Yaoi is written predominantly by and for women — but is it “just for women”? Yaoi works feature guys falling in love, guys kissing and guys having sex — but is it actually “not homosexual”?
Who “owns” yaoi and why this is important is the subject of this article.
Some things I’ve been reading lately have gotten me thinking about “The One True Yaoi.”
I’ve talked about my motivation some in “Why Yaoi?” but I wanted to tell you the story behind why I’m making these books and what you can expect in them.
Such a mixed bag. I’ve given the reasons not to like this show above, and yet… and yet… I still can’t help but find it charming in its own annoying, teasing way. Getting to see an action-fantasy yaoi harem comedy is a treat, even if you have to wade through several episodes of pedestrian storytelling and Boys Love fake-outs to get to the good stuff, because just when you are ready to give up, it charms you again with its own brand of cute zaniness — like introducing an adorable and lethal Panda with acid for saliva and a heart of gold as a supporting character. I feel like my interests in yaoi and all things kawaii are being toyed with by the creators of this series and yet I’ll keep coming back for more. My advice, watch the first disc — if you like that one, it’s worth sticking around for the others, now that you have been warned. If you don’t, I bow to you gently with respect.
Oh, my God, he did it again — and not once, but twice. I sat there staring at the dead body before my eyes and thought, I’m never going to trust this man again.
Thoughts about murder for art’s sake as well as spoilers for old seasons of Buffy, Firefly/Serenity, Alien 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, the Dutch version of The Vanishing, Dickens’s “Old Curiosity Shop.†and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes below the fold.
Did you know that all the books in bookstores are returnable? That’s right — every book you see there can and will be returned for 100% money-back if they don’t sell. So, while being in the bookstore biz certainly isn’t easy, especially for independent retailers, stocking the books themselves is risk-free… for the bookseller.
So who bears the risk? And what the heck does this have to do with hot yaoi?
The process of creating a graphic novel goes through many stages. First you write a script. Then, working with an artist, you come up with character designs. The next step is for the artist to create “thumbnail sketches” for each page.
One of the things I’m enjoying about creating this site is that it gives me an excuse to check out other great Yaoi sites. While I don’t see myself doing linkblogging posts too often, there are some sites that I’m finding are offering consistently high-quality articles — one of which is Guns, Guys and Yaoi by accomplished writer Tina Anderson.
Don’t get it hoping for hot, fun sex but with great art, great characters, sweet romance and an engaging and dramatic fairy-tale plot, this book’s a winner.
OK, so you’ve found the perfect artist to work on your book. On creator forums, the second most common request I see coming from writers is “How do I convince an artist to work with me on my graphic novel?”
On creator forums, the most common request I see coming from writers is “How do I find an artist to work with me on my graphic novel?” This request is usually followed by a tale of woe about how impossible it seems to be to find such an artist.
Well, I’m here to tell you that with a little perseverance, you can find great artists who will breathe life into your scripts and in this golden age of the internet, it’s actually easier to connect with fellow creators than ever before. You just need to approach it the right way:
Here is the complete script for the first comic in our Yaoi graphic novel — “A Shot in the Dark.” In its 16 comic book pages, a Junior Apprentice must save his now helpless boyfriend, a Senior Apprentice, from a tremendously powerful and crafty demon after a summoning goes terribly awry.
So, you want to create a Yaoi short story (or graphic novel!) Where to begin?
While you might have a bunch of cool images in mind (perhaps of cute boys fighting monsters and then making out…), it all starts with words on paper — a script. And in my humble opinion, that should be the king of comic book scripts — the full script.
It started as an in-joke between me and fellow filmmaker (and best friend) Bill S. I was going over various title possibilities for this upcoming Yaoi story collection and had been well convinced of the necessity of coming up with a title that would immediately grab the attention of its intended audience. You see, I had been reading on a (now defunct) creator forum called The Engine the sad tale of an indie comic called “Elk’s Run” — a very well-reviewed David Lynchian/Twin Peaks-type story that nobody was buying because they thought it was about hunting or taxidermy or some such. (I’ve since heard that things have improved for the creators now that the secret of their storyline is out…)
Well, I was determined to not make the same mistake.
My name is Alex. I’m a Bay Area filmmaker and a guy. And I’m putting a great deal of time and money into writing and publishing a series of Yaoi graphic novels — “Yaoi graphic novels” being boy-on-boy romance comics traditionally created by and for women.
What am I thinking?
