Sales come and sales go but many online sites have sales on 24/7. EverythingYaoi.com, a site that earns its name, has a handy Clearance section where they list just what it sounds like – items on clearance you can get for up to 50% off the cover price (and sometimes more).

Of the books currently listed, below are my top recommendations:

Going in alphabetical order, the first two books I’d recommend added to any boys’ love shopping cart is Can’t Win With You!. The series is three volumes long and while volume one isn’t on clearance, Can’t Win With You (Vol. 02) and Can’t Win With You (Vol. 03) are with each priced at $4.99/US each. The series is about a cast of amusing, often sexually explorative and teasing teenage boys in an all boys’ school, drawn by Yukine Honami, whose works have been published many times since by Digital Manga. The story itself is written by Satosumi Takaguchi who wrote Shout Out Loud! which was published by BLU.

Two other second-half volumes I’d commend are Passion (Vol. 03) and Passion (Vol. 04). This series has always had a special place in my yaoi-loving heart as one of the first (if not the very first) strictly boys’ love stories to be published in English (excluding Tokyopop‘s early fare in the genre). I remember the day I bought volume one the day it came out… ah the memories and the first of many purchases. The series itself is pretty standard genre-fare but it’s sweet and fluffy and has those great classic cliches of student-teacher relations and starting said relations off on the seriously wrong foot.

Two other Digital Manga series worth adding to your bookshelf from the clearance selection are Moon and Sandals (Vol. 01) by Fumi Yoshinaga and Princess Princess (Vol. 02) by Mikiyo Tsuda. The first is part one of a two book series wherevolume one gets you attached to the characters and the following book proves a steamy follow-up. Princess Princess isn’t really a boys’ love story but pretty boys, teasing and crossdressing definitely makes it an applicable crossover for many fans.

And last but not least, a one-shot from Yaoi Press, the original boys’ love publisher affiliated with EverythingYaoi.com. The book is titled Surge and is a cute love story between a surfer and book nerd. It’s got some funny moments and an adorable art style plus one-shots are always a great cart topper. All in one!

Though these titles are just some of those in the site’s clearance section, it’s also recommended you check out their other sale sections to see what books from different publishers they’ve got on discount as well. Shipping prices can get a little hefty though so be sure to read through the FAQ section when making your calculations. Shop on, boys-love collectors!

eManga has added a bunch of interesting new titles in this latter portion of 2010, notably a handful of new titles from artists outside of Japan, along with a new manga series exclusive to their site.

Most recent, and my most favourite, additions are the first two volumes of Yayoi Neko’s Incubus series. The print edition (currently up to volume three) has been published in its entirety so far by Kitty Media (after being picked up from Bang! Entertainment).

“Demonic beings longing to be human put Judas’ life at stake to possess the unique soul within him. The incubus Lenniel, has sworn to protect and defeat all who threaten the man he loves: the shy puritan Judas. But outside dangers are not all that threaten his human beloved. A painful past haunts Judas, preventing him from trusting anyone, especially Lenniel. This is an enemy the incubus is not sure how to defeat. How does one fight a crippling force that exists within another’s heart?”

I’m a fan of Yayoi Neko‘s work – it has an art style that offers something notably different than the vast majority of boys’ love released in North America (check out her website gallery). The first volume of Incubus also comes with a short called ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (which was released originally by the artist in limited edition ‘floppy’ comic format) about a scientist and the robot he helped create with… well, it’s worth reading to get all the exact details.

Other new titles on eManga include the webcomic BL-hit, Starfighter, a sample edition of the artistically-gorgeous Teahouse (also a web comic) and Mizuki, which is a “never before released” shoujo by the creator of Wedding Peach.

Digital Manga sells its points “using a credit card at a typical rate of 1000 points for $10.”. Looking at a complete volume at 300 points, you’re only paying $3 for the rental (which lasts 72 hours). It’s a great deal for people who love to read a book once, especially when a second rental allows you unlimited time access (so about $6 a book for digital keeps).

While the addition of a variety of talented artists from around the globe is of course great, I also continue to be impressed simply by the amount of cross-publisher work being done with eManga. BLU (Tokyopop), Yaoi Press, Media Blasters and of course Digital Manga, all on one site – it’s quickly collecting all the boys’ love basics (plus some Harlequin thrown in there for good measure?). It’s a shame though that this collection of boys’ love, with its great prices in particular, isn’t able to be utilized on a more mobile platform. Even a digital-meh person such as myself wouldn’t be able to deny this kind of collection being in the palm of my hand instead of trapped on the internet-locked computer screen.

Since the earthquake that struck Haiti quickly nabbed media attention around the world, support has been flooding in from every corner of the globe. The internet is certainly no exception and many artists have opened commissions and auctions to sell their services and work for charitable donations in support of Haiti.

Two well known manga-style artists have also done just that. Christy Lijewski (artist of RePlay!, published by Tokyopop) and KOSEN (artist of Saihoshi, published by Yaoi Press) have each put up a piece of their original artwork on eBay with all proceeds going to a Haiti support charity. Great art for a great cause!

Christy Lijewski is selling the original copic-coloured artwork commissioned by Tokyopop for the cover of the third and final volume of RePlay. The auction ends January 23, 2010.

KOSEN is selling an original copic-coloured drawing of the character Yinn from their boys’ love fantasy series, Saihoshi. The auction ends January 19, 2010.

I created custom Christmas cards for Yen Press, Vertical, Viz Media, Digital Manga and Yaoi Press, and since then a couple have asked me to share the artwork. I put it off a couple weeks to ensure everyone had time to receive their cards and maintain some charm to the surprise ;)

The curious can now check out my five manga-holiday images under the cut. All pre-existing characters belong to their respective copyright holders/companies/people-of-greatness.

From now until December 14th (Monday), EverythingYaoi.com is having their holiday Mega Sale:

“Everything Yaoi is having a mega sale for a very short time. Please help Yaoi Press make up a budget shortfall by taking advantage of sale prices on every single item! We could call this a 25% off sale, but it’s 25% off what our discounted price was to begin with! That means 801 Media books are only $9.74! Yaoi Press books are only $5.63! And you won’t believe the deals in the Clearance Section!

You will still get our friendly service and free gifts. Right now every order gets a Yaoi Christmas Ribbon, and orders with 12 points or more get an Uke Butt button!

If you’ve shopped with us before you know we usually only have one copy of each book in stock. There’s just too much yaoi to fit everything in Maria’s house! This means the best stuff will go out of stock fast.”

EverythingYaoi.com ships internationally and offers the payment choices of their secure online payment system, Google Checkout or PayPal.

Some great prices there to take advantage of for gift shopping, be it a treat for yourself or to find something to slip under the tree for your yaoi-loving friends. Short window of time though so give it a look-see while you can!

Some boys’ love news snippets today with submission closures, convention schedules and an undead publisher still looking to make a return:

Yaoi Press has recently updated their info page to inform propestive creators that their submissions are currently closed. This is a uncommon state for Yaoi Press which has spent the majority of its time open to new stories by writers and artists. The page does however offer up an honest and open look at why their submissions are currently closed and assurance that they still have previously submitted works on file.

Word has been circulating for a while about Digital Manga’s big yaoi title announcement, promising many happy fans, and that they’ll be making said-announcement at the upcoming Yaoi Con. Today Digital Manga has posted their Yaoi Con schedule including their industry panel and signing times for special guest, Makoto Tateno (see art above).

Digital Manga has also sent out a press release about signed and framed Makoto Tateno artwork which will be available for sale both at Yaoi Con and on their online shop, Akadot.

And lastly, in an odder turn of events, DramaQueen has updated its online shop to showcase what they’re calling a “Rebirth Sale”, offering up several of their back issue books for cheaper prices along with a message that suggests they’re still working on the comeback that they’ve promised for so long. Hmm… sounds sort of familiar.

I won’t beat the proverbial horse on this one but suffice to say DramaQueen hasn’t done anything to win readers’ sympathy or support in the past two years but I suppose it’ll still be interesting to see if they ever do release another book. Still, as much as I’m all for supporting the industry, it’s my honest opinion that shoppers should stay away from ordering through DramaQueen’s online website. The risk is simply too high that prospective buyers will only join the line of people still waiting for DQ to pay their dues.

Featuring complete titles for rental and free previews from Digital Manga’s entire catalog, eManga streams content through an Adobe Flash player, which allows readers to access their library wherever they have an internet connection. With custom features that include two-page, one-page, or panel-by-panel reading, three custom zoom options, a bookmark bar, and auto play, the reader is also made to work with different screen sizes to maintain great image quality at any screen size.
The standard eManga rental package is $10 for 1000 points, with entire books averaging between 200 and 300 points. Higher packages come with free bonus points. Points are kept in users’ accounts, allowing for quick and easy rental of titles whenever and wherever they want. For most of Digital Manga’s titles, you also have the option to read the entire book by spending eManga points to “rent” the title for a limited amount of time (currently 72 hours). If you later decide to rent the same title again, it will be automatically upgraded to an “unlimited” rental, which does not have time restrictions.

We invite you sample or read Yaoi Hentai Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 at our eManga site. Come check out eManga at: www.eManga.com

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YAOI HENTAI VOL. 1, Rated M+ (for ages 18+), 152 Pages, Anthology, 200 points

This is yaoi at its most extreme: graphic scenes of loving between a college professor and his student, a bar-hopper and some thugs who kidnap him, members of a corrupt soccer team, and the debut of the now infamous Trach the Tentacle Monster! YAOI – MATURE & EXPLICIT CONTENT* Readers 18+.

YAOI HENTAI VOL. 2, Rated M+ (for ages 18+), 192 Pages, Anthology, 200 points

Yaoi Hentai is back with a whole new volume of romantic yaoi smut. All new artists bring you four hot stories of hardcore guy on guy loving. First, an Elizabethan dandy is cursed to be the love slave of anyone who plays his violin. Next enjoy a science fiction story of a prince who endures trials of sexual pain and pleasure at the hands of his idol, the emperor of a sexually depraved planet. Fans of Yaoi Press’ PINNED! graphic novel get to see a hardcore love scene between Renegade and Synn. And of course, Trach the tentacle monster rounds out the book in his second sex-filled adventure. YAOI – MATURE & EXPLICIT CONTENT Readers 18+.

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About Digital Manga Publishing

Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Publishing is one of the industry’s most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the Western Hemisphere – specifically through the licensing, importation and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for the North American mainstream and subculture markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the expansion of Japanese pop culture institutions into global arenas. The company’s imprint line includes DMP: its mainstream imprint, DMP PLATINUM: its classic manga imprint, JUNE´: its boys love imprint, 801 MEDIA: its adult boys love imprint, and DokiDoki: its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing.

For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit www.digitalmanga.com

About Yaoi Press

Yaoi Press is the number one publisher of global yaoi manga in North America. What separates Yaoi Press from other major Western publishers of yaoi is that most of their books are not reprints from Japan and Korea. Most graphic novels they publish are rated for Mature Readers, which generally means ages 16 and older. Yaoi Press started in 2004 and has put out 45 yaoi publications. Their titles have been published in German, Italian, Spanish, and Polish. Yaoi Press has licensed and translated work from Italy and Spain. Studio Kosen of Spain, M.A. Sambre of France, Dany&Dany and Le Peruggine of Italy, and many other incredibly talented creators have made their English language debut with Yaoi Press.

For more information about Yaoi Press, visit: www.yaoipress.com

Digital Manga has been busy since their eManga website had it’s fairly-recent revamp, adding numerous titles from DMP’s large library of titles. Lately however they’ve begun branching out, adding several titles from creators around the world.

Most recently they’ve added the first volume of Games With Me, a historical boys’ love story written by Tina Anderson and drawn by Linsley Brito. I’ve had the opportunity to read Games With Me and really enjoyed it. The characters are interesting, not falling into your stereotypical character molds, and the art is beautiful and really polished. I definitely recommend taking the time to read it and am thrilled that Digital Manga is working with the creators to offer it to English-readers for the first time (the story has yet to be published in English).

“Ex-Civil War surgeon George Callahan is a man haunted by his past. Unwilling to deal with the demons of his childhood, he turns to opium and finds back-alley employment with the heartless brothel keepers of San Francisco’s Chinatown. In Volume 1 of this gorgeously illustrated gay historical drama, Dr. George Callahan searches for a Chinese woman from his past, and soon finds himself unwittingly drawn to dim-witted male prostitute Jun, whose own life is complicated by the unwanted attentions of an aggressive bouncer named Roan Baxter.”

You can check out the complete press release sent out by Digital Manga for more information about the release and the creators.

Digital Manga has also added two Yaoi Press titles to their online manga rental website: Yaoi Press’s Yaoi Hentai, volume one and volume two. If you’re a yaoi fan and love a good comedy, there’s plenty for you in these books. They’re collections of short stories that range from funny to flashy and never without a heaping dose of 18+ material to earn the books their name.

And when you’re through there, of course don’t forget to check out the other eManga titles up for reading as well, including several books that haven’t been released yet (and most of which you can read a sample of for free!). Guaranteed to win you over to some fun purchases and leave you curious to see what titles will appear in their selection next.

Anime Expo 2009 rounds up today down in Los Angeles which means it’s time for a quick news round-up. Industry presence seems considerably less this year, an observation that I make as someone who wasn’t able to attend mind you, and the announcement list is considerably smaller than the whopping 61 manga licenses that Anime Expo 2008 had for us. Goes to show how the industry’s changed over the past year I suppose, right? Anime Expo did continue its reputation as the largest anime convention in North America however with an attendence of over 44,000.

For the manga news, check out my round-up under the cut.

CMX Manga discussed a number of titles including some previously announced, a couple brand new and several as confirmations for listings previously found on Amazon.

A Tale of An Unknown Country by Natsuna Kawase (September 2009)
Deka Kyoshi by Kamio Baba (November 2009)
Diamond Girl by Takanori Yamazaki (April 2010)
My Darling Miss Bancho by Mayu Fujikata (March 2010)
Nadeshiko Club by Miku Sakamoto (June 2010)
Oh! My Brother by Ken Saito (October 2009)
Polyphonica: Cardinal Crimson by Ichiro Sasaki / Ocelot (May 2010)
Rampage by Yunosuke Yoshinaga (February 2010)
Stolen Hearts by Miku Sakamoto (January 2010)
The Battle of Genryu by Shouko Fukaki (August 2009)
The Lizard Prince by Asuka Izumi (November 2009)
The World I Create by Ayami Kazama (January 2010)

You can read more about the individual titles at Deb Aoki’s About.com manga blog.

Viz Media announced at their panel news that, in a bout to catch the popular One Piece up closer to its Japanese releases, the company will begin releasing four volumes a month from January to June 2010. That’s a lot of volumes in a short span of time! Great news for fans of the series, but perhaps not so much for their wallets.

Along with this news, they also had several new manga licenses to announce as well:

Biomega by Tsutomu Nihei (February 2010)
Cactus’s Secret by Nana Haruto (March 2010)
Crown of Love by Yun Kouga (February 2010)
Flower in a Storm by Shigeyoshi Takagi (May 2010)
Stepping on Roses by Rinko Ueda (April 2010)

Gia live-blogged the Viz panel so you can head over to AnimeVice to read the full panel start to finish.

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At the Yaoi Press panel, company owner Yamila Abraham discussed a variety of their existing titles and recent releases. She also announced their new boys’ love eBook imprint called Yaoi Prose. The Yaoi Prose placeholder website first went public a little over a week ago thanks to the communication platform that is Twitter.

You can read more about the Yaoi Press panel at AnimeNewsNetwork’s con blog.

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And though not manga, RightStuf’s new anime acquisitions have me excited enough to post about them when early in the weekend they revealed the licenses for Antique Bakery, Junjo Romantica and the Aria TV series and OVA. The image used in the banner of this post is from the Antique Bakery anime.

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So that rounds up this weekend’s con posting and the end of Anime Expo 2009. The next big event is San Diego Comic Con later in the month and for the first time I will actually be blogging about it while in attendance. Suffice to say, yay! I hope attendees, staff and exhibitors of Anime Expo all had fun this year :)

Yaoi Press has posted the results of its previously announced Caption Contest. You can currently head on over to their contest page to see the winner, along with the runners-up and honorable mentions. Congrats to the winners! For the shiny posters, I would’ve loved to enter but conflicting interest or something like that no doubt.

Speaking of which, the panels used in the contest are from Yaoi Press’s newest anthology, Happy Yaoi Yum Yum which just had a release of volume one. I was allowed the opportunity to letter a couple of the stories (which was fantastically fun, let me tell you) so the book already has a special place awaiting it on my bookshelf along with being a collection of work from some talented creators. If you like your yaoi porny and your story’s funny, I recommend checking it out.

From now until the deadline of June 22nd, Yaoi Press is holding a Captain Contest in connection with their weekly gag panels, Yaoi Not Actually. Entrants of the contest must take the images provided for the contest and give them some amusing dialouge that will likely be entertaingly out of context.

The prize for the funniest phrases? A copy of Yaoi Press’s upcoming first volume of Happy Yaoi Yum Yum and sixteen gorgeous 11×17 posters of various Yaoi Press artists’ work. You can check out the contest page for all the details. And don’t forget, if you win the contest and are wondering what to do with all those pretty posters, remember who told you about the contest, alright? ;)

Prior to their appearance at the recently held, Animeland Vegas, Yaoi Press was struck with some bad luck when a flood at a storage facility made a mess of a portion of their books waiting to be sold. Over one hundred Yaoi Press books were left unsellable.

To make up some of the loss, Yaoi Press is now offering several complete decks of their KOSEN card sets up for auction on eBay. While you can currently obtain these cards as multiple-piece bonuses through their online store, EverythingYaoi.com, these auctions allow you ownership of the entire deck all in one go, plus the money goes to a good cause.

Gorgeous Yaoi Card Deck @eBay.com

Though it’s already been covered at a variety of sites already, never hurts to spread the word, right? Aurora Publishing has sent out e-mails outlining some financial difficulties that have them cutting prices on their books to sell off some old stock. By contacting them directly at e-tung@aurora-publishing.com, you can purchase any of their titles prior to January 2009 for $4/US a book and anything more recent than that for $8/US a book. Snow has some recommendations as well as shipping cost information (for American customers at least), and Kris shares her thoughts on the tone of the e-mail itself.

 Also on the note of good bargains, the online store BookCloseOuts is currently selling all their Tokyopop backstock for a mere .99 cents a piece. A great way to cheaply grab some of their older series and even a few of their newer releases (such as Tactics volumes 1-5).

Yaoi Press is excited to announce that one of their artists, Rhea Silvan will be attending as a guest at 2009′s Anime Central convention. They’re also now offering their KOSEN’s Yaoi playing cards as rewards for purchasing through their all-yaoi online store, EverythingYaoi, which has lots of boys’ love stuff currently on sale. They’ve also begun posting amusing weekly strips that parody scenes from their books, a feature they’re calling Yaoi Not Actually.

Like what you see? I know I do! Over on Yaoi Press’s blog, you can see some more images of the card deck illustrated by artist team, Saihoshi. Through Yaoi Press the duo has had published several stories, including Stallion and Saihoshi. Characters from both those original series are featured on the cards.

The cards themselves may not be available for long however due to expensive production prices. Currently there’s a deck up for bids on eBay to guage interest so take a bid and keep these beauties coming :) I know I will be as soon as I return home from the con this weekend.

Author: Yamila Abraham
Artist: Rhea Silvan
Publisher: Yaoi Press
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “Fuyu seeks Takuma to treat Hakuin’s badly infected wounds. The Spring Demon Ryuuto is still wooing Takuma when Fuyu arrives. Fuyu and Hakuin find themselves in the position of matchmakers as Hakuin’s injuries heal. Just when things seem to be going well, there’s a misunderstanding. Now Ryuuto has angered them all. Hakuin decides their old friend Figaru is just the one to teach this evil demon a lesson.”

Different past elements are drawn together in this fourth and final volume of Winter Demon. Fuyu takes Hakuin to a nearby healer when old wounds torment his weakened body. There the two meet the young doctor whose heart is at odds over his feelings for a demon named Ryuuto who has the power to heal but a dangerous sexual appetite. While Hakuin heals, he and Fuyu come to full terms with their current relationship while hoping to mend that of the doctor and Ryuuto with some ‘help’ from their acquaintance, the incubus Figaru.

I really like how the story progressed to this point, and the story now feels more contained and well-rounded than ever. Gone are the hokey badguys and silly whip that I thought bogged down old volumes in silliness, and instead this last volume focuses on some believable concerns and touching romances tainted by dark pasts. Dr. Takumi was adorable and I liked his innocent love in contrast to Ryuuto’s more physical devotion. Hakuin and Fuyu’s relationship takes a solid step forward here but not without some well-placed review over how they got to where they are today.

When Figaru was brought into the story, I initially carried a frown for what I made first assumption was a terrible idea on the character’s behalf. Rape should not be a solution to anything! But what occurred instead, thanks to Figaru’s level-headed but focused intent, kept the story on a much less distressing path and certainly a steamier one.

Art-wise, this is a gorgeous book. I’ve seen Rhea Silvan’s art before and was eager to see her take on these characters I’ve become accustomed to seeing in others’ style. Well I could not have been anymore happy with the result. From smooth pacing, to panel layout that shows her experience and a near flawless style as far as I’m concerned, I’ve no complaints! Men are beautiful when intended and all rendered with a nice inking style and perfectly balanced toning. Simply put, I loved it and definitely hope to see more pretty boys like these from Rhea in the future because they are certainly a treat for the eyes.

An interesting moment artistically in the story as well is when a chapter suddenly switches artists, going to the team Peruggine who’ve drawn previous volumes of the story. They illustrate this book’s sex scene between Hakuin and Fuyu and the sharp contrast between its climatic dramatics, to the more subtle pacing of Rhea Silvan’s work, gave a very interesting momentary curve to the story. It definitely made the sex scene pop out for sure, and was presented even more interestingly as it was a spectacle watched by Dr. Takuma. He sees in Peruggine!

As far as packaging goes, Yaoi Press did a nice job handling this one and I’d say graphically it’s the best of the four-part series. The cover art by Rhea is as beautiful as the interior and I was happy to see the ugly word bubble gimmick from the third volume was gone. The back of the book was tidy and easy to read, though the synopsis lacks any sort of oomph. It feels like it was written by someone who was bored to death by the story, which I imagine would be a turn off to any new readers. A preview for the third, and final volume of Dark Prince is included at the end along with several advertisements for other YP series.

Overall, I’d say that Winter Demon four proved to be my favourite of the bunch. I really liked the characters who all came together in this final volume, and the way different past elements were weaved together. Some of the cheesier elements that I found distracting in past books are gone, leaving only the good stuff. With some fantastic art and a compelling love story set against some dangerous demonic lust and innocent human love, it made for a wonderful read and I’m sadder than ever to know it’s over. I was thrilled enough having a story about a monk and demon in the first place, and all the more pleased with where it ended up.

Review written November 18, 2008 by Lissa Pattillo.
Book provided by Yaoi Press for review purposes