Only Words [Paperback]

Tina Anderson (Author), Caroline Monaco (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2007

In 1941 Poland, silence is a way of life. Eighteen-year-old seminary student Koby Bruk has watched for two years as the people of his home town allowed the Germans to move in, displace homes and families, and impose their rule on the people who remain. When Koby is bullied by his classmate Irvine, he chooses to speak up against him. This doesn't sit well with Irvine's friend, Hitler Youth Oskar Keplar. Oskar corners Koby in an alleyway and makes a sinister promise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... a short, intense study on the powerful lure of the forbidden. And with the multiple layers of wrongness come stronger desire and more serious fallout -- political, religious, and ethnic on top of the usual homosexuality taboo... potent stuff. There's sex, yes, but it's part and parcel of these characters' trajectories. Kudos all around. ---Prospero's Manga

For me, this was a hard-to-take and very personal tale that touched on many global issues with a needful light touch. It could easily have been turned into a massive political statement but it didn't attempt to do so. It remained for me a story of two young men caught up in circumstances they are completely unable to change. It has had the same visceral punch for me as films such as Se7en and I know for a fact that Only Words will stay with me for a long long time. I m very pleased that this was my first foray into this genre. --Speak Its Name

There is so much good in this release that it's hard to find just one thing to point out that s truly exemplary. [...] This to me, is OEL (Original English Language) manga done right. --Boys Next Door

About the Author

Tina Anderson is an accomplished author of gay fiction and comics; her works have been published Class Comics, Yaoi Press, and Dramaqueen. Writing credits include the series Roulette, currently serialized the American yaoi anthology magazine RUSH, and the historical gay drama Only Words, her first full-length graphic novel published in 2007 by Iris Print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: Iris Print (July 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979466717
• ISBN-13: 978-0979466717
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tina Anderson is a writer best known for erotic GLBT titles. She's written stories published by Class Comics, Yaoi Press, and DramaQueen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Only Words, December 4, 2008

By 

JenB99 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Words (Paperback)

This is a simple yet incredibly emotional manga about a Polish seminary student and a Hitler Youth. The subject matter is dark and controversial, yet somehow the story is still sweet and touching. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful, and more of the story takes place in the drawings than in the words on the pages. The little bit of sex in the book is rather explicit. The story does not have a happy ending, however, and the novel takes less than half an hour to finish. Fair or not, those two issues did affect my overall enjoyment.

While I would happily recommend Only Words to manga collectors and fans of poignant and heartfelt artwork, I'm not sure I recommend it for the casual boylove fan looking for a fun manga to read. This is more of a collector/conversation piece than breezy entertainment.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Delight!, June 12, 2007

By 

Clsazekiel (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Words (Paperback)

Wow. This isn't what I expected. I'd seen other Nazi yaoi from Japan, and it's mostly stupid, unrealistic, and it looks like its just the same old sex story, but with hot Nazis in well drawn uniforms--or if there is no sex, it's some unrealistic drama that's best seen on a ladies soap opera with lots of ellipses and little sense, but hot Nazi's in well drawn uniforms.

Not this book. Only Words actually has a story, and while it's not an earth-shattering deep one, it's something of a page turner, and I couldn't put it down. It doesn't feel like the kind of story that is formulated as an Excuse to have a sexual relationship between two men. I picked this up a convention, and the book is in great condition, though the print seems a bit dark on some pages, and I think there might be pages missing because it just abruptly ends after the artist `freetalk', with a blank page, and some publisher information. Given writer Anderson's reputation to love to hear herself talk, (world's largest Ego, really) I can't believe she didn't write notes for this book. The art is very interesting, and the artist isn't afraid of using black, in fact, Ms. Monaco seems to be a master of it, and her character designs are refreshingly unique and interesting. You're not going to find breath-taking bishounen in this one; you're going to find guys you might know. Another plus, in my opinion.

I don't want to spoil the story, but I can't help but share some of it. It takes place on a border town in Poland at the start of the war, and we meet this young man named Koby, who would've been a priest, had it not been for the German invasion. He attends school with many German youth, most notable, young men in the Hitler Jugen. One bit of Praise: Kudos to the artist for knowing her uniforms - I've seen too many Nazi-fetish manga that cater to cosplay fans by putting manga Jugen and Wafen SS officers in their Summer best and placing them in stories with snow falling or no leaves on trees. The Winter uniform just isn't as sexy, but it depends on how you look at it. Thank you Ms. Monaco. But that's a nitpick, apologies -Koby manages to provoke one of the young men, and gets him booted from class. This puts the ousted student's friend Oskar, on a mission to bully Koby; what he doesn't realize is that Koby likes that sort of thing. I know, it sounds weird, but to yaoi fans, it makes complete sense.

As I said, I won't spoil. It's one of the better written yaoi in English books I've picked up, because it's solid and it isn't all over the place, trying too many plot lines at once. It's like a film; it never strays off course and keeps you reading. I think most Yaoi in English titles suffer from an inability to find good stories to match great art. Yaoi Press is notorious is for this, thank goodness Iris Print seems to have figured it out. The sex is not impossibly lovely, in fact, it seems awkward in some panels, but the character designs are still sexy, if you're into `males', and not `genderless pretty boys'.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars *************, April 12, 2010

By 

Jackie Alphonse - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Only Words (Paperback)

For such a quick read, what stood out about this manga was how much was gotten across in so short a time. Generally shorter mangas have that rushed feeling about them and I end up having difficulties caring about the characters at all. With Only Words, this was not the case.

Every incident has meaning behind it, building up this story of a student named Koby, who from the start seems to be one of the few who has survived the Nazi occupation with a good soul still intact. He refuses to see others bullied---regardless of how outnumbered he is---and ends up in a situation that leads to his acquaintance with the Hitler Youth, Oskar.

This isn't much by way of romance if that's what you're searching for. It's more about Koby trying to cope with his feelings, trying to understand his interest in Oskar, and attempting to make a life when everything he was counting on before has been destroyed.

The ending is not a happy one, and I'm sure it would put off many readers. Recommended, however, for those looking for something more historically-based, and who like their yaoi with more substance and little to no fluff.

Only Words does lose a few points with me, mostly for length (too short) and artwork that wasn't much to my taste. The characters are definitely male-looking, which will please some, but I found it to be a little too blunt to be anything of a favorite. The backgrounds, however, are detailed and relay the story well. This problem is mostly subjective, and I think regardless of whether or not you find the art appealing, it's still very much worth the read.