Anne Ishii – författare

The often violent, visceral, and always provocative style of Japanese manga legend Gengoroh Tagame, one of the originators of Japanese bear culture, comes to life like never before in our two volume The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame series - the only English-language collections of Tagame's erotic work, celebrated around the world for its groundbreaking subject matter, masterfully crafted imagery, and unbridled exploration of bondage, lust, passion, and romance. Vol. 1 includes ten short stories dating from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, with an introduction by celebrated novelist and biographer Edmund White, as well as an essay and jacket design by acclaimed novelist and graphic designer Chip Kidd. In Vol. 2, Tagame serves up what his fans love best: elaborate, sensational, beautifully rendered erotica and BDSM. Kings, monks, cops, athletes: no manly man is safe from the deliciously depraved fantasies within this treasure trove of long and short stories previously unpublished in English, accompanied by original essays and an exclusive new interview with the internationally renowned cartoonist. Our new two volume slipcased edition is a must-have for Tagame fans, as well as fans of bear cultures in general. (Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga, and reads back to front and right to left.)

A mesmerizing coming-of-age and coming-out graphic novel by the genius writer-artist of the Eisner Award–winning breakout hit My Brother’s HusbandSet in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda: a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synesthetic hues of blues and reds, governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. His best friend and childhood confidant is Nao, a young woman whom everyone thinks is (or should be) his girlfriend; and it would be the easiest thing to play along—she knows he is gay but knows, too, how hard it is to live one’s truth in their situation. Sora’s world changes forever when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop, and who is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and friendship ensues, as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels him (platonically) about how to deal with who he is. But it won’t be easy. Mr. Amamiya paid a high price for his freedom of identity, and when a figure from his past suddenly appears, it becomes a prime example of just how complicated life can be.

Massive: Gay Erotic Manga And The Men Who Make It is the first English-language anthology of its kind: an in-depth introduction to nine of the most exciting comic artists making work for a gay male audience in Japan. Jiraiya, Seizoh Ebisubashi, and Kazuhide Ichikawa are three of the irresistibly seductive, internationally renowned artists featured in Massive, as well as Gengoroh Tagame, the subject of The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga (Fantagraphics, 2012, also available from Turnaround).