Digital Manga is refining its yaoi line, renaming the imprint Juné. Here’s some of what DMP had to say about the change:
“The new imprint will have a name that has a much deeper resounding relevance to yaoi and will also be including existing titles in publication by DMP as well as upcoming titles.”
It’s certainly catchier than yaoi-manga.com.
“‘We obviously have been doing very well with our Yaoi titles and felt that creating the Juné label would be the most appropriate thing for DMP’s marketing awareness and consumer appreciation,’ says Director of Operations, Isaac S. Lew. ‘This will not only give the chance for DMP to market our Yaoi books more freely, but also the opportunity to better showcase our non-Yaoi titles such as Range Murata’s Robot series, Yoshitoshi Abe’s Lain book, and the upcoming conclusion to Antique Bakery.’”
Okay, I’m just repeating a press release. Sue me. I’m a sucker for niche marketing and themed imprints.
And there’s an interesting bit on the origin of the imprint’s new name:
“Named after the famous French novelist Jean Genet, whose identity is well established amongst the yaoi community, Juné was first coined from the Japanese pronunciation of his name ‘Jan Jooneh’. Jean Genet was famous for writing several novels post World War II depicting the subtle erotica between beautiful boys. In homage to Jean Genet, a Japanese magazine was named Juné after him. Genet’s famous works include Journal du Voleur (1949), The Thief’s Journal, and Notre-Dame des Fleurs (1944), Our Lady of the Flowers.”