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Side By Side: The Journal of a Smalltown Boy
SIDE BY SIDE is the story of Evan and Rick. Fast and close friends since their kindergarten days in a small town their friendship evolves into the love of their lives. They move to the big city where they meet Billy and Charlie and these four friends are soon inseparable. Mioki presents a moving portrait of gay life with all its highs and lows. Drawn in a sure style and masterfully incisive, Miokis comic is a joy to read, is moving and the sex also doesnt get short shrift. A charming comic for the young and the young-at-heart.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2008
17 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 14, 2016
Cute, but a little more depth wouldn't have hurt. Looking forward to the sequel.
April 2, 2010
This book is about 25% cute and 75% hot. Though the plot isn't the best, the characters, while not too terribly deep, had a surprising well-developed. The sex scene, however, were awesome, and that's the real reason we read these types of works, isn't it? All in all, glad I picked it up; I've certainly made worse impulse buys in my day.
February 24, 2014
Every gay boy's dream.
December 30, 2022
Evan and Rick are childhood friends whose relationship develops as they finish college and begin adulthood. Evan leaves their small town for the big city, it isn't long before Rick follows Evan. On arrival Rick begins an intense sexual and emotional relationship with Evan. The cartoon drawings of the coupling are explicit and yet romantic. Enter Bill and Charlie, Evans best friends who enjoy gay sex and work as nude gogo dancers at an exclusive gentleman's club. Here both Bill and Charlie enjoy the pleasures of their clientele, both developing attachments with older men willing to pay for their time. Mioki shows these encounters with well drawn explicit cartoon drawings. Although both exploit their sexuality, both Bill and Charlie have a close attachment to each other. However, the relationship between Evan and Rick continues to develop as they end up living with each other and becoming lovingly devoted to each other. This love story shines through the depictions of gay sex, emphasising the emotional connection two men can have.
March 1, 2025
(16 October 2024)
This has to be one of the best front covers EVER. It's absolutely perfect. Do the contents live up to it? By and large I'd say they do. I like Mioki's style of illustration. Quite simple, quite naturalistic. The book is full of nudity, full of men in all sorts of positions. But I like the fact that Mioki doesn't seem to feel the need to compete with himself, to try to outdo himself, to progress from simple scenarios to more and more complex ones. There is a consistency about the whole that makes it feel quite realistic and grounded and which doesn't disgust. In spite of there being so many sex-scenes throughout the book, so much nudity, you don't grow bored of it. The characters are all likeable and seem quite stable and faithful/loyal to each other in their own particular set-ups. It's not an amazing read because there isn't a great deal going on in the way of dialogue, there's not a great deal going on plot-wise, and yet it is about more than sex. It feels like it really is about relationships, and about the characters, rather than about sex for its own sake.
(12 February 2025)
My review of 16th October 2024 still hold up. The opportunity of obtaining a hardback copy at a reasonable price prompted me to re-read my paperback to see if I thought it was worth the extra outlay, and the answer was a comfortable yes. It's just such a satisfying book to read and to look at with its warm atmosphere (in a friendly/affectionate/loving/feel-good sort of way), and its colourful and attractive and sexy illustrations. It has everything going for it.
(25 February 2025)
I wonder if it's ever possible to get tired of this book! The hardback, where possible to obtain it for a reasonable price, is much preferable to the paperback edition simply for the ease with which it can be opened without risk of damaging the spine, thus making it easier to study all the pictures and read all the text. I just hope I can find affordable copies of the sequels some day.
This has to be one of the best front covers EVER. It's absolutely perfect. Do the contents live up to it? By and large I'd say they do. I like Mioki's style of illustration. Quite simple, quite naturalistic. The book is full of nudity, full of men in all sorts of positions. But I like the fact that Mioki doesn't seem to feel the need to compete with himself, to try to outdo himself, to progress from simple scenarios to more and more complex ones. There is a consistency about the whole that makes it feel quite realistic and grounded and which doesn't disgust. In spite of there being so many sex-scenes throughout the book, so much nudity, you don't grow bored of it. The characters are all likeable and seem quite stable and faithful/loyal to each other in their own particular set-ups. It's not an amazing read because there isn't a great deal going on in the way of dialogue, there's not a great deal going on plot-wise, and yet it is about more than sex. It feels like it really is about relationships, and about the characters, rather than about sex for its own sake.
(12 February 2025)
My review of 16th October 2024 still hold up. The opportunity of obtaining a hardback copy at a reasonable price prompted me to re-read my paperback to see if I thought it was worth the extra outlay, and the answer was a comfortable yes. It's just such a satisfying book to read and to look at with its warm atmosphere (in a friendly/affectionate/loving/feel-good sort of way), and its colourful and attractive and sexy illustrations. It has everything going for it.
(25 February 2025)
I wonder if it's ever possible to get tired of this book! The hardback, where possible to obtain it for a reasonable price, is much preferable to the paperback edition simply for the ease with which it can be opened without risk of damaging the spine, thus making it easier to study all the pictures and read all the text. I just hope I can find affordable copies of the sequels some day.
December 13, 2020
Angefangen hat die Geschichte noch recht interessant, aber dann wurde es sehr schnell sehr flach. Es ging nur noch um das eine. Sexszenen wurden wild aneinandergereiht. Es kam keine Stimmung auf und man bekam keinen Bezug zu den Charakteren. Ein wenig Story war zwar drin, auch ein bisschen Drama aber alles war sehr oberflächlich.
Der Zeichenstil und die teilweise atmosphärische Art und Weise, wie etwas in Bilder verpackt wurde, gefielen mir sehr. Die erotischen Szenen waren sehr, sehr explizit, aber das kennt man von dem Zeichner. Er kann das auch wirklich sehr gut. Ich hätte mir einfach mehr Story und Tiefe gewünscht. Trotzdem war es ein nettes kurzweiliges Lesevergnügen
Story 3,0/5
Charaktere 3,0/5
Zeichenstil 4,6/5
Gesamt 3,6/5
Der Zeichenstil und die teilweise atmosphärische Art und Weise, wie etwas in Bilder verpackt wurde, gefielen mir sehr. Die erotischen Szenen waren sehr, sehr explizit, aber das kennt man von dem Zeichner. Er kann das auch wirklich sehr gut. Ich hätte mir einfach mehr Story und Tiefe gewünscht. Trotzdem war es ein nettes kurzweiliges Lesevergnügen
Story 3,0/5
Charaktere 3,0/5
Zeichenstil 4,6/5
Gesamt 3,6/5
December 30, 2022
Nice and simple feel-good gay smut :)
November 30, 2023
Another suggestion from my friend Brandon. So far he’s two-for-two on only suggesting soft porn lol. Not my thing. Cute story tho.
June 18, 2014
Side by Side is a Gay Graphic Novel, emphasis on the Graphic. It is well written, if lacking in plot, but it is the pretty pictures that you read this sort of thing for. It is the story of Rick and Evan, and how they figured out their place in life was...Side by Side. Check out my full review: Side by Side
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews