Thank you for all your kind words — a real morale booster; totally has me jazzed about our work on Tough!

So, just for fun, I decided to make a T-shirt out of my favorite panel from “No Kissing” — the one where Mike is responding to being told more than ten minutes have passed while he and Rob were making out. I love his expression here and it captures a lot of the Yaoi 911 vibe — both the realism and the humor. And frankly, I think this panel is kinda cool and edgy on a T-shirt — it’s something I’d actually wear.

I’m using RedBubble to make these shirts because, well, they’re known to be the best for this sort of thing — highest quality printing on 100% cotton preshrunk American Apparel T’s. They come in lots of different colors. And I’ve created some different flavors (with and without the swear word), so hopefully there will be something for everyone.

I’ve even added a version with the text “Time flies when you’re having fun…” for those who might want a little Yaoi 911 in-joke on their chest. Those who know our work will give you a wink and a smirk; those who don’t won’t ever be the wiser. Great way to show your support on the down-low.

There are light and dark versions of each (with the text/logo in either black or white):

And if you don’t want to be seen with the F-word on your chest, I’ve got you covered there too — T-shirts with the swear word censored and without the text bubble at all!

Anyway, these were a lot of fun to make. Please let me know what you think about them in the comments. And, if you like what we’re doing here at Yaoi 911 and want to show your support, grab one of them!

Hey! This panel comes from one of our free yaoi comics! Want to get it? It’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comics page and the link will be sent right to you!

Learn More!

• Are posters more your thing? Well, we’re also offering posters of the covers of our comics at the Yaoi 911 Print Store — totally worth checking out!
• Want to read more about “No Kissing” – the free yaoi comic this panel is taken from — and what other readers are saying about it? Then read our master post Yaoi Comic “No Kissing” Is Ready For Download!!
• “No Kissing” is actually Chapter Two of our gay teen graphic novel Tough. You can read all about Chapter One here!

Guess what? The second chapter of our gay teen comic Tough, “No Kissing”, is now finished and ready for Yaoi 911 News & Downloads subscribers to download!

This will serve as the master post for Tough Chapter Two: “No Kissing”. Here is where readers should leave comments about what they thought about the comic and it’s also where I’ll be sharing the first 16 preview pages with you!

What’s the second chapter about?

The fight from Chapter One is over, the bad boys have slunk away in defeat and to celebrate their victory hunky Rob has invited 15-year-old Filipino-American Mike Castro back to his place for some Xbox and Hard Lemonade.

After a few drinks and a few fighting games, Mike is feeling relaxed and cocky. Sure, he’s alone in the bedroom of an out gay guy, but they just saved each others’ lives and Mike has made Rob promise there’s not going to be any “gay stuff” — and certainly no kissing.

But when Rob starts giving Mike a backrub, Mike is forced to question how much he can trust this older, more experienced boy. And as Mike begins to like the massage more than he should, he starts to wonder exactly how much he can trust himself…

How do I read this comic?

This is another free download for Yaoi 911 News & Downloads subscribers. Subscribers to our mailing list get sent links to our free comics and this is the latest one. So if you want to read more, just sign up — a link will be sent right to you!

But hey, sometimes email can take a while, so if you’re a subscriber and haven’t gotten the email yet, you can also find and download Tough Chapter Two: No Kissing at our new store. Simply create a new account at our store using your subscriber email address, Add To Cart one of our free comics and when you Checkout, you’ll be able to download it for free. It’s fast and easy — try it!

Get Tough Chapter Two: No Kissing right now at The Yaoi 911 Store.

Where can I talk about it?

Right here! The comments section of this post is the place to let me and other readers know what you thought. (And please do — you’re the whole reason we’re making these comics. And we love encouragement. )

What about spoilers?

So folks are able to talk about the work without worrying about spoiling the story for others, I’ve added a new feature to the blog comments: spoiler protection! It works like this. Put the spoiler text into your comment between bracketed “spoiler” tags like this

to end up with this:

So, when does Chapter Three come out?

Well, we’re working on it. Our goal is to have it finished in a few months, just like this chapter was — but my experience tells me that stuff happens so I don’t want to give a firm date until I know we’re only weeks away. That said — don’t despair, you can still get your Yaoi 911 fix before then! Our first full-length, for-pay graphic novel, Artifice, is being colored right now and that means it should be done before the Fall. So, one way or the other, we should have another comic for you in a few months — and trust me, Artifice has it all: sex, action, romance, androids, evil robopsychologists and an adorable and scrappy young love interest. It’s going to be awesome!

Please tell me what you thought!

So that’s what you need to know about our latest comic. I really do hope you like how Mike’s story is coming along. Please take a moment and let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Preview Pages

Tough Chapter Two: No Kissing written by Alex Woolfson. Pencils by Vitto. Colors and cover art by Winona Nelson.
© 2010 Alex Woolfson. All Rights Reserved.

Want to download the entire 35 page comic? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comics page and the link will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the very first comic we finished (and that we’re also giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

]]> http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-comic-no-kissing-is-ready-for-download/feed/ 52 http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-art-painted-cover-art-for-no-kissing/ http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-art-painted-cover-art-for-no-kissing/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 02:59:20 +0000 Alex Woolfson http://www.yaoi911.com/?p=1288 Tough, "No Kissing." And the first thing I have to share is another wonderful painted cover by kick-ass artist Winona Nelson!]]>

All right — so close!

I know I said we’d have the second chapter of Tough ready today, but it turns out we still have just another couple “i”‘s to dot and “t”‘s to cross before we send this 35 page full-color yaoi comic out to the nearly 13,000 (!) subscribers of the Yaoi 911 News and Downloads mailing list. It’s tempting to rush things to make our deadline, but I’d rather make sure everything works and runs smoothly (meaning that I actually have gone through and tested everything) before I click that SEND NOW button. Because once I click it, there’s no turning back!

So, in the meantime, to tide you all over, I have a special treat. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the cover art for “No Kissing” — painted by our very own kick-ass artist Winona Nelson! (Who also did the colors for “No Kissing” — and IMHO kicked ass there as well!)

(Click on the image to see a bigger version.)

I really think she knocked it out of the park with this one. And hopefully, seeing her awesome work will whet your appetite for Chapter 2. (Out sometime this week!)

(And hey, if you want to receive this comic when I send it out, please make sure you’ve signed up on our Free Comics page. Tough Chapter Two: “No Kissing” is another free comic from Yaoi 911.)

If you like what you see, please let us know in the comments! We live for encouragement! (And right now, as we hustle to get everything finished, a little encouragement would be a very nice thing…)

UPDATE 5-3-10: I’ve just posted Winona’s painting on our print store. Check it out.

It’s finally here! The first chapter of our seven chapter gay teen yaoi comic Tough is now finished!

This will serve as the master post for Tough: Chapter One. Here is where readers should leave comments about what they thought about the comic and it’s also where I’ll be sharing the first 16 preview pages with you!

What’s this first chapter about?

Tough starts with 15-year-old Filipino-American Mike Castro being dragged into a fag bashing by a bunch of older, wilder boys. Mike knows it’s wrong and tries to stop it, but that just makes things worse; the older boys turn on him, forcing him to either beat the cute gay boy they’ve cornered or face the same fate. Can Mike figure out a way to save this guy and himself? And could this really be the start of a romance?! Read Tough: Chapter One to find out!

How do I read this comic?

This is another free download for Yaoi 911 News & Downloads subscribers. Subscribers to our mailing list get sent links to our free comics and this is the latest one. So if you want to read more, just sign up — a link will be sent right to you!

(You can also find and download Tough: Chapter One at our new store. If you’re a subscriber and haven’t gotten the Yaoi 911 News & Downloads email yet, you can create a new account at our store using your subscriber email address, Add To Cart a free comic and when you Checkout, you’ll be able to download it for free. It’s fast and easy — try it! Tough: Chapter One at The Yaoi 911 Store. )

Where can I talk about it?

Right here! The comments section’s of this post is the place to let me and other readers know what you thought. (And please do — you’re the whole reason we’re making these comics. And we love encouragement. )

What about spoilers?

So that folks are able to talk about the work without worrying about spoiling the story for others, I’ve added a new feature to the blog comments: spoiler protection! It works like this. Put the spoiler text into your comment between bracketed “spoiler” tags like this

to end up with this:

So, when does Chapter Two come out?

Chapter One is where we meet our heroes (and villains) and set things up. Chapter Two deals with the aftermath of what happens and it’s where the yaoi really gets cooking. If you want more kissing — and I know you do — I promise, you won’t have to wait long. The next chapter delivers the goods.

Chapter Two is already completely finished and will be sent out to subscribers on May 1, 2010.

Please tell me what you thought!

So that’s what you need to know about our latest comic. I really do hope you like the beginning of our story. Please take a moment and let me know what you thought!

Preview Pages

Tough: Chapter One written by Alex Woolfson. Pencils by Vitto. Colors by Vincent Lee.
© 2010 Alex Woolfson. All Rights Reserved.

Want to download the entire comic? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comics page and the link will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the first comic we finished (and that we’re also giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

]]> http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-comic-tough-is-ready-for-download/feed/ 36 http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-art-painted-cover-art-for-tough/ http://www.yaoi911.com/yaoi-art-painted-cover-art-for-tough/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:05:39 +0000 Alex Woolfson http://www.yaoi911.com/?p=1032 Tough (it gets its title from this first chapter). Well, our artist Winona Nelson has just finished painting the cover art for the book and here it is!]]>

So, things are coming together nicely for the release of our next free comic, the 35 page gay teen romance-and-rescue story, “Tough”.

And now I have something very exciting to show you. As I’ve mentioned before, “Tough” is the first chapter in a two volume, seven chapter graphic novel also called Tough (it gets its title from this first chapter). We’ve been working hard on it and it should be ready for download shortly. Well, in the meantime, our artist Winona Nelson has just finished painting the cover art for the book and here it is! (Click on it for a larger view.)

Now, I asked Winona to create an image with our heroes combining the themes of “romance” and “danger” with the specific plot elements of the first chapter and I think she did a fantastic job. Totally nailed it.

(And I especially like the fact that there are layers of meaning to it — at first you see the kissing, and then you see the dangerous shadows and then you see that one of the boys himself (Mike) is also carrying a bat!)

IMHO, it’s intriguing and beautiful, just like a book cover should be… (I’m of course biased, but if I saw a book on the shelf in a bookstore with Winona’s art on it, I’d definitely pick it up and give it a look!)

Having this artwork finished also marks the first time we have an actual item for sale. (Woo hoo!) If you like this painting, you can get a very high-quality print (poster) made of it over at Imagekind. (A perfect way to show off your love of yaoi and style up your crib!)

While there are more flashy sites out there, the thing I like about Imagekind is that in addition to having the best quality paper and printing in the business, they also have very high quality framing. (I’ve bought four prints from them framed, and Imagekind’s framing was superior to what I got here in San Francisco for my other prints.) So, even though I have this art up with other places for sale, Imagekind is the printer I’d recommend if you’d like a really beautiful, very high-quality print for your wall (and especially if you’d like it nicely framed). In addition, they offer a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee — which also earns my respect.

And another nice thing about Imagekind is that you have the option of getting a “greeting card” of the print where you can actually resize the art — and thus focus directly in on the boys kissing. For just $4.99, greeting cards are the easiest, most affordable way to own this art.

EDIT: And now, due to popular demand, we’ve created a version of the art with just the kissing — for those who want to focus on the romance without any distractions. You can find that image here:

If mousepads, mugs and postcards are more your thing, we also have a Zazzle store. And Zazzle goes out of their way to make things easy to find and buy on their site with all the bells and whistles an independent creator like me could want. Just check out their crazy flash panel:

You can pretty much get anything you can think of made into a product with your art at Zazzle. Personally, I want the skateboard!

Anyway, that’s the latest on the Yaoi 911 comics front. I hope you like what you see. If you have a moment, please let me know in the comments what you think of Winona’s work!

Hey! Wondering what happens in this story? No problem — we’ll be giving away this comic for free! (When it’s done, that is!) Want to make sure you get the free download links to this comic when it’s finished? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comics page and the link will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the first comic we finished (and that we’re also giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

So, we’ve been hard at work on our gay teen Boys Love story Tough — the pencils for all 35 pages of Chapter One are now complete, our colorist Jesse Heagy is hard at work coloring those penciled pages and I’ve just finished lettering those pages. Which means I can now show you some pages with words! My words! Oh, happy day.

I’ll be posting soon a bit about what the lettering process is like — lettering being the stage where you add in all the word balloons and sound effects — but while I’m working on that post, I just couldn’t wait to share what some of the writing is like with you — at least for the first 12 pages. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy what you read!

But first a caveat — this is lettering over pencils — this isn’t the finished artwork (which will be in full-color), thus it is also not the finished lettering. The pages will, of course, look much more polished once the coloring is complete and I’ll be adding color and other visual effects as well to the sound effects. Please understand, this is still a “work-in-progress.”

But I think Vitto’s pencils are absolutely strong enough to stand on their own — and hopefully, the addition of the lettering will help you get a feel for what to expect when Chapter One is finished. In the comments, please let me know what you think!

(Oh, and to give you the full heads-up, in these pages, there’s strong language, the threat of violence and bad boys doing and saying bad things. But maybe that’s just how you like it. Yeah, baby, yeah!)

Click on one of the thumbnails below to activate our Lightbox viewer. Use your keyboard’s arrow keys to move to the next or previous pages. Click anywhere outside the image to close the Lightbox.

Hey! Wondering what happens next? No problem — we’re giving away this comic for free! Want to make sure you get the free download links to this comic when it’s finished? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comics page and the link will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the first comic we finished (and that we’re also giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

So, last month I showed you the character designs for the first chapter of our gay teen Boys Love action-romance Tough. Well, our work is coming along quite well and I now can show your the first 12 penciled pages! (The “pencils” being the fourth stage of creating a comic after creating the script, the character designs and the thumbnails.)

This first chapter, eponymously called “Tough”, introduces our characters and is about some bad boys, some bad choices and the impact that one out-of-control night has on the lives of everyone involved.

Our story starts with 15-year-old Filipino-American Mike Castro being dragged along by his friend, Larry, on a trash-can kicking spree with some older, wilder boys from their school. Mike knows these older boys are looking for trouble, but his loyalty to his friend encourages him to play along. It’s only after they take him and Larry around the corner from a Gay Youth Group Center and hand each of them a baseball bat that he realizes exactly how much trouble he’s gotten himself into.

Here are the first 12 pages — just penciled for now by our skilled penciler Vitto, with no word balloons added yet. Just click on the first one to activate our LightBox viewer. (Once the viewer is activated, you can use your arrow keys to go to each next page and the ESC key to quit.)

I hope you enjoyed looking at these pencils. We’re right now working hard on getting them colored and I’ll post some of those colored pages up here as soon as we’re finished. (And, as I said last time, the first chapters of this series will be available free to Yaoi 911™ News and Downloads subscribers. Look for the first chapter of Tough to be ready for download in the first quarter of 2009.)

We had a lot of fun making these pages. Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Want to make sure you get the free download links to this comic when it’s ready? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comic page and the links will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the first comic we finished (and that we’re giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!

So, Winona and I are hard at work finishing up our 90-page yaoi sci-fi comic, “Artifice” . We’re about halfway through all the inks and things are going great.

But the problem with a 90-page comic — particularly when you’re perfectionists like Winona and I are — is that it takes a good long while to finish and have something to show. I just know you’re going to love it when we’re done — it’s got the sweet, it’s got the sexy, it’s got the smart — but for the moment, you kinda got to take my word for it. And it’s driving me a bit batty that for the time being, I can only show you previews — previews without any of my brilliant dialogue, mind you! Oh, the humanity!

So, in the meantime, while we’re finishing “Artifice” and the 70-page full-color yaoi comic “Quest”, I’ve decided to work on another book written with smaller, individual chapters so I can share finished work with you on a more regular schedule. That book is called Tough — it consists of seven chapters over two volumes — and I’ll be giving out the first volume for free to the subscribers of our Yaoi 911™ News and Downloads list.

The first chapter of the yaoi series Tough, shockingly called “Tough”, is about some bad boys, some bad choices and the impact that one out-of-control night has on the lives of everyone involved. It introduces our characters — both the heroes and the villains — and sets the stage for our action-romance. And to start giving you an idea what it’s about, I’m going to share with you some of the character designs our skilled penciler Vitto has come up with. (At this point, we’re almost complete with the Thumbnail Stage of this first chapter — once we have some Finished Pencils to show, I’ll post some of them up here as well…)

Mike

Our story starts with 15-year-old Filipino-American Mike Castro being dragged along by his friend, Larry, on a trash-can kicking spree with some older, wilder boys from their school.

He knows these older boys are looking for trouble, but his loyalty to his friend encourages him to play along. It’s only after they take him and Larry around the corner from a Gay Youth Group Center and hand each of them a baseball bat that he realizes exactly how much trouble he’s gotten himself into.

Kevin

Kevin is the darkly brilliant leader of the wild boys — and the mastermind behind their planned attack of a gay kid. Rich, handsome and so very bored, he can manipulate anyone into doing anything — and nothing would give him greater pleasure than to get a good boy like Mike Castro to do a very bad thing.

And doesn’t he just look like a yaoi villain?

Bruce

Bruce is Kevin’s second-in-command, best friend and partner-in-crime. Out of all the boys, he has the greatest hate for homosexuals — and the greatest desire to take their little game to the most deadly extreme.

Strong, angry and brutal, he values loyalty over everything else. If Kevin gives an order, he expects you to follow it, no matter what.

Chuck

Chuck is the most friendly and jocular of the wild boys and the one most willing to cut Mike some slack. He assures Mike that what they’re planning on doing to this gay kid is “just a laugh”, implying that no one is really going to get hurt.

But if everything is just a laugh to Chuck, how much is he really going to care if things get out of hand?

Larry

Larry is Mike’s best friend and the only other boy he really knows in this gang. Larry has always dreamed of being able to run with a cooler, older crowd and, by being invited along on this night’s adventure, those dreams are finally coming true.

Mike knows how important it is to Larry to be able to impress these older boys, but when Larry is handed a bat and smiles, Mike is forced to decide exactly how far he is willing to go to support his best friend in his pursuit of being cool — and consider what will happen to both of them if he doesn’t.

Rob

Rob is the target of Kevin’s plan — the fag he wants to bash. Kevin doesn’t know him — Rob’s just a member of the town’s Gay Youth Group who decided to take a short-cut home. Happy to have had a great night with his friends, Rob rounds a corner of the street with a smile on his face and finds his life changed forever.

Smart, funny, stylish and cool under pressure, Rob has always been able to handle whatever life has thrown at him. But now he faces five sneering teenagers with bats. There is no way he is going to talk his way out of this kind of trouble — and if he tries to fight all of them, he’ll surely be killed. Sometimes life just sucks that way.

“Chapter 1: Tough” Coming Soon

Will Kevin and his crew follow through on their plans to beat up a fag? Is what they’re doing “just a laugh” or something much more dangerous? Will Mike be forced to join in on this fag bashing? And if he does, it’ll be five guys with baseball bats against one unarmed dude — what are the chances that Rob will even survive? And how can this possibly be the start of a romance?

The first chapters of this series will be available free to Yaoi 911™ News and Downloads subscribers. Look for the first chapter of Tough to be ready for download in the first quarter of 2009.

Want to make sure you get the free download links to this comic when it’s ready? Well, it’s easy! Just fill out the form on the Free Comic page and the links will be sent right to you!

Enjoy reading articles like these? Don’t miss out! Get Yaoi 911™ blog posts emailed right to you — for free!

Learn More!

• Curious about the first comic we finished (and that we’re giving away for free)? Then read all about our boys and sorcery story, “A Shot in the Dark”!
• Wondering why the heck I’m making a yaoi book? Check out Why This Gay Man Is Creating Yaoi!
• Want to read about other creators’ yaoi? Take a look at our in-depth Yaoi Reviews!
• Interested in creating your own manga? Start with How to Write a Full Comic Book Script and How to Find the Perfect Yaoi Artist for your Graphic Novel!