looking for big men with the big stuff will want to get the education of Teach Me, Tutor.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://junemanga.com/
https://twitter.com/junemanga
https://emanga.com/
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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for
reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: ECLAIR BLANCHE

ÉCLAIR BLANCHE
YEN PRESS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Various
ART: Various
TRANSLATION: Eleanor Summers
LETTERS: Alexis Eckerman
MISC. ART: U35; Yutaka Hiiragi; Non
COVER: Fly
ISBN: 978-1-9753-5909-6; paperback (May 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
276pp, B&W, $13.00 U.S., $17.00 CAN

Éclair (stylized as “éclair”) is a series of girls' love or “yuri” (lesbian) manga produced by Japanese publisher, ASCII Media Works (a brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing).  Yen Press published an English-language edition of the first Éclair collection in June 2018.  The publisher will also release three more Éclair collections in 2020, including the recently published Éclair Blanche (stylized as éclair blanche).

Éclair Blanche: A Girls' Love Anthology that Resonates in Your Heart contains 15 girls' love short stories and vignettes.  The girls' love anthology, Éclair, returns with new stories from popular girl's love authors.  This new volume features works from favorite girls' love mangaka such as Canno (“The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl”), Mushu (“Happy Yellow Chick”), and Fly (“Flowers in a Storm”), who also provides the cover art.  This new addition to the Éclair lineup will sweep lovers of girls' love off their feet!

[This volumes contains an authors' “Postscript.”]

The Éclair Blanche manga is one of the few girls' love manga that I have read.  I am pretty sure that Éclair Blanche is the first girls' love anthology that I have read, because I certainly didn't read the original collection, Éclair.  [On the other hand, I have read quite a few boys' love anthologies over the last two decades.]

The Éclair Blanche: A Girls' Love Anthology that Resonates in Your Heart Graphic Novel has some powerful stories and some poor stories.  Many of the stories here are more like vignettes than they are like a full-fledged manga short stories.  Fly's “Flowers in a Storm” is a strong open with its tale of Eri, a high school student who is about to lose the young woman she loves to a faraway college.  The volume ends with a misfire, Auri Hirao's magical girl offering, “Secret Sharing.”

“Something Only I Know” by Kagegichi Tadano offers the volume's only love triangle, and the story proves to be a bit edgy.  “The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl” by Canno is the tale of 28-year-old Mao, who wants to be a kept woman, and Hazumi, the 16-year-old rich girl who wants to use her money to take care of Mao.  Some readers will no doubt be put off not so much by the age difference between these characters, but by the fact that Hazumi cannot legally consent to have a sexual relationship with the adult Mao, at least in many states in the U.S.  I think that Canno gets around the legalities by having the characters tell each other that they are willing to wait one another out.

I won't call Éclair Blanche a great collection, but it contains enough quality girls' love comics to make it worthy of a girls' love fan's attention.  There is also some strong illustrators in this volume, with diverse styles and approaches to graphic storytelling.  That is another reason to get  Éclair Blanche.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: A TROPICAL FISH YEARNS FOR SNOW Volume 2

A TROPICAL FISH YEARNS FOR SNOW, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Makoto Hagino
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERS: Eva Grandt
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1059-1; paperback (January 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
172pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

High school student, Konatsu Amano, learns that her father has gotten a job overseas.  Konatsu has to leave Tokyo and the life she’s always known and relocate to a small seaside town, Nagahama, to stay with her aunt.  On her first trip to her new school, Nanahama High School, Konatsu arrives at the open house for the school's “Aquarium Club,” where she meets a like-minded teen girl, Koyuki Honami.  She might be the one to bring the introverted Konatsu out of her shell.

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Vol. 2 (Chapters 5 to 8) opens with Konatsu and Koyuki in an embrace that Koyuki initiated.  They suddenly part, embarrassed by the moment.  Now, it seems that Koyuki is avoiding Konatsu, but luckily, Koyuki's father, Mr. Honami, a teacher at the high school, has a way to fix what ails them.  So what's next for the Konatsu and Koyuki after this bonding experience.  Plus, Konatsu's father returns to Japan for a visit.

[This volume includes an illustrated “Afterword” and bonus manga.]

The A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow manga is a light-hearted, LGBTQ-themed manga from VIZ Media.  It is similar in tone and spirit to That Blue Sky Feeling, a manga about a straight teen boy who has a very close relationship with a gay teen boy.

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow Graphic Novel Volume 2 depicts the first complications in Konatsu and Koyuki's still new relationship – the first bumps in the road on their journey of love.  In fact, Vol. 2 is thematically about complications and obstacles, but not too complicated or obstacles too weighty.  A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow is rated “T” (for “Teen”), so this is a gentle romance in which “getting physical” means hugs and holding hands.

John Werry's translation and English adaptation is gentle and sweet and appropriate for the tone of the narrative.  Eva Grandt's lettering plays the dialogue like soft melodies, and that's okay.  A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow is something different, and I am curious to see where this story goes.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: A TROPICAL FISH YEARNS FOR SNOW Volume 1

A TROPICAL FISH YEARNS FOR SNOW, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Makoto Hagino
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERS: Eva Grandt
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1043-0; paperback (November 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
172pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Nettaigyo wa Yuki ni Kogareru is a manga from Makoto Hagino.  It is currently being serialized in the Japanese magazine, Dengeki Maoh, where it began in June 2017.  VIZ Media is publishing an English language edition of the manga as a graphic novel series, entitled A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow.

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) introduces high school student, Konatsu Amano.  When her father gets a job overseas, Konatsu has to leave Tokyo and the life she’s always known.  She relocates to a small seaside town to stay with her aunt.

The move also means starting at a new school surrounded by complete strangers, and that is a lot to handle for a girl who has trouble with change.  On her first trip to Nanahama High School, Konatsu arrives at the open house for the school's “Aquarium Club,”  There, she meets Koyuki Honami, an older girl who is the sole member of the Aquarium Club.  Konatsu has introverted tendencies that are hard for her to overcome, but she finds herself drawn to Koyuki.  Maybe, she has found something and someone worth coming out of her shell for?

[This volume includes an “Afterword.”]

The A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow manga seems to be the latest LGBTQ-themed manga from VIZ Media.  That it arrives shortly after the conclusion of VIZ's release of That Blue Sky Feeling, a manga about a teen boy who has a very close relationship with a gay teen boy, does not feel like a coincidence.

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow Graphic Novel Volume 1 introduces two high school girls who are obviously drawn to one another.  They may even be smitten with one another.  Creator Makoto Hagino has an anime-inspired drawing style that features girls with big, emotive eyes, which conveys the narrative's highly emotional tone.

John Werry's translation and English adaptation is gentle and sweet, and the best thing about it is that it captures both the awkwardness of the girls and their desire to be connected with one another.  Eva Grandt's lettering presents sound effects as melodic tones that indicate important moments in the development of Konatsu and Koyuki's relationship.

There is something about A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow that firmly holds my attention.  It is as if I have to follow whatever romance may or may not be happening.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THAT BLUE SKY FEELING Volume 3

THAT BLUE SKY FEELING, VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Okura
ART: Coma Hashii
TRANSLATION: Jocelyne Allen
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0797-3; paperback (October 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
248pp, B&W, $10.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

That Blue Sky Feeling is a coming-of-age manga from writer Okura and artist Coma Hashii.  It was published from 2017 to 2018 in the manga magazine, Gangan Joker and is an adaption of the webcomic, Sorairo Flutter.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of That Blue Sky Feeling as a three-volume graphic novel series.

The series follows two high school boys.  Noshiro Dai is an outgoing high school student who finds himself drawn to Hikaru “Kou” Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay.  The rumors don't bother Noshiro; instead, they make him even more determined to get close to Sanada.  Thus, what is set in motion is a surprising tale of first love.

As That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 3 (Chapters 15 to 21 to Final Chapter) opens, everyone is seeking young love.  New student, Makoto Morinaga, who is gay, is determined to date Noshiro, but there is a girl with her eye on Noshiro.  Her name is Natsu Aikawa, and, with the help of her friends, is building up the nerve to ask Noshiro on a date.

Sanada is chagrined when his friends meet Hide, the 26-year-old man who was once his boyfriend.  Also, Ayumi Yamamoto wants to get closer to Sanada, although she has heard the rumors that he is gay.  Meanwhile, Noshiro and Sanada each seems to struggle to discover the true nature of their relationship.

[This volume includes a two-page character profile section and a farewell from the creators and staff.]

That Blue Sky Feeling manga may have a category, but I am not sure what it would be.  I would not call it boys' love (BL), because, although there are gay characters, That Blue Sky Feeling really does not depict romantic relationships between male characters.  Category aside, this series is filled with love, companionship, and friendship.

That Blue Sky Feeling Graphic Novel Volume 3 is the final volume of the series.  Writer Okura and art Coma Hashii wrap up this portrait of young love with gentleness and with a sense of humor.  The creators, as they relate in a closing note to readers, wanted to offer a snapshot of youth and a depiction of the trials of the heart that come along with being young.  They certainly do that, especially in this final volume, and it makes for an endearing tale, in part, thanks to Jocelyne Allen's excellent English translation.  Joanna Estep's lettering adds the fizz and shojo sparkles to this tale of teens exploring the landscapes of love.

The story ends without fully committing to a romantic relationship between the two leads, but we learn that what they have is special – because they say so.  So instead of calling That Blue Sky Feeling BL manga, we can call it what it is.  It is a delightful manga with LGBT themes that explores the first yearnings of straight and gay love.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THAT BLUE SKY FEELING Volume 2

THAT BLUE SKY FEELING, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Okura
ART: Coma Hashii
TRANSLATION: Jocelyne Allen
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0410-1; paperback (May 2018); Rated “T” for “Teen”
240pp, B&W, $10.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

That Blue Sky Feeling is a coming-of-age LGBTQ manga from writer Okura and artist Coma Hashii.  VIZ Media publishes the series in-print with an MSRP of $10.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.  It is available digitally via viz.com and the VIZ Manga App, as well as from the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, comiXology, and Google Play stores.

Noshiro Dai is an outgoing high school student who finds himself drawn to Kou Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay.  The rumors don't bother Noshiro; instead, they make him even more determined to get close to Sanada.  Thus, what is set in motion is a surprising tale of first love.

As That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 2 (Chapters 8 to 14) opens, Noshiro and Sanada's friendship is growing, after Noshiro finally breaks down the emotional walls Sanada put up.  Now, a new complication has arrived.  Ayumi Yamamoto, a childhood friend of Sanada's who went to elementary school with him, reveals that she has always liked him.  Noshiro believes that he should try to get Sanada and Yamamoto together.  Meanwhile, Noshiro has his own romantic complications; new student, Makoto Morinaga, an underclassman, has a crush on Noshiro.

[This volume includes a bonus chapter.]

The title is practically neutral, but That Blue Sky Feeling manga is a high school set series.  One of the leads is gay, but this is not an out-and-out gay romantic manga – at least not yet.

That Blue Sky Feeling Graphic Novel Volume 2 is decidedly sweet-natured.  Characters are in “like” rather than being in “love.”  “Like,” however, can get pretty intense, and the story can quietly be intense.  Creators Okura and Coma Hashii are sly in the way they portray characters dealing with being gay in a setting that can be cruel, even mortally dangerous to gay students.

On the other side of that, they present in Noshiro, a character working hard to make sure that being gay does not hamper the fun of high school for his friend.  For Sanada, his stoicism masks his dishonesty about his feelings.  This is an excellent setup for conflict or, at the very least, comic situations.  That Blue Sky Feeling is proving to be an interesting take on gay comics and on high school romance manga.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: BINGO LOVE

BINGO LOVE (OGN)
IMAGE COMICS/Inclusive Press – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Tee Franklin
ART: Jenn St-Onge
COLORS: Joy San
LETTERS: Cardinal Rae
EDITOR: Erica Schultz
COVER: Genevieve Eft
ISNB: 978-1-53430750-6; paperback (February 2018)
88pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

Rated “T / Teen”

Bingo Love created by Tee Franklin

Bingo Love is an full-color original graphic novel written and created by Tee Franklin and drawn by Jenn St-Onge.  It is the story of two women who meet as school girls and fall in love, but are forced apart by the obligations of family and society.  Bingo Love's creative team includes colorist Joy San and letterer Cardinal Rae.

On February 10th, 1963, at a church bingo game, Hazel Marie Johnson meets the new girl in town.  To Hazel, Mari Annabelle McCray smells like cocoa butter and is a “honey glazed goddess.”  Mari also turns out to be the new student at the high school Hazel attends, and Hazel is immediately smitten with her.  It turns out that Mari is also attracted to Hazel and indicates this by delivering a kiss on Hazel's cheek.  Soon, the two are inseparable.

In the 1960s, however, society does not tolerate same-sex couples, nor do families.  Hazel and Mari are forced apart, and Hazel settles for marriage to a young air force pilot, James Aloysius Downing.  Fate, on the other hand, is not willing to let family and society have the last say in Hazel and Mari's tale of young love.

Bingo Love is both sweet and relentless.  The art by Jenn St-Onge is composed in large, puffy circles that result in characters with big heads and large facial features.  This is both sweet and cute, but St-Onge is able to convey emotions large and small and expressive and intimate.  St-Onge gives the story so much emotional resonance with her joyful compositions.  Joy San's joyful coloring makes St-Onge's illustrations leap off the page, turning this story into a dance and celebration of love.  The lettering by Cardinal Rae carries the story forward as if it were a wave determined to transport a love story across the world.

Tee Franklin's story and script is the relentless part of the creation.  Love is love.  Those meant to be will be, whether the whole damn world likes it or not.  Tee Franklin delivers a LGBTQ manifesto as a candy shoppe milkshake that is a stubborn, unstoppable taste sensation.  Hazel and Mari's love is not normal or abnormal; it simply is.  Normal and abnormal are just labels.  Love is love; beyond labels, this is Bingo Love.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Fantagraphics Books Announces "Massive" Look at Gay Erotic Manga

MASSIVE: GAY EROTIC MANGA AND THE MEN WHO MAKE IT

Release — October 2014
Format — Softcover, 272 pages
Edited & Translated by: Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins
Designed by: Chip Kidd

UNPRECENDENTED INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF GAY MANGA

Featuring works by Jiraiya, Tagame, Ebisubashi, Ichikawa +more. Designed by Chip Kidd.

Fantagraphics Books is thrilled to welcome the team behind The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame (PictureBox) to the family. Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It due out October 2014. This is the most recent entry in Fantagraphics’ queer comics lineup, which also features the anthology No Straight Lines, the graphic novels 7 Miles a Second and Bread & Wine, and manga by Moto Hagio and Shimura Takako.

The Massive anthology showcases Japan’s most talented and influential gay manga artists, including Gengoroh Tagame, Jiraiya, Seizoh Ebisubashi, Kazuhide Ichikawa, Gai Mizuki, Takeshi Matsu, Fumi Miyabi, and Kumada Poohsuke. In Massive, many of these artists’ works are featured in English for the first time; this collection offers an intimate, in-depth look at a criminally overlooked component of Japanese queer culture. In addition to comics and illustrations, Massive features photographs of the artists and their workspaces; cultural and historical context; and interviews with the creators about what it’s like to be a gay erotic artist in Japan.

Edited by Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins, and designed by Chip Kidd, this unprecedented survey of manga "made by gay men for gay men" is an essential addition to the queer comics canon; it will introduce the genre often referred to as "bara" (a misnomer for gay manga that has taken on new meanings online) to a new, international audience.

Massive was originally scheduled as a PictureBox Spring 2014 release until its publisher, Dan Nadel, announced that he is ceasing operations. Although we’re sad to see PictureBox shutter its doors, everyone involved is delighted to give Massive a new home. "I'm thrilled that Massive, an essential guide to the world of gay manga, is going to see print next year. Anne Ishii, Graham Kolbeins, and Chip Kidd are the best guides imaginable to this fascinating work and the men who make it," says Nadel.

For more information on the production team behind Massive and its artists, please visit gaymanga.tumblr.com and fantagraphics.com/massive.

I Reads You Review: WORLD’S END (Yaoi)

Creator: Eiki Eiki (cartoonist); Douglas W. Dlin (translation)
Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP; B&W, paperback, 232pp, $12.95 U.S.
Ordering Numbers: ISBN 13: 978-1-56970-766-1; ISBN 10: 1-56970-766-9

Drama/Romance; Rated “YA” for “Teens 16+”

World’s End is the sequel to the yaoi manga, Dear Myself. Both books are the creation of mangaka Eiki Eiki (Train Train). Dear Myself focused on Hirofumi Mizui, a freelance writer, and his possessive boyfriend, Daigo Furubayashi, a businessman and college freshman.

If I understand the story correctly (and I may not because I’ve never read Dear Myself), there is a third character in this scenario, a character known as “Alien Hirofumi.” At one point in the story, Hirofumi loses his memory, and he essentially becomes someone different from the real Hirofumi – thus the term “alien.” It is “Alien Hirofumi” who falls in love with Daigo. This Hirofumi writes “Dear Myself” letters so that when he regains his memories and goes back to being the “real” Hirofumi, he’ll have written memories of his time with Daigo.

As World’s End, a continuation and conclusion of Dear Myself, opens, Hirofumi and Daigo have been living together for a year. However, Daigo has become frighteningly possessive of Hirofumi and starts imposing restrictions on when and where Hirofumi can go. Determined to be independent, Hirofumi insists that Daigo not accompany him to a high school reunion. There, Hirofumi meets an old female acquaintance, Nanae Maeda, who may have romantic feelings for Hirofumi. Meanwhile, his psychological scars lead Daigo to taking drastic action for fear of losing Hirofumi.

This volume also includes the short story, “The Last Spring,” a side story to Dear Myself, featuring the amnesiac Alien Hirofumi. Here, Hirofumi worries that regaining his memory will mean losing the part of him that loves Daigo, so he makes a promise involving cherry blossoms. The only new story in World’s End is the short story, “The Next Spring,” a follow-up to “The Last Spring.”

Eiki Eiki is one of my favorite Boys’ Love (BL) creators. I love her drawing style and the sensibilities of her graphical storytelling, even when I’m not impressed by the core story and characters. This is straight melodrama, but what makes it work is character motivation. The fact is that the characters are selfish and self-centered, even in romantic relationships. They are so focused on their own good feelings and fear of pain, and that gives this drama some edge, as well as potent conflict, both internal and external. A love story that involves stalking, deception, and false imprisonment is a spicier read than a straight love story.

This book also includes stories featuring two more young couples. In “Kiss on a Honeymoon,” Fumiya Yoshino and Ayane Kumagai are a gay couple who married before they graduated from high school. However, school obligations kept the duo from honeymooning. Now, they’re trying to make the class graduation trip to Hawaii double as a honeymoon, but classmate, Takagishi, is a full-on cock block. What to do?

In “Papa’s 18,” former street punk Chiharu Daisawa is now a 20-year-old college student, and he wants his mother, Kayoko Daisawa, to be happy. He approves of her engagement to get married until he discovers that her fiancée is an 18-year-old kid just out of high school. This kid has even taken the family name and goes by the name, Noboru Daisawa. What’s worse to Chiharu is that his new “dad” is a sleepwalker who likes to get in bed with his new “son.”

“Kiss on a Honeymoon” is just a trifle, a cute BL story that really plays out like a high school shojo manga romance. “Papa’s 18” is funny simply because its not-so-farfetched scenario plays out with raunchy, mini-set pieces. There are so many possibilities here for outrageous and scandalous comedy that “Papa’s 18” should be a full-length graphic novel.

At 232 pages, World’s End is packed with entertaining boys’ love manga. None of it is great. Some of it is quite good, and even the average stuff can be entertaining.

A-

Gay Super Team Takes on Gay Celebrity Zombies

CELEBRITY GAY ZOMBIES VS WORLD’S FIRST ALL-GAY SUPERHERO TEAM!

Spandex, the world’s first all-gay superhero team and stars of their own award-nominated comic, are back! And in the brand new issue, things take an unexpected turn, when the team face a whole horde of …celebrity gay zombies!

Spandex Comic creator Martin Eden comments: “I was doodling one of the pages and I thought it would be fun to cram in as many famous gay people as possible – as zombies! It’s a bit of a who’s-who of LGBT people in the media – they just look a bit scarier…”

The new Spandex issue, entitled ‘…If you were the last person on Earth’, is a one-shot sci-fi/horror story, where the world’s population is enslaved and turned into the living dead by an alien creature called Nadir.

It may sound like a bizarre premise but, all quirkiness aside, Eden is also looking at more serious issues with this story. “On one hand, the story is fun and over-the-top, but on the other hand, it explores mental health issues. One in four people are affected by depression, anxiety, and similar problems, and it is becoming an increasing issue in the LGBT community. The storyline explores this.” Eden will offer a list of helpful resources with this new issue.

Since its launch in November 2009, Spandex comic has earned an Eagle Award nomination for Best British Comic, and gained national radio, television and newspaper coverage, including appearances in The Sun and The Metro.

This new issue hits comic shops on 20 November, with a special launch event at The Leeds Thought Bubble Convention this weekend. A teaser trailer to promote this new issue is available on YouTube.

Spandex comic issue #3: On-sale 20 November

For more information on how to purchase Spandex comic, visit: http://www.spandexcomic.com/

Gay Comic Book, "Spandex" Recieves Eagle Award Nomination

Gay superhero comic nominated for prestigious award!

Controversial new comic Spandex has been nominated for an Eagle Award – the comics equivalent of the Oscars! The comic – about a group of gay superheroes – is nominated in the category for Best British Colour Comic Book.

Spandex creator Martin Eden commented on the nomination: “I’m completely shocked and I really didn’t expect it! I’m so proud of my comic and I’m really trying to do things that have never been done in a comic before. I’m up against some big titles in my category, so it’d be so exciting if the independent guy won! I have some amazing plans for the next few issues of Spandex, and I can’t wait to unleash it all on the comic-reading world.”

Issue Two of the comic features a guest appearance by Her Majesty herself, the Queen – as a Buckingham Palace burglary sparks off Spandex’s latest adventure! The Brighton-based gay-team then head to Japan to recover the crown jewels and replace a fallen team-mate. There, they face the formidable swords of the Pink Ninjas, the terrifying Gayzilla, and they recruit Neon, the world’s first gay, fluorescent ninja!

Spandex is now being published as an ongoing comic title, with eventual book collections in the pipeline. “The original plan was to publish issue one, and then work on a bigger book,” says Martin, “but after global media attention, it was just too exciting to wait!” Spandex hit the headlines back in November – not just in the UK, but in Australia, Russia, America, Germany – all over the world – too.

Spandex comic #2 is on sale now and is available from the Spandex website, selected comic shops and via online download. Each reader will receive a special Pink Ninja badge (while stocks last!).

Tying in with this issue is ‘Japandex’, an online gallery of Japan - related artwork all with a Spandex twist – provided by the UK’s best independent comic artists.

Spandex comic #2
On-sale now!

For more information on Spandex comic, visit: http://www.spandexcomic.com/

Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spandex-Comic/137375331859


About Spandex comic:
Spandex is a brand new comic book series featuring the world’s first all-gay superhero team!

Spandex comic #2 is 36 full-colour pages priced at £3.20 / $9, available from selected comic shops.

Spandex comic #2 is also available as a £1 / $2 download at www.spandexcomic.com

More information on Spandex and the Spandex team:

LIBERTY
The leader of the team and the world’s first transvestite superhero! Libery has a (female) power suit which gives her strength and flight, and she also has her own ‘Gaydar’ (like Spider Sense, but gayer). In Issue Two, we learn that the cheerful leader has a very manipulative side...

BUTCH
Brooding and quiet, Butch is dealing with the assassination of her brother, and the fact she is dating the team’s biggest enemy, Pussy.

GLITTER
The team’s joker – but when his lover is murdered, how will this affect his behaviour?

PROWLER
Prowler has the power to absorb the skills and abilities of any gay person – so that could mean taking the powers of a team-mate or enemy, or, in this issue, learning how to speak Japanese!

DIVA
Inspired by Britney Spears (!), Diva is the most beautiful superhero you’ll ever see... But don’t let those good looks deceive you... Diva is deadly in a fight, and she has many, many deep, dark secrets...

INDIGO
Indigo has her ‘Indigo Room’, a room full of weapons, gadgets and costume changes, which she can visit in the blink of an eye. Issue Two sees her develop feelings for a male team-mate…

NEON
Trained by Pei Gay, Neon is the world's first gay flourescent ninja and a former member of Japan's biggest superteam, The J-Team.

FUTURE ISSUES
Prepare for gay zombies in issue three in a story called '...If You Were The Last Man on Earth'. The issue focuses on Glitter and we get to see a very different side to him. Then issues four to six contain a huge Spandex epic, as the team are attacked individually by Les Girlz.

Queen of England Appears in Gay Superhero Comic Book, Spandex

Queen appears in outrageous gay superteam comic!

After controversially grabbing global headlines in November last year with their glamorous comic debut, the world’s first gay superteam are back for more action! And Issue Two features none other than Her Majesty herself, the Queen – as a Buckingham Palace burglary sparks off Spandex’s latest adventure!

Issue two sees the Brighton-based gay-team head to Japan to recover the crown jewels and replace a fallen team-mate! There, they face the formidable swords of the Pink Ninjas, the terrifying Gayzilla, and they recruit Neon, the world’s first gay, fluorescent ninja!

Spandex creator Martin also promises possibly the most shocking scene ever shown in a gay superhero comic! “Things really kick off in issue two,” says Martin. “We really get to know the characters a lot more, and I’m going to be playing on the expectations of the readers. You will not believe what happens! I really want to explore aspects of sexuality and relationships in this comic. These guys’ adventures don’t finish at the bedroom door. This issue is mature and definitely not for kids – comics have finally grown up.”

Spandex is now being published as an ongoing comic title, with eventual book collections in the pipeline. “The original plan was to publish issue one, and then work on a bigger book,” says Martin, “but after global media attention, it was just too exciting to wait!” Spandex hit the headlines back in November – not just in the UK, but in Australia, Russia, America, Germany – all over the world – too.

Spandex comic #2 will be on sale from 22 May – launching at the Bristol Expo Comic Convention – and then will be available from the Spandex website, selected comic shops and via online download. Each reader will receive a special Pink Ninja badge (while stocks last!).

Tying in with this issue is ‘Japandex’, an online gallery of Japan - related artwork all with a Spandex twist – provided by the UK’s best independent comic artists.

Spandex comic #2
On-sale 22 May

For more information on Spandex comic, visit: http://www.spandexcomic.com

Become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spandex-Comic/137375331859

More information on Spandex and the Spandex team:

LIBERTY
The leader of the team and the world’s first transvestite superhero! Libery has a (female) power suit which gives her strength and flight, and she also has her own ‘Gaydar’ (like Spider Sense, but gayer). In Issue Two, we learn that the cheerful leader has a very manipulative side...

BUTCH
Brooding and quiet, Butch is dealing with the assassination of her brother, and the fact she is dating the team’s biggest enemy, Pussy.

GLITTER
The team’s joker – but when his lover is murdered, how will this affect his behaviour?

PROWLER
Prowler has the power to absorb the skills and abilities of any gay person – so that could mean taking the powers of a team-mate or enemy, or, in this issue, learning how to speak Japanese!

DIVA
Inspired by Britney Spears (!), Diva is the most beautiful superhero you’ll ever see... But don’t let those good looks deceive you... Diva is deadly in a fight, and she has many, many deep, dark secrets...

INDIGO
Indigo has her ‘Indigo Room’, a room full of weapons, gadgets and costume changes, which she can visit in the blink of an eye. Issue Two sees her develop feelings for a male team-mate…

NEON
Trained by Pei Gay, Neon is the world's first gay flourescent ninja and a former member of Japan's biggest superteam, The J-Team.

FUTURE ISSUES
Prepare for gay zombies in issue three in a story called '...If You Were The Last Man Alive'. The issue focuses on Glitter and we get to see a very different side to him. Then issues four to six contain a huge Spandex epic, as the team are attacked individually by Les Girlz