Comics: The Crow by J O'Barr (Kitchen Sink Press/reprint: Pocket Books-Simon&Schuster); The Sandman (particularly Brief Lives and The Wake from DC comics); The Dreaming (DC); Red Rocket 7 by Mike Allred (Darkhorse); Destiny, a Tale of Deaths Foretold (DC); From Cloud 99 by Yslaire (Humanoids Publishing; obscure French book, originally a web comic). Comic artists: Mark Chiarello, Jill Thompson, Rebecca Guay, Paul Lee, David Mack (on occasion), John J. Muth, Michael Zulli, J O'Barr Panel of Morpheus, King of Dreams from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Brief Lives drawn by Jill Thompson

Manga or Japanese Sequential Work (listed by publisher):

Published in English by Viz comics--
Aquarium, Call Me Princess and Princess Prince by Tomoko Taneguchi; Clover, X, and Wish by CLAMP, Inu-Yasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale by Rumiko Takahashi; Shion, Blade of the Minstrel by Yu Kinutani; Tenchi Muyo by Hitoshi Okuda; Vampire Princess Miyu.

published in English by Mixx--
Bishojo Seishi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) by Naoko Takeuchi; Magic Knights Rayearth, X and Card Captor Sakura by CLAMP; Sorceror Hunters by Ray Omishi.

published in English by Animerica Extra--
Fushigi Yuugi/The Mysterious Play and Ayashi no Ceres/Celestial Ceres by Yu Watase; La Fillette Revolutionnaire Utena (Girl's Revolution/Revolutionary Girl Utena) by Chiho Saito and Be-Papas

published in English by Tokyo Pop--
Chicago by Yumi Tamura; Fushigi Yuugi/The Mysterious Play by Yu Watase; Under the Glass Moon, by Ko Ya-Seong;
La Fillette Revolutionnaire Utena (Girl's Revolution/Revolutionary GirlUtena) by Chiho Saito and Be-Papas; Mars by Fuyumi Soryo; Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa; Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino; Ragnarok by Myung Jin Lee

unknown/Japanese-only prints--
Angel Sanctuary (and a host of others) by Kaori Yuki; Arslaan Senki (Heroic Legend of Prince Arislan [Wings comics]), A Funeral Procession for K by (Maki?); Alichino by Kouyu Shurei; Rurouni Kenshin (Jump Comics); Seimaden (creator? has some beautiful art but the plot is a bit rough for me); Seraphic Feather (translated. creator/publisher?); RG Veda by CLAMP (Wings), The Silver Wolf and Lady Masquerade drawn by Chiho Saito (Flower Comics)--and anything drawn by Chiho Saito, for that matter!; Vartrag Tale by Mamiya Oki

Authors: Lloyd Alexander; Alfred, Lord Byron; C.J Cherryh; Michael Ende; Neil Gaiman; Laurel K. Hamilton; Homer; Madeline L'Engle; Anne McCaffrey; Michael Moorcock; Lady Murasaki Shikibu; Anne Rice; Shakespeare; J.R.R. Tolkien; Oscar Wilde.

Books and such: An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle; The Bible (the Judaic texts particularly); The Ballad of Oisin by William Butler Yeatts; The Black Cauldron, by Lloyd Alexander; Carolingian Tales (knightly stories of Charlemagne's court); Don Juan by Alfred, Lord Byron; Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey; The Eternal Champion (Elric of Melnibone, etc.) by Michael Moorcock; The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde; The Tales of the Fianna (Irish legend/mythology); The Homeric Epics, The Illiad and The Odyssey;The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rawling,The Song of Hiawatha (long narrative poem based on Native American stories) by Longfellow; Le Morte De Arthur, Sir Arthur Mallory; The Mabinogion (Welsh legend/mythology); Native American legends; Neverwhere and Stardust by Neil Gaiman; The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende; Obsidian Butterfly, et cetera by Laurel K. Hamilton; The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde; The Ramayana, The Vedas, and The Bhagavad Ghita (Hindu mythos); The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam translated and interpreted by Edward Fitzgerald; The Tale of Genji (oldest known novel) by Lady Murasaki; The Tales of the Red Branch (Irish legend); Tam-Lin (Scottish ballad and subject of many fictions); The Travels of Ibn Batuta (medieval Moroccan travelogue and quite an interesting look at the Moorish world, which had a long-standing appreciation of bishonen!), The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice; Westmark, The Kestrel, and The Beggar Queen by Lloyd Alexander.

The interesting thing about this is that some men can be extraordinarily bishonen in one context... and just look like normal attractive guys in others. It's all about the attitude, the role, and packaging. For example... Brad Pitt as Louis from Interview With the Vampire (left) compared to Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden of Fight Club. Actors: Orlando Bloom, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Ethan Hawke, Brandon Lee, Ewan MacGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman (younger), Stuart Townsend.

Musicians: David Bowie, L'arc en Ciel, Amir Derakh (guitarist for Orgy), Dir En Grey, Camui Gackt, Hide, Raphael, Sting (younger).

Film: The Crow, Death in Venice, Don Juan De Marco, Edward Scissorhands, Gormenghast, Hamlet (Ethan Hawke), Interview With the Vampire, Labyrinth, Last of the Mohicans, Lord of the Rings, Never Ending story, Ran, Stargate, The Governess, Titus Andronicus, Velvet Goldmine, Queen of the Damned. Brotherhood of the Wolf comes close in having a French aristocratic villain with the archetypal psychotic/decadent more evil than evil spirit.

Upcoming Film: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Stuart Townsend as Dorian Grey)

Other: Andrea Casarighi (the teenage prince of Monaco, mischievous scoundrel and consummate pretty boy), Antinous/Antinoos/Antineus (Basynnian slave, lover of Emperor Hadrian and deified after his death, who was the basis for an entire canon of beauty), Leonardo Da Vinci (reputed to be), Riku (Japanese makeup god), Olivier Theyskens (gothic coutourier god; read: Euro Lolita!), Oscar Wilde (managed to look pretty in some photos, and certainly had the aesteticism down).Uma Thurman's brother, who is a model (name?). And Michael Link. But don't you dare tell him we said that. He was probably too lazy to read this list.^_~

Recommendations & other places to look

Walk into your comics shop, even if they carry NO Japanese items. The main distributor for North American comics shops is Diamond Previews. The catalog comes out monthly, and always includes an international section. You can often find art books and manga years before the anime or book is released in the US, and its a good place to discover other artists. Be forewarned that items are set to ship months later, may never come in, and are purchased sight unseen. Still, if you know what you're looking for, Previews is one of the best places to spot rare items you may never locate at an anime con. If you're not a regular customer, please be considerate and purchase the item when it arrives-- the merchant must pay for and cannot return any item you have ordered.

Bud Plant's Incredible Catalogue (www.budplant.com) is a wonderful resource for general art books, illustration, comics, design, photo, portfolio and print collections filled with surprises and wonders. Don't expect any of it to come cheap-- though it's worth checking their e-bay auctions, as items tend to slip through the cracks and can be acquired well below the list price.

If you are ever lucky enough to visit Japan, go to the used bookstores, galleries, and print shops located in malls and on the street. All manner of portfolios, prints, cards, books and ephemera related to manga art, anime and illustration can be located, some of it ridiculously cheap-- and some of it free. If you are an exceedingly polite tourist, you can find yourself graced with shop gifts and promotional items impossible to find elswhere. Shopkeepers are impressed when Westerners know something about the artists or have met them.

books/illustration collections--
an often overlooked resource, Japanese illustration collections not only contain phenomenal art, but they are among the finest quality printings in the world. If you are a serious connoiseur or art student, unless you value the translation, it is usually better to obtain an original Japanese printing of an artbook (such as those now being put out by Viz) as a different quality of inks and paper are used from the American reprints. Japanese printed use gel inks and a more expensive printing process that leaves richer and brighter color. Some Japanese artbooks contain manga-style art for illustration, film, design projects and posters that is breathtaking and rarely imported.

J-rock photobooks and concert fliers for bands and perforners such as Malice Mizer, Camui Gackt, Hide, Larc En Ciel, Raphael. All around some really incredible costuming and photography. Fliers and books for the Takarazuka (Japanese all-female theatre) carry a lot of bishonen style in the characters, which has influenced shoujo manga art.

The Japanese Newtype (the premier anime magazine) frequently produces high-quality artbooks and guides relating to anime movies, Oavs and tv series.

Revolutionary Girl Utena has at least six art books and some of the most original and striking graphic art and set design I've encountered.

Besides the series and artist-specific books, Japanese drawing guides and video game art books are also an excellent source of lesser-known (and often technically superior) artwork. Look for Masters of Color III (the only known book with art by Castlevania illustrator Ayami Kojima) ISBN4-568-50209-8. It sold for 1,500 yen or about $15 and can be obtained relatively cheaply if you watch e-bay. Cover featuring art by Ayami Kojima.

Cartoonist Festival International du Film D'Animation seems to be an artbook from a French anime con including an unusual variety of work by professionals and fans alike and cosplay gallery.1999. ISBN 2-9514320-0-3. Rachel obtained this for me at a local comic shop for around $15, so I assume it was listed in Previews.

Kan Oke by Yoshitaka Amano, the original Vampire Hunter D illustration collection (not the reprint), is well worth the price if you can obtain it. The illustrations are complete and uncropped, and printed in large format. A massive coffee-table book (15"x12"x1") of 198 pages printed in November 1997, with text in both Japanese and English including a translated Vampire Hunter D short story and thick cardboard slipcase. (ISBN4-257-03500-5). The original price was 15,000 yen; years ago it sold in Diamond Previews for about $300 [I remember this day as I about walked out of the comic book shop crying]. I have since obtained the only copy I ever laid eyes on, though it does pop up on E-bay from time to time for around the original price. Good Luck.

Hiten Muna by Mokona Apapa (aka CLAMP). The RG Veda, slip-cased art book. Includes a beautifully-printed, oversized manga issue. Contains unusual images with Hindu and Buddhist influences. Not surprising, as it's a spin-off of Indian mythology in the form it reached Japan. Not too hard to come by. Check E-bay. ISBN 957-643-104-2. If you read Japanese, be careful not to acquire the Cantonese Hong Kong edition, which I posses.

Vertigo Visions was an excellent illustration collection for the adult comics line (as in alternative and maturely written stories) released by DC Comics. No, it's not bishonen-centered. It's not even Japanese. It includes art by Yoshitaka Amano, Michael Zulli and John Bolton, though. A damn good collection by some of the finest illustrators in the world.


Artists--

Kouyu Shurei- some of the most delicately refined watercolors and pen and inks in a thorougly Lolita gothic vein. (See the manga button above and image at left). Reiko Shimizu- art with more mature shoujo, fairy-tale and romantic themes. A touch of realism with anime conventions.

Ayami Kojima- must be seen to be believed. Check out the box covers and character art for Castlevania! Her work is impossible to find outside of Japan and well worth supporting.

Manga--
The best work, in my opinion, still hasn't reached the states. But here's what you can find in English, with general appeal:

Mars by Fuyumi Soryo-- It tastes like American Beauty and Smells Like Teen Spirit. You want suspense, intrigue and psychological drama, read Mars. A love story that is both epic and very real. Clover by CLAMP-- A little bit of Bladerunner, a LOT of Matrix... and a doll-like girl named Sue, who everybody's after (pictured at left). Shion: Blade of the Minstrel by Yu Kinutani-- An excellent example of manga art at its best, but it's just about impossible to find unless you order it from Viz. Beautifully packaged, an oversized comic produced like an old art book complete with its own dustjacket and bookplate. Inu Yasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale by Rumiko Takahashi-- Adventure, drama and hijinks played out in old Japan and the present. Also a fighting game and wonderful anime.

Under the Glass Moon by Ko Ya-Seong-- at first glance, this book screams yaoi or shonen-ai gothic fantasy... which is the whole joke. The two boys on the cover are brothers, one devoutly interested the protagonist, Nell... the other devoutly avoiding her (he's dating her mom). Beautiful art, fun characters, eye candy, and a delicious poke at shoujo, Lolita goth, J-rock, manga, and romance-genre expectations.

Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino-- an odd collection of gothic horror stories, each perpetrated by the intriguing Count D. More atmospheric than unsettling, but nevertheless an entertaining read. Good shoujo-styled art and a twist in every tale. (The first story is horribly sad, and less pointless than the others, but overall we've liked it.)

Anime-- Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust-- more authentically Amano, more in spirit of the novels than the original, with a profoundly better plot, soundtrack, production values and art. Rurouni Kenshin-- addictive samurai storyline for both guys and girls and chock full of attractive male characters. Drama, comedy, suspense, action and romance... and a killer J-rock and traditional soundtrack. (see right) Utena: Adolescence Apocalypse-- the series is about the nature of reality (how much cooler can you get?); the movie has the most stunning visuals I've ever seen. Treat yourself. The Animatrix-- nice collection of art styles in these shorts.

Requests

I am earnestly searching for information about the artist Gen in order to obtain a collection. He(she?) produces realistic paintings of familiar manga and literary characters.

A Funeral Procession for K currently reigns my favorite manga for style, but I've only seen scans. I have yet to find it or any information on the storyline and creator.

If anyone knows a source for the works of Kouyu Shurei or K.Toshiaki please drop me a line. They were stumbled upon quite by accident and are among the best illustrators I've encountered. The only work by Toshiaki I have seen is the slim book I possess, obtained at a Japanese bookstore.

And lastly... I am seeking Kami No Taireku(sp?) also known as Un Ballo En Maschera-- The Weathering Continent. Any information on the storyline or obtaining translations of the anime are greatly appreciated. The artbooks are by Mutsumi Inomata and the OAVS were produced by Haruki Kadokawa in the early 90's. It was originally a novel and manga series. It's about the fall of Atlantis and involves the adventures of a buff swordsman, quick fesity desert princess and an exquisitely beautiful blonde mage, Tiye. I saw it once in raw Japanese, on a tape sent home from Japan. That's all I know.