§ Johanna looks at Voices of Love, a “passionate” josei titles from Luv Luv Press, an imprint of Aurora Publishing

This volume contains five love stories that don’t shy away from nudity and sex scenes. (That explains the Mature 18+ rating.) When I first read them, I thought, “This is just what I’ve been looking for: yaoi, only girl/boy.” Then I realized just what that said about how my brain has been warped by manga expectations. These stories are yaoi-like in that the boys are slender and attractive, but they’re more like Harlequin romance novels in their wish fulfillment of finding rescuing love.


Related: an overview of the josei (manga for older women) market.

200803060333§ Beth Davies-Stofka interviews Craig Yoeon his Clean Cartoonists’ Dirty Drawings book :

Well, these nudes were certainly a fun rebellious release for the ink-slingers but, sure, many cartoonists got involved in other “after hours” subjects. For instance Chuck Jones (who’s in the book), visited my home when he did art for my book The Art of Barbie. He was surprised and delighted that I pulled out old copies of a square dancing magazine that he did wonderful illustrations for. He and his first wife were really into square dancing and I’m sure he did the illustrations more for love than money. Though isn’t dancing a vertical expression of a horizontal desire?


§ ‘Doonesbury’ is taking a 12-week break :

“It has been 16 years since Garry Trudeau took an extended leave from ‘Doonesbury,'” said Universal President Lee Salem in a statement. “He has requested another break — well-deserved in my mind — to work on other projects, travel, and regenerate a few creative cells.”


§ This story on Buffy’s new bedmate from an irish gossip rag has the title no one else dared use.

§ Marvel Studios has named former Sony Pictures executive Geoffrey Ammer as president of worldwide marketing.

§ Roling Stone liked the Brub’s Captain America

§ Veteran Wizard watchers will find a line or two amusing in this profile of ROBOT CHICKEN creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich

“It’s all the jokes you talk about with your friends,” Senreich confirms. “We have a group of people with the same sensibility who sit around the table talking about what we think is funny.” They have a team of 80, scripting, sculpting and minutely manipulating, filming and adapting 120 new toys a week for the rigorous demands of stop-motion animation. After 62 12-minute episodes, they’re preparing to write season four. “It’s light-hearted,” says Green, “but every joke is made with love. There is a degree of reverence (for the characters). There’s never anything mean-spirited, it’s just sort of silly. I think that’s our success: not being mean.”