Massive Goods

Massive Goods (or simply Massive) is a fashion brand and manga publisher. The company works with LGBTQ and feminist comic artists in Japan, particularly gay manga (bara) artists, to create products featuring their artwork, and English-language translations of their works.

Massive Goods

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	2013
Founders	Anne Ishii Graham Kolbeins
Fate	On hiatus (as of June 2019)
Headquarters	New York, NY , United States
Area served	North America
Products	Gay manga, clothing
Website	massive-goods.com

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.^[1] Massive first released a line of t-shirts featuring artwork by Tagame and Jiraiya,^[2] which gained popularity in the LGBTQ hip-hop scene.^[3]

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.^[4]

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 launched a product line to commemorate Pride Month which featured apparel, accessories, and a Tenga sex toy.^[3][5] That same year, Mission Chinese Food and Massive released a t-shirt collaboration, also featuring art by Jiraiya.^[6] A second collaboration with Opening Ceremony and Jiraiya, "Power-Up Massive", launched in 2015,^[7][8] along with a line of swim briefs with artwork by Jiraiya created by Pretty Snake, the fashion brand founded by Project Runway contestant Joe Segal.^[9]

Publishing

In December 2014, Fantagraphics published Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, the first English-language anthology of gay manga.^[10] Co-edited by Ishii, Kolbeins, and Kidd, Massive was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Anthology.^[11]

Massive has published several English-language translations of dōjinshi, including Cretian Cow by Gengoroh Tagame,^[12] and Caveman Guu and Two Hoses by Jiraiya.^[12][13]

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.^[14] The memoir was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.^[15] That same year, Massive began work with Pantheon Books on the English-language translation of My Brother's Husband, Gengoroh Tagame's first all-ages manga.^[16] The first volume in the series, translated by Ishii, won an Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.^[17]

Massive Gay Manga, a publishing imprint set to launch under Bruno Gmünder Verlag in 2017, was cancelled following the dissolution of the company.^[18]

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 Chip Kidd; collecting works by Gengoroh Tagame
• Caveman Guu. 2013. Story and art by Jiraiya.^[12]
• Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. Fantagraphics, 2014. Edited by Anne Ishii, Graham Kolbeins, and Chip Kidd; collecting works by Gengoroh Tagame, Inu Yoshi, Kumada Poohsuke [ja], Takeshi Matsu, Jiraiya, Gai Mizuki, Fumi Miyabi, Seizoh Ebisubashi, and Kazuhide Ichikawa
• Cretian Cow. 2015. Story and art by Gengoroh Tagame^[19]
• 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.^[13]
• 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.^[20]

References

1. Randle, Chris (December 31, 2014). . The Hairpin. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. Girl, Galore (June 27, 2014). "PRIDE: Anne Ishii of MASSIVE on Jiraiya Opening Ceremony Collection". Galore. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
3. Trebay, Guy (June 23, 2014). "Opening Ceremony Turns to Manga Comic Artist for Gay Pride Week". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
4. "Dear MASSIVE Family". Instagram (@massivegay). June 7, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
5. Torres, Eric (June 20, 2014). "Massive for Opening Ceremony". Gayletter. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
6. Kolbeins, Graham (November 24, 2014). "MASSIVE x Mission Chinese Food". Gay Manga!. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
7. Penzlein, Isabel Asha (June 24, 2015). "Power-Up Massive". Opening Ceremony. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
8. Kolbeins, Graham (June 24, 2015). "MASSIVE for Opening Ceremony Summer '15 Lookbook". Gay Manga!. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
9. Kolbeins, Graham (December 4, 2015). "MASSIVE x Pretty Snake". Gay Manga!. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
10. Nichols, James (February 2, 2015). "'Massive: Gay Erotic Manga And The Men Who Make It,' Chronicles Gay Japanese Manga". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
11. Asselin, Janelle (April 22, 2015). "2015 Eisner Award Nominations Announced". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
12. "Caveman Guu". Printed Matter. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
13. "TWO HOSES by Jiraiya". Massive Goods. February 14, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
14. Kirby, Robert (April 28, 2016). "What Is Obscenity? The Story of a Good for Nothing Artist and Her Pussy". The Comics Journal. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
15. Schaub, Michael (February 22, 2017). "L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Zadie Smith and Rep. John Lewis; Thomas McGuane will be honored". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
16. Green, Scott (September 25, 2016). "Massive Goods Teams Up With Pantheon For Omnibus Of Canadian-Set "My Brother's Husband"". Crunchyroll. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
17. McMillan, Graeme (July 21, 2018). "2018 Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
18. Iddamsetty, Anshuman (February 6, 2019). "The Asian Gay Thing". Vanguard (Podcast). Shopify Studios. Event occurs at 15:40. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
19. "Cretian Cow by Gengoroh Tagame". Massive Goods. 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
20. "Gengoroh Tagame Sketchbook". Massive Goods. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

External links

• Massive Goods official website