Seduce Me After the Show by est em review

Seduce Me After the Show

Author/Artist: est em

Publisher: Deux Press

Rating: M – ages 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Anthology

Grade: C

Theo Gallardo has only known the stage. Being the son of a famous Russian ballerina, he's loved and lived for dance. The day he was debuting a new work his mother was killed in a plane crash. After giving the performance of a lifetime he steps away from the stage vowing never to go back. A few years later he resurfaces as an actor starring opposite of known playboy Darren Fergus. Can the spark between these two men be what Theo needs to light the fire within him to begin dancing again?

Seduce Me After the Show also contains brief stories about artists, punk rockers, quiet boys that are actually cats (this story still leaves me confused), and a man comes back to his hometown after being away for many years.

As a storyteller est em is at the top of her game but when it comes to her art I'm still at a loss. But I guess that the style of her art, the layout of the panels, and the starkness of the black and white that she relies on all go together. Out of all of the stories I found myself interested in the title story. The rest of the stories I found were either just OK or really confusing. With the use of loss and rebirth I found a very captivating premise.

Instead of using the usual settings that you find in yaoi (schoolboys, salary men, cousin love, etc.) she bases her characters in more artistic mediums. You have dancers, actors, artists, and musicians. I have to say that I appreciate this change of pace. Yet I still struggle with truly liking it. I enjoyed this manga but I don't know. Deux Press did a great job though. The cover is black and white with a splash of deep red for the red carpet. The title on the spine is also printed in the deep red as opposed to the usual hot pink ink they usually use. If I were to recommend an est em work it I'd recommend Red Blinds the Foolish over Seduce Me After the Show. But I'm going to leave the choice up to you.

If you're interested, there is a fascinating interview with est em's former teacher Matt Thorn (he's quoted on the back of both Red Blinds the Foolish and Seduce Me After the Show) that was conducted by Brigid Alverson over at Publisher's Weekly. Check it out as well!

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***