Juné's Psyche Delico Kickstarter has officially ended and for those following along and picking up the clues have already come to realize the news: Psyche Delico will be at YaoiCon 2017!! 

Psyche Delico is a Japanese boys’ love/yaoi author. Her stories range from light hearted romance to heated passionate affairs. She first started publishing her own yaoi manga in 2008 with “The Rest is a Love Thing?!” and now has over 15 published works.

This year, YaoiCon will have two guest of honor with both Psyche Delico and Sakira sharing the spotlight. Both artists will have autograph sessions throughout the weekend, as well as Q&A panels.

YaoiCon is October 6-8 in Santa Clara, California. Get reduced presale tickets before they sell out and come meet some wonderful BL mangakas!

Lies are a Gentleman’s Manners gets full marks, no question.  This odd little volume and all that makes it unique is immediately one of my all-time favorites. This story, which feels much more full than its 200 pages would suggest, follows Dr. Paul Thomas Haskins, a waspish Ivy League professor, and Jonathan, a student of his.  Both these men are manipulative sociopaths, though whether that is in their nature or whether they are so deep in the closet that skeletons and old sweaters are suffocating them and giving them brain damage is not clear. 

The characters choose not to see it in each other, and the narration is so successfully ironic that the audience could miss it too if they blink. This is hardly a love story, and the truth is, it’s hardly about Jonathan at all.  This book could easily have detailed any of Paul’s many trysts, most likely with a scrappy cutie from the wrong side of the tracks, because that seems to be his type.  This story is amazing in that it is a day in the life, rather than a snapshot of some defining, sweeping, meaningful romance.  This affair may or may not be remembered, there is no real resolution, and everything will be the same tomorrow.

This book stands out in relative realness.  The ongoing theme is that of the dreaded Closet.  Our “hero” Paul is a 37 year old gay man who  inspires no sympathy whatsoever, and never feels he deserves any.  He is New England royalty from the oldest money and the highest position of privilege in the country.  His life has been one of connection, nepotism, and leisure.  As he says himself, his biggest problem is his receding hairline.  Yet one can’t hate him because he is sentenced by his station to never truly be fulfilled in his own identity.  The same syndrome is reflected in his lovers, though it manifests differently in each.

Socioeconomic stratification is touched upon. Even HIV is acknowledged. The setting and cultural context is very well researched and fleshed out, so the way the tight social web surrounding the school and the region seems to have all roads leading back to Paul feels natural.

Lies are a Gentleman’s Manners is a story of complex motivations in a complex context.  It is also a story of smex.  Good old fashioned hot stuff in most satisfactory quantities.  The sex scenes are not explicit in the traditional pornier sense I usually gravitate toward, but they are objectively excellent.  The faces are expressive enough to make one blush and the anatomy has tension, weight, and volume in all the right places. 

The art is just as good throughout and the style is totally unlike any I’ve seen.  The style also noticeably changes between the first and last panels, which is fun to watch.  The art is minimal yet communicative with a high efficiency of line and very effective toning.  From the settings to the outfits, the world building is tight and beautiful, and each character has their own unique features.  Not every character is perfect either, something not often seen in yaoi.  Of course they’re all attractive, but the basic bishounen mold is not at work here.  

If you’re in the market for a terrifically crafted little human drama with truly interesting characters and lots of hot action, rooted in a relatable reality (hard to imagine someone NOT being in the market for that), this is a great score.  I look forward to revisiting this treasure many times.  I also have the feeling that the next time someone insists I give them a peek into the world of my special secret bookshelf, this is the one I will show them.  This is a great yaoi, and also just a great book.  I hope you enjoy it.

“A murder in New York. Manny Morrison, a transgender woman working at a LGBTQ help center, is left dying in her own blood. Between the apathetic police, charlatan activists, hostile politicians, and hate-fill populace; there's no hope for justice, but there's a chance for revenge. 

Eden, a crime boss with big ambitions and even deeper pockets, promises to avenge his old friend by putting his men on the case. Vince, Eden’s top fist-fighter, is fresh out of jail and eager to work again, if only to prove his worth. One dead-end after another, and it's clear to Vince and Eden that this is more than just a hate crime.

Rumors are swirling around the homeless man Manny had opened her home up to. Some say he's a killer, a drug addict, or even a pedophile. In the end, the only thing that's clear is he's the key to understanding why Manny was killed.”

Set in a modern metropolis city, gangs have become the ruling authority. Separated by race, religion, and even sexual identity, no bad deed goes unnoticed or unpunished. Eden has his hands in every market from drugs and firearms to underground fights and disputed territories. He is the leader of a new category of gang in which all members are male and all members are homosexual. In a world plagued by hate and discrimination, homophobia is no exception. Eden and his gang have overcome much and aim to be on top, holding nothing back in this thrilling and erotic new series.

Velvet Toucher has teamed up with Juné manga to launch her new series under the new "yabara” genre. Juné is known for being a publisher of the yaoi, or “boys love,” type of comics. This genre is dominated by women; its origins established in the drawing of slender, beautiful men with common themes of forbidden love and dramatic romances. Yaoi’s counterpart, “bara” come about to appeal to the homosexual male comic reader with depictions of heavy muscled men and explicit content.

The two audiences very scarcely overlap, but at their core they come from the same mutual love of male-male driven stories. Steering away from older stereotypes from both genres, yabara will appeal to a much broader audience. With heavy American influences, Velvet Toucher is the best to showcase this new genre with her diverse cast of masculine men ranging from slim fit to large and rugged.

Not only does her art style appeal to both fujoshi, the LGBTQ communities, and even mainstream comic book readers, but her storytelling is vast and deep with meaning. Underlying plots, current social issues, and an understanding of the human psyche, Velvet Toucher tells the story of “identity.”

Juné will be launching a Kickstarter campaign starting February 22, 2017 to bring this new series to life. The campaign will help fund the initial printing for volume 1 of “Eden’s Mercy,” along with plenty of swag and gifts for every pledge level.

Velvet Toucher’s upcoming mafia drama promises to thrill, shock, and entice. Whether you are a yaoi fan, part of the LGBTQ community, or an indie comic book lover, readers across all spectrums are assured to be hooked to this new class of underworld gangs full of sex, violence, and mystery.

In an industry full of every kind of love story imaginable, Juné launches its own original content with a fresh new genre. 

The yaoi genre has been defined as the depiction of boy's love written for women by women. It is chalked full of slender, beautiful men with common themes of forbidden love and dramatic romances. 

Bara, yaoi's counterpart written by men for men, shows muscular manly men with much less plot driven story lines and a lot more sexual encounters. 

The two terms are rarely aimed at the same audience and yet, at their core, come from the same foundation of male-love driven stories. 

DMI's president Hikaru Sasahara, known for being a constant innovator in the manga industry, has found a way to join the two genres with the new term "yabara." It may seem as simple as combing yaoi + bara = yabara, but this new genre has even more hidden behind some clever wordplay.

Steering away from the old stereotypes of mature older semes, pretty boy ukes or even just two overly muscular hairy men, yabara will appeal to each and every body type. Race, age, shape, and size will be explored on new levels to appeal and even broaden the reader's experience to the male love genre. 

Not only will yabara combine the art styles of yaoi and bara, but it will combine its audiences as well. Yabara content is made for the comic book audience as whole. It's intent is to appeal to all the fujoshi, fudanshi, LGBT community, and indie comic book lovers. 

Yabara breaks away from typical plots of both yaoi, known for stories like hidden office love affairs, and bara, known for a whole lot of sex. This genre will bring the male love genre to the masses with modern romances, current events, and true to life tragedies. 

Juné's very first yabara title is not only the first of its kind, but it will also be DMI's first originally produced yaoi title. DMI has produced original content once before with the novel "Vampire Hunter D," making it into a manga for the first time back in 2007. 

"Eden's Mercy," by Japanese mangaka Velvet Toucher, was announced at Yaoi Con 2016. This title will be made in America and produced in English before it will be later translated into Japanese.

Giving English speaking audiences the opportunity to read works from their favourite mangakas first, without having to wait for translations opens up new opportunities for the otaku world. With the announcement of companies like Netflix putting more money into original content, Juné plans to keep with its own trend by producing original yaoi works from both local talents and Japanese artists.