Trendspotting: Yaoi zowie.

In Japan girls go gaga for gay boys--at least in their comic books. Known as yaoi (pronounced "yah-oh-ee"), shonenai, and BL ("boys' love"), gay romance is one of the most popular genres in manga, or Japanese comic books. A few titles--including Fake, Gravitation, From Eroica With Love, and Yellow--have already come stateside. But November sees an explosion of BL on our shores.

TokyoPop, one of the largest manga publishers in the United States, is launching BLU, an imprint specifically for BL manga with "interesting and compelling stories that also look good," says editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl. "There's a lot of cliches in the genre, and we're trying not to tell the same story about two high school guys in love."

BLU's first wave includes Earthian, a fantasy involving fallen angels; Love Node, an intergenerational drama; and Shinobu Kokoro, a comedic look at ninjas gone frisky. Digital Manga Publishing is also unleashing a glut of BL titles, including Jazz, about a doctor-patient relationship crossing the line; La Esperanca, a tense schoolboy drama; and Our Kingdom, a romance between boys from different backgrounds.

Lesbians and their fans need not feel left out: Girls' love (yuri) books, including the recent Yuri Monogatari 3 anthology, are currently available from ALC Publishing, and DMP will test the waters with its first yuri title in January.