<<•>>  produced, designed & edited by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd & Graham Kolbeins  <<•>>  It is difficult to view the work of Gengoroh Tagame as other than pornography, but it is well worth the effort to do so. Yes, there are (extremely) graphic images of sexual activity (copiously) depicted in these pages, including – but certainly not limited to – graphic S & M imagery, but there is more to this work than what at first meets the eye.  These are nuanced comics by an internationally recognized manga master that, on the one hand, provide a highly charged reading experience, while, on the other, offer up interpretive insights when parsed by those who choose to engage the work in this capacity.  Starting out with a light-hearted send-up of the psychic cop genre, the stories range from the bucolic humor of "Country Doctor" (is that Archie?) to the historicized Samurai drama of "Exorcism" to what is clearly the core of Tagame's passion, the violent S & M fantasies of "Arena", "Standing Ovations" and "Missing" which double as critiques of the nexus of international politics, the media and the military that strive to delineate the ideology undergirding the highly militarized global capitalism of our times, albeit in terms that many may experience difficulty in decoding.   A common thread running through all the works is the erotic charge carried by humiliation.  Any long time reader of superhero comics who dares to venture forth into these pages will likely be given pause when confronted with page after page of muscle-bound men beating the shit out of each other in the context of gay erotica.  Needless to say, this item is only available for purchase by those aged 21 and older.

NOW AVAILABLE ONCE AGAIN IN A NEW EDITOIN FROM FANTAGRAPHICS, HERE.

At long last this eye-popping and brain-bending collection by the master of gay erotic manga is back in print.  Originally published by PictureBox back in 2013,  this volume was the first English language edition of Tagame’s work.  It went quickly out of print and has been next to impossible to find in the wild since.  While the cover of this edition is quite different from the original, the contents are a near exact replica of the original edition, with an added bonus section presenting a dozen or so full color plates, each lushly portraying an instance of Tagame's trademarked BDSM imagery.  Not for the faint-hearted!

And, finally, this is billed as "Volume 1," so whatever is in slated for any future volumes will take readers into new territory...

Here's our original listing:

<<•>>  produced, designed & edited by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd & Graham Kolbeins; introduction by Edmund White  <<•>>  It is difficult to view the work of Gengoroh Tagame as other than pornography, but it is well worth the effort to do so. Yes, there are (extremely) graphic images of sexual activity (copiously) depicted in these pages, including – but certainly not limited to – graphic S & M imagery, but there is more to this work than what at first meets the eye.  These are nuanced comics by an internationally recognized manga master that, on the one hand, provide a highly charged reading experience, while, on the other, offer up interpretive insights when parsed by those who choose to engage the work in this capacity.  Starting out with a light-hearted send-up of the psychic cop genre, "The Hairy Oracle," the stories range from the bucolic humor of "Country Doctor" (is that Archie?) to the historicized Samurai drama of "Exorcism" to what is clearly the core of Tagame's passion, the violent S & M fantasies of "Arena", "Standing Ovations" and "Missing" which double as critiques of the nexus of international politics, the media and the military that strive to delineate the ideology undergirding the highly militarized global capitalism of our times, albeit in terms that many may experience difficulty in decoding.   A common thread running through all the works is the erotic charge carried by humiliation.  Any long time reader of superhero comics who dares to venture forth into these pages will likely be given pause when confronted with page after page of muscle-bound men beating the shit out of each other in the context of gay erotica.  Needless to say, this item is only available for purchase by those aged 21 and older.

Translated by Anne Ishii

A calmer, gentler side of Gengoroh Tagame is on display here in this 500+ page hardcover designed by Chip Kidd and just released by Pantheon.  The clean, crisp artwork and expert, well-paced storytelling remains the same.

As per Pantheon:

"Set in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda, a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synesthetic hues of blues and reds and is governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. His best friend and childhood confidante is Nao, a young woman whom everyone thinks is (or should be) his girlfriend, and it would be the easiest thing to play along—she knows he’s gay but knows, too, how difficult it is to live one’s truth in his situation.
 
Sora’s world changes forever when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop and is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and platonic friendship ensues as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels Sora about how to deal with who he is. But it won’t be easy. Mr. Amamiya paid a high price for his freedom of identity, and when a figure from his past suddenly appears, the situation becomes a vivid example of just how complicated life can be."

Translated once again by Anne Ishii.

Here it is, hot off the press: the second – and largely new to English readers – volume of the Passion of Gengoroh Tagame.  Running 400 pages, this volume is even more substantial than the first.  Tagame's work is unique, trailblazing and, at least at times, erotically overpowering – but not for everyone.  Learn more in our review of the first volume, here. 

As with the first, this volume has also been put together by Anne Ishii – along with filmmaker Graham Kolbeins – and designed by Chip Kidd. 

And, as with the first volume, this item is only available for purchase by those aged 21 and older.