Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It

The reprint cover for Massive, with art by Jiraiya

Can the erotic be art? It’s obviously a stupid question; works fueled by erotic passion have existed since ancient times. Yet the distinction between art and pornography is constantly being made by censors and moralists, albeit in ways that become increasingly irrelevant. This month’s selection does away with this distinction entirely, as it is filled with comics that amount to both. Some of the contributors gleefully accept the title of pornographer, though they are no less artists.

Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, published two years ago by Fantagraphics Books, is staggering in its scope. It serves as an effective primer not just on gay manga and Japanese culture, but on relevant issues facing foreign artists and the breadth of artistic styles and subject matter in Japan. Too often manga (and Japanese culture in general) is presented in oversimplified terms that rely on broad strokes that skirt the edge of racist caricature so that the person doing the presenting can feign ignorance while appearing worldly at the same time. Editors Chip Kidd, Graham Kolbeins, and Anne Ishii (who also translated) compiled comics from numerous artists with very different styles and storytelling techniques, but also in-depth interviews and a helpful historical timeline to provide context for the reader.

The title itself is something of a multilayered pun, as it could refer to the size of the tome or the size of the subject matter of most of the stories, which feature protagonists endowed with beefy frames, enlarged musculature, or both. The variety of talent is also quite large, providing glimpses of everything from gag strips to genre fiction to bondage erotica. The first artist profiled is the one who looms largest: Gengoroh Tagame, arguably the most influential gay mangaka. His Do You Remember South Island P.O.W. Camp? is excerpted with an almost harrowing humiliation sequence and no nudity. Afterwards is a science-fiction fantasy from Inu Yoshi that’s funny and sexy. The aforementioned gag strips, or yonkoma, of Kumada Poohsuke from his Dreams of the New Century Theatre Issue #1 are excerpted next. Six more artists are featured, with works that incorporate Japanese mythology, gangster subcultures, and all manner of other content.

Massive is a revelation not just for the comics, but for shedding light on the issue of scanlations and how they negatively impact the livelihood of most artists. Illegally downloading or sharing amateur translations of copyrighted material may seem like a victimless crime, but it causes serious damage to the much-needed income of many working artists.

Massive was nominated for an Eisner for Best Anthology. It can be found at the publisher’s website, Amazon, or wherever books are sold.