was a quarterly Japanese fashion mook which focuses on the Gothic and Lolita fashions. It was first published in 2001 by Index Communications, and is a spin-off of the Japanese fashion magazine .
In February 2008,https://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Lolita-Bible-1-Various/dp/1427803471 February Edition Gothic & Lolita Bible an English-language version was released in North America by Tokyopop. English-language critics praised the Gothic & Lolita Bible as an entertaining magazine with nice pictures and content. It was discontinued after 5 issues in Spring 2009.
History First published in 2001 by Index Communications, the Gothic & Lolita Bible is a spin-off of the Japanese fashion magazine . The "mook" was created by former Kera editor Mariko Suzuki. The Japanese musician Mana originally proposed the creation of the Gothic & Lolita Bible and along with Kana, a Japanese singer-songwriter, helped to promote the magazine and the Lolita fashion by dressing in the fashion while performing. Essays by Japanese author Takemoto Novala about "the proper behavior and attitudes" of girls also influenced many to join the Lolita fashion and lifestyle. Most of the Gothic & Lolita Bible focuses on the Lolita fashion as it is "the more popular of the two fashions".
The idea of publishing the Gothic & Lolita Bible in North America was first suggested in 2003. In June 2007, Tokyopop announced the decision to publish an English-language version and released the first volume in February 2008. It contained articles from past issues, which the editors chose based on available material, and original content. Beginning with the second volume, the English-language Gothic & Lolita Bible features articles, short stories, and interviews that originally ran in the Japanese version a year ago, along with original content about the fashion, events, and trends in the United States.
Reception Gothic & Lolita Bible ranked tenth in About.com's 2008 reader poll for the best manga magazine or magazine and book hybrids and was ranked by About.com's Deb Aoki as 2008's eleventh most anticipated manga. It received positive reviews from English-language critics. Active Anime's Sandra Scholes wrote: "Superb, this is an essential buy for any Lolita's bookshelf!" While noting it as "dated" content and not "a serious scholarly journal", Danielle Van Gorder of Mania Entertainment praised the magazine as a "gorgeous glossy mook that should satisfy both the casual fan of lolita fashion as well as the most discriminating sweet lolita princess." Writing for Coolstreak Cartoons, Leroy Douresseaux commented on the "lovely photographs" of the Gothic and Lolita models and called it "a photographic art mook from "The Twilight Zone" via A Clockwork Orange, Dangerous Liaisons, Mad Max, etc." In March 2017, Gothic & Lolita Bible announced they would be going on hiatus May 24, 2017 after 16 years of publication.
Issues Japanese language edition There were a total of 63 regular issues and 5 special issues. IssuePublication date*ISBN#12001April 21, 2007 (Premium reprint) #2July 18, 2001 #3December 1, 2001January 10, 2002*#4April 30, 2002June 13, 2002* #5July 29, 2002September 5, 2002*#6October 7, 2002November 16, 2002*#7December 11, 2002 #8March 22, 2003April 30, 2003*#9June 28, 2003#10September 29, 2003 #11December 19, 2003 #12March 12, 2004April 9, 2004*#13May 28, 2004June 23, 2004*Hair & MakeupAugust 31, 2004#14August 24, 2004 #15November 25, 2004December 22, 2004*Extra #1January 31, 2005 #16February 24, 2005 #17May 24, 2005#18August 24, 2005#19November 24, 2005December 21, 2005*#20February 24, 2006#21May 30, 2006Extra #2June 24, 2006#22August 24, 2006#23November 24, 2006#24February 24, 2007#25May 24, 2007#26August 24, 2007September 21, 2007*#27November 24, 2007BoudoirJanuary 31, 2008#28February 21, 2008March 23, 2008*#29May 24, 2008June 21, 2008*#30August 22, 2008#31November 21, 2008December 21, 2008*#32February 24, 2009March 22, 2009*#33May 25, 2009#34August 24, 2009#35November 20, 2009December 20, 2009*Gothic & Lolita EnsembleApril 5, 2010#36April 10, 2010May 8, 2010*#37August 24, 2010September 20, 2010*#38November 24, 2010December 20, 2010*#39February 24, 2011March 24, 2011*#40May 24, 2011June 20, 2011*#41August 24, 2011September 21, 2011#42November 24, 2011December 21, 2011*#43February 24, 2012#44May 24, 2012#45August 24, 2012#46November 24, 2012December 21, 2012*#47February 23, 2013March 23, 2013*#48May 24, 2013#49August 24, 2013#50November 25, 2013#51February 24, 2014#52May 23, 2014#53August 25, 2014 #54November 25, 2014December 21, 2014*#55February 24, 2015#56May 25, 2015June 21, 2015*#57August 24, 2015#58November 24, 2015#59February 24, 2016#60May 24, 2016#61August 24, 2016#62November 24, 2016 #63February 24, 2017 Many times there are differences between the release date from the publisher's website and the publication date printed on the issue itself. Dates marked with a * are dates printed on the back cover of the issue.
English language edition IssuePublication dateISBN#1February 12, 2008 #2June 17, 2008 #3September 16, 2008 #4December 9, 2008 #5April 1, 2009
References
External links Gothic & Lolita Bible at Tokyopop's website