Okay, will someone PLEASE publish COMIC FOUNDRY?

Iris Print, publisher of the Lambda Literary Award finalist novel “A Strong and Sudden Thaw”, announced today its plans to publish the first North American boys’ love magazine, BL Twist.

The bimonthly print magazine will feature articles, reviews, and news related to the boys’ love genre (stories of male/male romance, also known as yaoi or slash), but the magazine’s main feature is 100+ pages of serialized comics (manga) and fiction in each issue, with each comic appearing in the form of a 20-25 page “episode” per issue. All stories will contain a strong element of male/male romance in every episode, but the magazine’s content will remain appropriate for a 16 and up readership.

The magazine is the first of its kind, not only for its subject matter, but also for its focus on Original English-Language (OEL) manga. “This is an exciting time for boys’ love,” said Kellie Lynch, publisher of BL Twist. “Yaoi manga’s explosive popularity in the U.S. has given rise to a wide range of talented Western creators. We’re pleased to be able to showcase some of that talent.”

A full-length preview issue of BL Twist will be published in October 2007, and will be available at this year’s Yaoi-con in San Francisco. Issue 1 of BL Twist will be published in January 2008.

The magazine’s web site launched today at www.bltwist.com.

About Iris Print – Iris Print is a publisher of boys’ love novels, short stories, and graphic novels, created by and for Western readers. The company was founded in February 2006, and currently has 5 books in print. Further details, including a detailed FAQ about the boys’ love genre, can be found at www.boyslovebooks.com.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Comics Foundry HAs self published a mag. I don’t think publishing is their problem, just distribution with Diamond. I’m sure Diamond will carry the Iris books because yaoi is such a money-maker. Comics journalismmags are mostly subsidized by price lists (Wizard) or porn (Comics Journal, Wizard).

  2. Hey Tin, I just didn’t like the idea that — “”oh noes, yaoi has another opportunity handed to it…come on someone, give CF a chance…”” If she meant distro, then say distro.

    Iris is printing this because obviously, ‘fan support’ is strong for it. I look at BL Twist like, I dunno, a Cosmo-mag for fans of English m/m comics and fiction. If CF is self-publishing, great–let them approach Biblio, if Diamond wont put them on the mag racks at Borders or BN. From my understanding in the Press Release, BL Twist is going to newstands and bookstores, not into comic shops. (^__-)

  3. Anyone know what the art will look like`? I went to the wp but there was no sample pic. Cause one of the things I love about japanese manga (and yaoi) is the art style. They don’t have males with faces like boxes (a jawline that’s bigger than the rest of the face) a bukly too much muscles build and waaaaay too much hair underneath the neck, but beautifuly drawn slighty androgynous sexy cute male characters plus exciting story lines. So.. anyone know more about that?

    thx~
    chin ^_^

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