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Editorial Review Product Description
Beauty and the beast, the prince and the pauper, yin and yang...it's no secret that opposites attract.In this comic anthology, five talented teams put their own spin on boy's love.In these pages you'll find stories spanning many genres, both sweet and spicy, romantic and erotic.A hippie and a Vietnam vet meet on a cold 1971 night...a poor young man comes to work for a mysterious aristocrat...a revolutionary kidnaps a wealthy corporate heir...a middle-aged businessman meets a boy from a dark and unfamiliar world...and a high school nerd gets one day with the boy of his dreams.With a wide range of stories and art styles, this book has something for every boy's love fan. ... Read more Customer Reviews (2) 
OK for a BL/Yaoi debutbutsomeone explain the cover...
First and foremost, the cover is misleading. I admit I bought this because of the erotic implication of an angel and a merman in love. But at last none of that! I feel somewhat cheated...
Iris Print is a relatively new publisher of Boy Love novels/comics, the list which is given above. "When Worlds Collide" is their first Yaoi/BL comic effort by Western writers/artists. As this is a collaboration by 5writers and 6 other artists (reminds me how amazingly talented most Japanese Yaoi/BL mangaka are as they write and draw their own stories), each story is distinct from the other. However all of them do leave me wishing for more romance and emotional depth.
Story #1 LFE:2065
I am somewhat disappointed with CB Potts' contribution here. Maybe my expectation from her is higher as she did write some great M/M romance under Torquere Press. The less than average artwork by Studio Kosaru does not help either. There is a lot more sex here than in the others but unfortunately the art does not measure up. As the beginning talks about aristocrats versus the common poor and a wife's infidelity, this story brings to mind the excellent Yaoi "Gerard and Jacques" but of course it is nothing even close to the standard of "G & J" in plot, characters, sex or art.
Story #2 In Motion
This brief encounter between a Vietnam veteran and a hippie in the 1970s is the best. There is a bitterness and realism in the plot which I will not easily forget though the dialogue could have been better. The art is pleasing. The sex may be fewer than #1 but it's much more erotic because of the much better artwork.
Story #3 Far From Home
This is the stereotype vampire meets boy servant story with a familiar ending. The art here is amateurish.
Story #4 Touch and Go
This about a high school nerd playing truant for one day as influenced by his rebellous school mate whom he has a crush on, has a promising story line. The 2 boys' characters are well flushed out. However as a Yaoi/BL offer it leaves me wanting more romantic development. The artwork with all the varied shadings has its own distinct style.
Story #5 Birthday Present
This may not be the best but it is enjoyable.At least there is a "happy-ever-after" romantic feeling in this story about a dull 30 years old white collar worker finding love in the most unexpected place. (Right I am a "sap").There are more characters interacting and the story's progress is pretty smooth. The artwork here is pretty expressive but certain panels seem simplified.
Overall, this is quite a good effort from Iris Print and I look forward to reading their novel, "A Strong and Sudden Thaw" which has great reviews. It is heartening to have another Western Yaoi/BL comic source (besides Yaoi press) and I definitely look forward to Iris Print future releases.
English BL... seems a lot like some of the Japanese BL with different art
I bought this over Christmas with a gift card since I heard about it but never saw it in stores.
At $12.95 list price it is just a little steep in comparison to some of the other publishers. It's about the size of a Tokyo Pop book (about $10 for one of those), maybe a bit thinner and just a hair longer on one end on average but I can't be certain of that, with a lovely colored cover that is smooth and glossy to the touch. If you don't mind popping out extra money for Blu or DMP manga just because of the covers (my example for blu would be Earthian) or dust jackets (dmp), however, this may not be enticing to you. It's a nice cover of a merboy and an angel but not quite like the aforementioned. Something else that may have driven up the price is that the paper seems thicker, maybe nicer, then some of the other books I've collected.
The stories and art are each different. Some of the art is fantastic, in my own opinion, some is alright, not bad, and certainly won't hurt anyone. I'm not much of an art critic, though. I mainly deal with stories.
A LOT of them are typical yaoi/BL stories. The bottoms, in at least three of them are obvious. There are the general logic gaps in the sex scenes (don't go looking for realistic things in this), and even major unexplained holes in some of the stories.
But at least two of them are pretty good.
Touch and Go Story: Danielle Kelley Art: Wendel Cavalcanti and Carlos Alberto
Is about two school boys from opposite sides of school life meeting and playing hooky together. The art reminds me of the 1950's for some reason but the angle shots etc. are very good. The story itself is smooth, it doesn't try to rush to sex, and the characters appear very well rounded. Unlike some, you learn a fair amount about the two boys you're dealing with using conversation and the like.
In Motion Story: Tina Anderson Art: Liv Lingborn
You have your typical pretty boys. The art is soft and smooth, I liked it anyway. The plot is about a hippy who hitchhikes and meets a vet that just recently came home from Vietnam. Although there are a few pet peeves shown in this short, over all the characterization is well done and the conversation moves the piece explaining bits about the characters and giving it depth.
The other's I didn't care for. Either the plot I've seen done 100 times over, the story rushes to sex, there is discontinuity in character reaction, no decisive ending, or major unexplained happenings.
It could be worse, and I'll give it a benefit of a doubt. This is, as far as I know, the first bl English anthology out by them. Firsts are always hard, things can get better. I'll keep my eye out again, but I might hold onto my wallet or gift cards a little more.
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