More reviews keep on popping up all over the place! Cynthia over at Boys Next Door took a look at Sky Over My Spectacles over the weekend and gave it 4 out of 5 stars!

“Another plus with this compilation is the quality of the art. The facial expressions are heartwarming, the detail is fantastic and the sex scenes, while graphic, leave enough to the imagination to be really hot. I like it when some things are left up to my imagination. I’ve got a filthy mind and am happy to use it. ” - Cynthia
Yup, Sky Over My Spectacles is just graphic enough that it is totally hot without going overboard!

Hop on over here for the complete review. If you haven’t bought your copy yet…

So next up on the super-cool “How a Japanese Manga Becomes An English Graphic Novel” column Part 5!: Title Selection

So we basically get boxes and boxes and boxes of books every week and start reading! We also get the Japanese phone books and look for new and upcoming stuff. Then there are some authors and some genres that each of us like, so we make a point to go looking for those titles.

(Tomo-chan really likes bestiality! lol And I am a big fan of S&M and bondage O.o Just kidding. Well, not about the S&M part. Hot guys tied down…*drool*)

Anyway, we get a bunch of books and we start reading. Basically all 801 books have to have:
(1) A good plot
(2) Good or interesting artwork
(3) Hot sex

Those titles that have the first 2 but not the 3rd, usually get thrown over the wall in our office to the staff at DMP. (We usually try to aim for their sales manager’s head.) Occasionally, they throw books back at us, but we are very nimble and much better at dodging them.

And then sometimes books will have too much of number 3. *Gasp* Yes, there are some books that are too hardcore and explicit for even 801. *Shock* Those books we usually enshrined in honor under my desk, and they get dragged out when we feel like shocking someone *cough*.

We had this one book come in that we shall nickname B^2 . It was an explicit yaoi title done by a hentai artist. It was very, very, very interesting. There was so much fluid on the pages that we had a hard time making out body parts. And then there were these panels that showed like the view from inside… So like, it was coming at you while the other guy was thrusting… Oh, and the book had maybe about a total of 20 words in the whole 200 pages. Kampai was excited because the production work would have been a piece of cake. No translation and no lettering. Just a few sound effects to subtitle. *snicker*
But we had tons of fun showing the pages around to everyone in the 801 and DMP office. Tomo-chan and I would corner an unsuspecting person and be like “Look at this!” or “Would this be an 18+ rating or a XXX?” *teehee*

Ahh… good times… I wish things like that happened more often.

~801-chan (^ ^)

Oh! I forgot! We also take fan input in selecting our books. So if there is something you want published, you can post it in our forums or send us an email!

I am a smut queen!! Yay! I am totally printing myself a little certificate and hanging it next to my cropped image of the Paranoid Next Door Neighbor Cover! Oooo, such cute underwear…
Now enough about me. Cyn over a Boys Next Door had a chance to read Ichigenme…The First Class is Civil Law Volume 1 (say that 10 times fast) over the weekend. And she gave it 5 out of 5 stars!!!

“I really don’t think that 801 Media could have picked a better series to be one of the ones they’re launching with. This series, along with being completely endearing and engaging, which is a hallmark of Fumi Yoshinaga’s work, is also sexy as hell and very smart. Unlike some manga, this series requires you to do some thinking.” -Cynthia

Yeah, smut is great and all, but nothing beats smut and a good story. We all adore Fumi Yoshinaga over here! (If you haven’t noticed - DMP and 801 are publishing a LOT of her books.)
So swing on over to Boys Next Door to read the rest of the review!

So I must admit. I don’t like football and I am one of those people who only watches the superbowl for the commercials and the half-time show. So I actually went to the mall on Superbowl Sunday, cuz I figured everyone else would be at home watching the game. I must say it was a pretty good game plan. The mall was deserted! It was awesome! This new gellato place opened up and the line is always out the door. But since it was just little old me, I got to sample ALL 30 of the different flavors!!! I was in Italian ice cream heaven. (But don’t tell Tomo-chan that, she is trying to get me to go to the gym these days.)

Anyway, I did sneak into PF Chang’s for dinner and happened to catch 10 minutes of the game. It must have been fate, because I happened to be watching when the Snicker’s commerical came on. If you missed it, you have to search online for the clip. Basically, these two guys are working under the hood of a car. One of them pulls out a snickers and starts to chow down. Guy #2 looks at it with passion in his eyes and starts to eat it from the other side. Of course they meet half way and share a passionate kiss!!

Everyone in PF Chang’s thought I was crazy cuz I yelled “That is soooo yaoi!” and started laughing hysterically. I must say, snickers now has me as a lifetime fan. Now if only the actors had just been a little cuter, had long following hair, big eyes, and… *sigh*

*801-chan goes off to enjoy the fantasies in her head.*

Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

801’s first reviews are up online courtesy of Boys On Boys On Film. There are advanced reviews of both Ichigenme…The First Class is Civil Law and The Sky Over My Spectacles!

Wiggle has some great things to say about us and we being the modest and humble people that we are felt it was our duty to share! lol

Ichigenme…The First Class is Civil Law by Fumi Yoshinaga

“The first volume of Ichigenme is a warm story of developing love that never skimps on the heart-pounding moments of sexual tension, drawing Toudou and Tamiya to a deeply satisfying conclusion, and a tantalizing promise of a more adult relationship in volume two. I know I can’t wait to see these two grow up, and explore their relationship and each other even more deeply. ” –Wiggle

Yeah, volume 2 is hot! We mean steaming! The action starts on page 7 and doesn’t let up. Volume 2 is totally worth the wait. And everyone here loves Fumi Yoshinaga. Her stories are just great!
The Sky Over My Spectacles by Mio Tennohji

“…The Sky Over My Spectacles, originally licensed by Digital Manga Publishing’s Juné imprint, and handed off to the 18-and-over-only sister imprint 801 Media after Juné deemed it too adult for their image. Was it worth the wait? Spectacles is definitely an entertaining read, and a much better fit for 801 Media than for its sister imprint. –Wiggle

Yeah, those people are DMP are a bunch of wimps, but we still love them. You know what they say about family. You can’t pick your relatives. *teehee*

That is about it on the review roll this time around. We will keep you posted as more of them pop up online.

Well, I guess a better title for this post would be advertising, but whatever… The 801 Marketing team (Tomo-chan, Kampai and 801-chan) got together today and started planning out our convention strategy. And the first thing on the table was freebies!!!

Freebies are actually really hard. Personally, I like freebies that are actually useful. Paper fliers are cool and all, but usually I pick them up, look at them once, and then they end up in my registration bag never to see the light of day again…

So today, we all gathered around my poor excuse for a desk. (See here in the forums for a picture. It is a bit cleaner these days, but not by much…) And started brainstorming ideas for freebies:

[Tomo-chan] We should do postcards or bookmarks, people find those useful for the most part.

[801-chan] If we do postcards we should do a set of 4 so people can collect them!

[Kampai] Personally I like bookmarks, you can use them for everything and no one really mails out postcards these days. Everything is by email.

[801-chan] A set of 4 bookmarks would be so awesome. People could collect them too!

[Tomo-chan] Grrr…. but isn’t there something other than paper we can do? Those canvas bags that Viz gives away are really awesome.

[801-chan] Having a set of 4 801 bags would be sweet! We could put Tomo-chan and I on one of them.

[Kampai] *glares at 801-chan* But canvas bags are really, really expensive… I don’t know… The shot glasses were cool last year, maybe we should stick with the drinking theme, beer mugs would be awesome!

[801-chan] If we do beer mugs, we can do 4 so people can collect them. Everyone drinks with friends. Four is the perfect number for a set.

[Tomo-chan] *Teehee* Leave it to Kampai to think of something related to drinking. Beer mugs would be cool, but those are pretty pricey to. Hmm… how about stickers?

[801-chan] If we do stickers we can do a set of 4 sheets. People collect stickers, right?

[Tomo-chan and Kampai] SHUT UP!!! 801-CHAN!!!!!!!

[801-chan] A set of 6?

[Tomo-chan] That is beside the point 801-chan! Not everyone is a freak like you! What is up with you and your sets of 4?
[801-chan] *sniff* I just thought that it would be cool to have items that people collect. You guys are sooooo mean!

Well, Kampai and Tomo-chan decided on the convention freebies without me! Geez… I guess they couldn’t handle thinking on my higher plane of thought. But they did tell me it wouldn’t be a set of 4. But hopefully it will still be cool.

The DMP and 801 Media Inc staff went out for Chinese food last night to celebrate a DMP staff member moving on to bigger and better things. *sniff* We will miss you Ame-chan! (Ame-chan was Tomo-chan’s and my partner in crime when it came to all things yaoi. But she doesn’t like to admit it.)
Anyway, every Chinese meals ends with fortune cookies. Mine said “People are naturally attracted to you!”. (See the world of fortune cookies think I am a nice person!) And Tomo-chan’s said something about embarking on a new business venture… (You had better not be plotting something Tomo-chan!) Anyhoo, one of the DMP employees brought up how fortune cookies are always so uplifting and frankly boring. Crabhatyeah, as he shall now be named, went on to say that the makers of fortune cookies should throw in a really depressing cookie every once in a while to keep us on our toes. Like:

“You will meet your untimely demise.”

“Don’t go outside tomorrow, evil awaits.”

Well, for those of you who know Tomo-chan and I, you probably realize that any conversation involving the two of us quickly degenerates into something related to yaoi. So we figured yaoi fortune cookies would be much better than deep, dark, depressing cookies. So we spent the rest of the evening coming up with yaoi fortunes. Here are the more PG-13 rated ones. I can’t print the XXX ones in public.

“You will find yourself in a sticky situation.”

“You will erect new partners.”

“Watch your behind.”

“You will be running dry.”

“When the time comes, just bend over and take it.”

Maybe the new business venture Tomo-chan’s fortune was referring to was the two of us making fortune cookies as a side business. Hmm… I have to think about that one. Yaoi fortune cookies are soo much more interesting than cream filled yaoi cookies!!!

*801-chan goes off to find Tomo-chan and plot. Mwahhhhhh!*