Hanky Panky
Story and Art: Koreaki Kamuro
Published by the Deux Press Imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1934496251
ISBN-13: 978-1934496251

Review by Linda Yau

Hanky Panky is a collection of one-shots, where each of the stories features characters that develop a crush or act on a pre-existing crush. The cover is pretty attractive, and I heartily recommend picking up this steamy book. In the title story of Hanky Panky, Manaka has a double life by daytime he is a geeky college student, but at night he is Itsuki the sexy hot host club owner. Now what is he to do after his classmate Doi seeks a job at his club, and shows sexual interest in him as Itsuki, but not as Manaka?
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Hanky Panky”

Wanted
Story and Art by Matsuri Hino
Published by the Shojo Beat imprint of Viz Media.
ISBN10: 1421519348
ISBN13: 9781421519340

Review by Linda Yau

All songstress Armeria ever wanted was to find Luce her first love, after he got kidnapped by the infamous pirate captain Skulls. Fast forward eight years later, she has disguised herself as a boy, and joined up with the crew. Unfortunately her plans of finding Luce is dashed when the crew realizes that she is a women. Now what is she to do after Skulls tether her at her feet binding her to his side?
» Continue reading “Manga Review: Wanted”

Two of Hearts
Story and Art by Kano Miyamoto
Published by the Deux Press, Imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc.
ISBN13: 9781934496367
ISBN10: 1934496367

Review by Linda Yau

Haruya Ito is a writer who has moved away from Tokyo to the countryside. He consistently frustrates Yagisawa, his editor/lover with his existing writer’s block, and the fact that he is satisfied with his country life. One day though, after being advised by Yagisawa to become more motivated – Haruya took a walk along the beach nearby. He sees a young man undressing and this is how he meets Maki Hidaka, a troubled young man. Their relationship develops from that one meeting.
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Two of Hearts”

Mao-Chan
Story by Ken Akamatsu
Art by Ran
Published by Del Rey Manga imprint of Ballantine
ISBN10: 0345501810
ISBN13: 9780345501813

Review by Linda Yau

Japan is under attack from aliens from the outer space, and only the force that could defend the earth is a team of three elementary graders. They are Mao, Misora, and Sylvia respectively representing the Ground, Air and Navy Army forces, following their grandfathers who are the general for each force. However their three grandfathers don’t often see eye to eye, so how will the three girls face approval to be united against the common evil? The common evils are aliens that are really cute critters, with the objective of stealing famous landmarks. Why through cuteness, friendship and when the situation seems very bleak of course.
» Continue reading “Manga Review: Mao-chan Vol 1″

Review by Tom Good

Comics ought to be a great type of content to read on a hand-held computer, but I haven’t been really excited about comics on a hand-held device until now. iVerse Media has created a great reading experience on the iPhone with their iVerse Comic Reader. This app could be a case study on how to make digital comics work well on the small screen. Here is a list of my requirements, and how iVerse satisfied them:
» Continue reading “iPhone comics from iVerse Media”

Red Blinds the Foolish
Story and Art: est em
Published by the Deux Press Imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1934496286
ISBN-13: 978-1934496282

Review by Kris

Rafita Alonso is the hottest star in bullfighting. He’s well known, young, fearless, and wears a red costume. He’s the talk of the bullfighting world. He soon falls in love with the young butcher who rends the bulls he kills, Mauro. Mauro has a scar on his back in the exact location where matadors stab their bulls to kill them. Also Mauro is color blind, just like a bull. Soon Rafita starts having nightmares where instead of a bull charging at him he’s staring down his lover. Because of these nightmares his bullfighting is suffering and for the first time in his life he’s scared to step into the stadium.
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Red Blinds the Foolish”

Object of Desire
Story and Art: Tomoko Noguchi
Published by the Luv Luv Press Imprint of Aurora Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1934496499
ISBN-13: 978-1934496497

Review by Kris

Object of Desire by Tomoko Noguchi is an anthology of sexy stories from Aurora’s own Luv Luv josei line.

We have stories like the title story. Kako is tired of dealing with guys who want to date her just to sleep with her and not be with “her.” She wishes that guys would be up front and be direct in what they want. She’s taken aback when Mizoguchi gets to the point and asks her to sleep with him just once. In Lovey-Dovey we deal with an obsessive stalker type girl and her cheating boyfriend. Oil & Water and With Lemon are about Shizuka and Kimura. Shizuka is an intelligent girl who has a crush on a fellow classmate, Kimura. Shizuka is kind of a tough chick and all of the guys treat her as one of their own, with the exception of Kimura. He teases her and treats her differently than the other guys and Shizuka likes that. Maid for Love is about a clumsy girl who works in a maid café and her salaryman boyfriend. The final story, Summer Prince, is about a girl who falls for the womanizing foreign exchange student who is staying with them.
» Continue reading “Josei Review: Object of Desire”

Black Sun
Story and Art: Uki Ogasawara
Published by 801 Media, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-934129-27-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-934129-27-2

Review by Kris

Gerun Fortress – home to 200 Monastic Knights is on the verge of falling to the enemy, 20,000 Middle Eastern soldiers under General Jamal Jan. To save the lives of his men Prince Leonard de Limbourg offers himself to Jamal as a prisoner of war to spare the lives of his men. Jamal takes him up on the offer but forces himself on Leonard and rapes him in front of all his men as punishment. As they travel from Gerun Fortress back to the capital city Jamal uses this opportunity to continue forcing himself on Leonard and pounding him into oblivion.
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: Black Sun”

Owly: Tiny Tales
Story and Art: Andy Runton
Published by Top Shelf Productions
ISBN-10: 1-60309-019-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-60309-019-3

Review by Kris

Owly is a kind-hearted owl who cares for all those around him. His best friend is a worm and he associates with many fun characters in the place where he lives. He has many adventures like entering the ultimate birdbath contest, to helping his many friends out of all kinds of trouble. This is a collection of comics that Andy Runton published for free comic book day at conventions and out of print collections of tales.
» Continue reading “Comic Review: Owly: Tiny Tales”

Make Love & Peace
Art and Story by Takane Yonetai
Published by Luv Luv Press imprint of Aurora Publisher Inc.
ISBN10: 1934496324
ISBN13: 9781934496329

Review by Linda Yau

College student Ayane Shinoda’s boyfriend Koichi is a hardworking police detective. They are passionately in love with each other. Every three pages or so, there is at least one sex scene between them, and that is quite graphic. At the beginning of the book, there is a brief mention of their initial meeting, while catching a thief. They hit it off (rather Ayane stalked after Koichi), and sparks flew.
» Continue reading “Josei Review: Make Love & Peace”

World of Warcraft: Ashbringer #1
Written by Micky Neilson
Art by Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington
Published by WildStorm

Review by Jilly Gee

The first of a four-part miniseries titled Ashbringer, this comic shows readers the life of Alexandros Mograine, starting from the time that he first picks up the object that would become part of the legendary Ashbringer sword.  Highlord Mograine worked with other humans and dwarves, trying to find a way to stop the Scourge and their plague from turning everyone into undead.  Not just a story about being all heroic and saving humankind, Highlord Mograine also has his faults, as a father who shows favortism, as a human who cannot separate the "not-as-bad" undead from the "really bad" undead and forces the same punishment on them all.
» Continue reading “Comic Review: World of Warcraft: Ashbringer #1″

Animus
Written by Seonna Hong with Shenne Hahn
Images and story by Seonna Hong
Published by Baby Tattoo
ISBN-10:  0972938850
ISBN-13:  9780972938853

Review by Jilly Gee

Labeled as a "moving pictures book" on its cover rather than a "pop-up book" and closer to the size of a paperback than the more common textbook-sized pop-up books for children, Animus appeals to adults just as much as to children, maybe even more so.  Instead of the bright colors or sparkly extras seen in the children’s section of bookstores, the protagonist wears ordinary, easy-on-the eyes outfits and wanders around in a world with realistic, earthy colors.  Though the colors may not be fantastical, this does not make the book feel any less magical than other pop-up books.  As could happen only only in a Disney movie, the adorable little girl that is the main character is inexplicably friends with all the woodland creatures and shops in a quaint town that readers are unlikely to see likes of in this day and age.
» Continue reading “Book Review: Animus”

Black Sun Silver Moon
by Tomo Maeda
go! comi

Review by Tom Good

I never expected I’d have a good reason to use the phrase “cute zombie story,” but it fits Black Sun Silver Moon. Teenage boy Taki works as an assistant to Shikimi, a silver-eyed priest who also has silver hair, though he is only 28 years old. They have a typical comedic master/apprentice relationship, except for the fact that the work also involves late night zombie-slaying sessions in local cemeteries. The tone is more silly than scary, more like Chibi Vampire than Resident Evil.
» Continue reading “Black Sun Silver Moon, Vol. 1″

Too Cool to be Forgotten
Story and Art: Alex Robinson
Published by Top Shelf Productions
ISBN-10: 1-891830-98-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-891830-98-3

Review by Kris

I’m pretty sure high school was a pretty traumatic time in most peoples lives. I know it played a huge part, in both good and bad, in my life and changed me forever. I think the only people who weren’t traumatized by their high school experience were the jocks, cheerleaders, etc. In Alex Robinson’s Too Cool to be Forgotten Andy Wicks has to relive his high school days.
» Continue reading “Graphic Novel Review: Too Cool to be Forgotten”

breath vol. 1
Story and Art: Chifumi Ochi
Published by Yaoi Generation
ISBN-13: 978-0-9821880-0-2

Review by Kris

Review originally appeared at Manic About Manga at http://www.manicaboutmanga.com. Check it out!

One evening while hanging out in his favorite gay bar Yanagi meets the man of his dreams. The man is simply gorgeous and is totally wasted so he doesn’t resist any of Yanagi’s come ons. The two hit a love hotel for a night of hot, sweaty, fluid-filled, passionate sex. It turns out that the mystery man is ultra sensitive and is still a virgin, which turns Yanagi on even more. When morning comes and sobriety has set in the sexy mystery man seems to be someone completely different than the sexy man from the night before. This man is disgusted with what happened and books out of the room before Yanagi was even dressed, leaving behind his jacket.
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: breath vol. 1″

A Gentleman’s Kiss vol. 2
Story and Art: Shinri Fuwa
Published by the Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-56970-582-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-582-7

Review by I-hsiu Lin

To recap my previous review, rival yakuza heirs and successful club owners, Homura Yasobe and Touji Karasuma are secretly lovers. However, a host, Kyoya finds out about their affair and decides to step up his plans to make Homura fall for him. That ended the first volume. In the second volume, Touji has plans of his own with a sudden marriage proposal to a daughter of one of the yakuza leaders in Homura’s group. What is really going on? Touji is still in love with Homura who can’t even face him. Instead, he turns to Kyoya. To kill time or to seek support?
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: A Gentleman’s Kiss vol. 2″

Time Stranger Kyoko vol. 1
Story and Art: Arina Tanemura
Published by VIZ Media
ISBN-10: 1-4215-1797-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-1797-1

Review by Kris

In the 30th century Earth has become one harmonious place to live. Kyoko Suomi is the princess of Earth, but she craves anonymity. She attends a normal high school and has normal friends who all think that she’s a normal high school student. Kyoko is supposed to be presented to the people of Earth as the princess on her 16th birthday. Of course Kyoko has no desire to be princess. She has a twin sister who is just as capable but there is one slight problem holding back Ui (Kyoko’s twin). It seems that Ui is trapped in time and the only way she can be saved is with the help of Kyoko. The king offers Kyoko her freedom if she can find twelve sacred stones and twelve telepaths. Once the task is done Ui can wake and take her place on the throne.
» Continue reading “Manga Review: Time Stranger Kyoko vol. 1″

A Gentleman’s Kiss vol. 1
Story and Art: Shinri Fuwa
Published by the Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-56970-581-x
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-581-0

Review by I-hsiu Lin

Homura Yasobe is an owner of several successful clubs as well as heir to a yakuza faction. It just so happens that his lover of four years, Touji Karasuma is also heir to a rival group. In legal and illegal transactions, Yasobe and Karasuma are enemies. However, behind close doors, Homura and Touji meet secretly. It will not bode well for either of them if anyone finds out that the potential heirs to the rival yakuza are in bed with each other. Homura moves out to avoid such issues…at least that was what he hoped for until one of his hosts discovers Touji….

Or more like Touji discovers the host.
» Continue reading “Yaoi Review: A Gentleman’s Kiss vol. 1″