Velvet Toucher
Publisher: Yaoi Revolution
Review by: Sandra Scholes
Synopsis:
Heavy snow falls over a forest of men, struck down in a bloody battle between noble brothers. The young victor, wounded and near death, is discovered by one of his own nameless soldiers and carried to safety - an isolated cabin on a lonely mountain. This small comfortable peasants' home becomes a refuge for the unlikely pair as winter closes in around them.
As their snowbound days and nights pass, the noble recovers and begins to learn that he and this lowly soldier share a forgotten past. Despite their disparity in social status, the two trapped men find themselves inexorably drawn to each other by a force far stronger than the laws of man or nature. Soon they become torn between a sense of duty and a desire to stay frozen in time.
Review:
While snow blizzards whip around them, Donestan, a soldier from his company rescues a lone knight from perishing, their only refuge is an abandoned cabin left there by the previous owners, a husband and wife who are long since dead. There they find food and wine enough to sustain them through the harsh winter. The food and drink, however isn't enough for young Lord Elduin who insists on Donestan becoming his new serf giving him the real pleasure of his company as Elduin is unlike other men. He has no interest in women and an incident from his past illustrates this perfectly and gives us the conflict Elduin had with his uncle, but also hints at the dirty little secret he has kept hidden for a long time.
Donestan is a honourable man who can't understand why Elduin would want him to be the dominant partner in their relationship (Donestan does have him in and on every available area in the cabin) but he has no idea of his real past until Elduin tells him. Donestan did him a favour rescuing him from the snow, and possible death, but Elduin feels he shouldn't have been saved as he had done terrible things in his past. Even though Donestan wants to serve him, he thinks he doesn't deserve to be waited on hand and foot.
He does like his company, though he sees his baser needs as being sinful. Donestan does change his mind later on and the interplay between the two can prove comical as Donestan washes his lord, tends to his wound, cooks for him and even tries to give him sound advice (which he ignores.) Elduin has an angry streak as well as serious angst he needs to get out of his system. This is also one of the reasons from the past that he has problems with. When Elduin wants to be treated rough during sex, Donestan treats his body with respect as he wants him to enjoy sex. The story is strong and there are several plot points Velvet has started with and there is no shortage of sex scenes in this and they are extremely graphic with the use of a standard yaoi kissing scene with a string of saliva between them, and various licking, sucking and, well, the kind of sex I would have liked to have seen more of in Japanese yaoi. One of the differences in this manga is that Donestan is the seme though he's Elduin's serf, and thogh Elduin is demanding toward him, Elduin is the uke in bed, which is a more European ideal for an M/M pairing. A beautiful cover, excellent black and white interior artwork and a well written romance story I wanted to see the rest of straight away.
Japanese artist Velvet Toucher had the idea for this manga before she attended Yaoi Con in San Francisco, having a premonition that she would see fantastic artwork there that would inspire her to make her own - and she was right. Lost in the Snow Vol: 1 is her first step into the world of yaoi. Starting out as a yaoi web comic, it is also available in print form at A4 size (8.27 x 11.69 inches) and plans are already in place for the comic to be translated into Japanese, German and French.
Lost in the Snow Vol: 1 has several extras, a four-panel comedy sketch of Elduin and Donestan, detailed sketches of the characters and settings plus a sneak peek at Lost in the Snow Vol: 2. Readers will no doubt appreciate both front and back covers as they feature the couple outside and in the cabin in bed in a loving embrace. The first cover is impressive with them staring into the past and the future with the sun setting behind them as the snow still falls. The cover's eye-catching colours are offset by the tidy line work Velvet has used to make the characters look more realistic.
The graphic novel's look shows Velvet's ability to capture facial expressions, complex body movements, musculature, fight scenes and clothing folds. The first seven pages are of Elduin and Donestan caught in the snow where Velvet manages to give us the effect of what it is like for the couple to be stranded in the middle of nowhere in winter.
I was impressed that Yaoi Revolution saw fit to make the manga into an A4 size as it lets readers see the full details of the characters, especially during the more intimate scenes. The books came in plastic self-adhesive sleeves and in a 'Priority Mail' jiffy bag - which was great as this particular package arrived in the mail on a rainy day.
Verdict: Great cover, irresistible manga and a story you'll want to really get into straight away.
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