Massive Goods (or simply Massive) is a fashion brand and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

publisher. The company works with

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

and feminist comic artists in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, particularly gay manga (''bara'') artists, to create products featuring their artwork, and English-language translations of their works.

History

Massive was founded in 2013 by Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins concurrent with the release of ''The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga'' ( Picturebox), the first English-language publication of works by Gengoroh Tagame, which Ishii and Kolbeins co-edited with

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for Cover art, book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by Am ...

. Massive first released a line of t-shirts featuring artwork by Tagame and Jiraiya, which gained popularity in the LGBTQ hip-hop scene. On June 7, 2019, Massive went on hiatus. While the company continues to fulfill online orders, it is not presently planning new product launches or events.

Fashion

In partnership with other brands, Massive has launched several fashion and accessory lines, primarily featuring Jiraiya's artwork. In June 2014, Massive, Jiraiya, and

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

launched a product line to commemorate

Pride Month Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBTQ Pride Month, is a List of month-long observances, month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender a ...

which featured apparel, accessories, and a Tenga sex toy. That same year, Mission Chinese Food and Massive released a t-shirt collaboration, also featuring art by Jiraiya. A second collaboration with Opening Ceremony and Jiraiya, "Power-Up Massive", launched in 2015, along with a line of

swim briefs A swim brief or racing brief is any briefs-style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming (sport), swimming, Diving (sport), diving and water polo. The popularity of the Australian ''Speedo'' brand racing brief has led to the u ...

with artwork by Jiraiya created by Pretty Snake, the fashion brand founded by '' Project Runway'' contestant Joe Segal.

Publishing

In December 2014,

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

published '' Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It'', the first English-language anthology of gay manga. Co-edited by Ishii, Kolbeins, and Kidd, ''Massive'' was nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for Best Anthology. Massive has published several English-language translations of

dōjinshi , also Romanization of Japanese, romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of exi ...

, including ''Cretian Cow'' by Gengoroh Tagame, and ''Caveman Guu'' and ''Two Hoses'' by Jiraiya. In 2016, Massive co-produced with Koyama Press an English-language translation of ''What is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy'', a graphic novel memoir by Rokudenashiko. The memoir was a finalist for the

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...

. That same year, Massive began work with

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

on the English-language translation of '' My Brother's Husband'', Gengoroh Tagame's first all-ages manga. The first volume in the series, translated by Ishii, won an

for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. Massive Gay Manga, a publishing imprint set to launch under Bruno Gmünder Verlag in 2017, was cancelled following the dissolution of the company.

Artists represented

* Gengoroh Tagame * Jiraiya * Seizou Ebisubashi * Inu Yoshi * Rokudenashiko

Publications

* ''The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: Master of Gay Erotic Manga''. PictureBox, 2013; Bruno Gmünder, 2016. Edited by Anne Ishii, Graham Kolbeins, and

; collecting works by Gengoroh Tagame * ''Caveman Guu''. 2013. Story and art by Jiraiya. * '' Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It''.

, 2014. Edited by Anne Ishii, Graham Kolbeins, and Chip Kidd; collecting works by Gengoroh Tagame, Inu Yoshi, , Takeshi Matsu, Jiraiya, Gai Mizuki, Fumi Miyabi, Seizoh Ebisubashi, and Kazuhide Ichikawa * ''Cretian Cow''. 2015. Story and art by Gengoroh Tagame * ''What is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy''. Co-production with Koyama, 2016. Story and art by Rokudenashiko. * ''Two Hoses''. 2017. Story and art by Jiraiya. * '' My Brother's Husband''. Volume 1. Pantheon, 2017. Story and art by Gengoroh Tagame. * ''My Brother's Husband''. Volume 2. Pantheon, 2018. Story and art by Gengoroh Tagame. * ''Gengoroh Tagame: Sketchbook''. 2018. Collecting works by Gengoroh Tagame.

References

External links

Massive Goods official website
{{Gay manga 2013 establishments in New York City Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies established in 2013 Gay art Gay male pornographic comics Manga distributors Publishing companies based in New York City Street fashion