In terms of “a link to download it”—do you mean a link to download this comic, Side by Side by Mioki? The links I send out are links to download comics I created. I don’t send out download links to comics other creators have made.

But if I’ve misunderstood and you’re having a difficult time downloading my comics, please let me know and I’ll do my best to get that fixed!

your review is great

(As to whether this book should be considered Western yaoi, well, while I doubt it was Mioki’s intention to appeal to a primarily female audience, who am I to split hairs? May he become a force with whatever audience he is aiming for… )

Hello Kyle,

This comic isn't one of ours, but you can buy a hard copy at Amazon. The <a href="http://www.brunogmuender.com/products/details/id/4654_Side_by_Side_-_Journal_of_a_smalltown_boy/search/side+by+side/&quot; rel="nofollow">publisher also lists other places you can buy.

Hope that helps!

Alex

I must be a part of the minority too, because I find that for any physical reaction on my part, I must have a direct cerebral connection to jump start my emotions and get my stomach muscles clenching!

This would be something that I’d actually be curious to read a study on — how important is the heart/head connection over, say, mere visual stimuli for sexual arousal. Certainly, I think the conventional wisdom is that most males just need the pretty (or nasty, depending) pictures whereas most women would need to actually have liking for the characters, but until it’s tested with reliable methods, I’m fairly skeptical of “conventional wisdom.”

In any case, glad to read that I am not alone.

Is this a German language original?

While I might also have assumed that this would be a German language original based on the publisher, the Web site states:

Mioki lives in New Jersey and was born in 1949 the son of Czech and German immigrants in the US.

and based on the way the language reads, it just feels OEL.

@gynocrat -

And thank you Tina for the extra info re: Bruno Gmünder. I find that I am really liking the full-color art in their gay comics, but that so far what I’ve read from them has been pretty heavy on the sex, yet feeble on the characterization. Mind you, this is reading all of three books from them: Side By Side: The Journal of a Smalltown Boy, Manly and In Bed with David & Jonathan But looking over their catalog, I’m not seeing much difference in terms of plot and characterization. I’ll keep an eye on them, though, just in case…

@ButterflyFomori –

I’ve discovered a few masterful artist and story weavers from Italy recently. I get excited about these things.

Really? Who are you enjoying right now?

Another thing about your reviews that I find myself surprisingly interested in: The technical.

I’m glad you find that interesting. One nice thing about creating my own comics is that I can finally begin to answer my own questions about why something is or is not successful. The “K” in the skin tones issue is a big problem with digital coloring because Photoshop tends to sneak in K at every chance it gets when you convert from RGB (standard computer monitor colors) to CMYK (printing colors). K in skin tones (and anything with yellow) is something that will look fine on your computer screen, but once you get to print it looks muddy. In the case of this book, where so much of the art is nude (and thus there are a lot of skin tones), it’s a real shame — I really think it detracted from what were otherwise very strong color choices…

I think I would check this book out as you recommended for the art, but it’ll be way down on my ‘to buy’ list because I’d prefer to have that emotional personal ‘connection’ where the psychological part of my brain is stimulated

Thank you very much for all your kind words re: the review — I’m glad you found it helpful.

And, as I said, if you’re temped, you should probably just get it. While I was not particularly engaged by the characters, the art is quite nice and it’s all good-natured and fun. I think if you know what to expect, you’re going to enjoy this more than I did. As I said, that publisher’s description was fairly misleading — if you go in with reasonable expectations re: characterization and plot, then I think it’ll be worth your 20 bucks.

I particularly thought this book struck a good balance between a clearly gay male, explicit aesthetic without being hyper-masculine or gross. If the type of guys you see in the preview pages appeals to you, I’d say take the plunge.

Enjoy the New Year — both of you!

Be careful thinking this with Bruno Gmünder – just because they're a German publisher, doesn't mean they're bringing over German content. Matter of fact, they don't even license new content for German release, at all. Their primary market for new gay collections seems to be geared at North America.

I enjoyed reading this review. You always touch on the topics I am looking for when I want to know about a book: The art, the plot and the interactions of the characters and how real-word verses fantasy it is. Is this a German language original? I find in fascinating to investigate other culture's works (aside from my obsession with Japanese and Korean works.) I've discovered a few masterful artist and story weavers from Italy recently. I get excited about these things. ("Art nerd and word nerd" are also affectionately tossed my way when I open my mouth at home. . .)

I think I would check this book out as you recommended for the art, but it'll be way down on my 'to buy' list because I'd prefer to have that emotional personal 'connection' where the psychological part of my brain is stimulated. Call me greedy. . .

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

PS. Another thing about your reviews that I find myself surprisingly interested in: The technical. I know next to nothing about the mechanics of how art/manga/comics are created. When you use industry specific terms (like CMYK) and offer reference links, I find that much time has past from when I originally sat down to check my mail!