Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? by Brian Fies rails against what Fies calls the “a broken promise” at the heart of the “millennial complaint, “˜Where’s my flying car and jetpack?’” The Author’s Note lays out the basic thesis: Fies grew up believing in the utopian future presented in Space-Age mass-market American culture, and feels the actual future didn’t live up to his” and his generation’s” expectations. Optimism has been replaced by cynicism; World of Tomorrow is, Fies tells us, “an appreciation of, and an argument for” the creative, ambitious, inspirational, and romantic future he believed” and believes” in.

Detail from Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow © 2009 Brian Fies

Today on Graphic Novel Review, our own John Barber looks at Brian Fies’ sophomore effort, the follow-up to his Eisner Award winning first book, Mom’s Cancer. After the break!

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Yaoi — Japanese comics featuring romance and/or sex between men — is currently one of the most popular genres of manga in the U.S. Non-fans are often baffled by the popularity of yaoi with female readers, especially teenage girls. But fans love yaoi as romance, as drama, and as fantasy fodder. Whence comes this girly fascination with male homoeroticism? Our own Shaenon K. Garrity has been holding forth on the subject all week. Monday, she took us on a tour of the history of yaoi; Tuesday, she investigated the appeal of the genre itself; yesterday, she looked at the sexual contents of some of the books. Today, a recommended reading list … after the break!

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Yaoi — Japanese comics featuring romance and/or sex between men — is currently one of the most popular genres of manga in the U.S. Non-fans are often baffled by the popularity of yaoi with female readers, especially teenage girls. But fans love yaoi as romance, as drama, and as fantasy fodder. Whence comes this girly fascination with male homoeroticism? Monday, Shaenon Garrity took us on a tour of the history of yaoi; yesterday, she investigated the appeal of the genre itself; today, the conclusion of the narrative … after the break!

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Yaoi — Japanese comics featuring romance and/or sex between men — is currently one of the most popular genres of manga in the U.S. Non-fans are often baffled by the popularity of yaoi with female readers, especially teenage girls. But fans love yaoi as romance, as drama, and as fantasy fodder. Whence comes this girly fascination with male homoeroticism? Yesterday, Shaenon Garrity took us on a tour of the history of yaoi. Today, she investigates the appeal of the genre itself … after the break!

(more…)

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Yaoi—Japanese comics featuring romance and/or sex between men—is currently one of the most popular genres of manga in the U.S. Non-fans are often baffled by the popularity of yaoi with female readers, especially teenage girls. But fans love yaoi as romance, as drama, and as fantasy fodder. Whence comes this girly fascination with male homoeroticism? Stayed tuned all week here at GNR for Shaenon Garrity’s multipart crash course in boys’ love.

Part One: History of Yaoi

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