[P.L.O / Perfective Latent Organization] LECTORI SALUTEM J (1983)

[P.L.O / Perfective Latent Organization] LECTORI SALUTEM J (1983)
[P.L.O/ Perfective Latent Organization / 完了潜在組織] LECTORI SALUTEM J (1983) 昭和 58 年

A rarely documented, highly important doujin series from the circle P.L.O, or Perfective Latent Organization. This group is hardly documented as the group, which was invite only and quite strict, did not sell their works at Comiket. The group was originally headed by Daisuke Hanaro (大介 花郎), a pseudonym for one of the female members, alongside the novelist Mirai Okuda (奥田未来) and mangaka Jun Goto (後藤順). Mangaka Fujiko Hwarang first published her BL masterpiece "Fear of Men" or "Terror Men" in this particular journal under the name 'Hwarang'. In regards to their name, the group refers to the instance of their circle being a 'latent organization' - "A latent organization is a group of people who are connected in ongoing relationships that become active when a project requires it. Latent organizations are often found in the film industry. In sociology, a latent function is an unintended consequence of an activity or social system. Latent functions can be beneficial, but they are often not obvious and can go unrecognized."

The group in particular, based on the books I own, focused on the series Grendizer, Mazinger Z, Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon, Govarian, Voltes V and Golion, with smaller inclusions of late 70s to early 80s mecha works. Notable contributors include Mari Hibiki, Sowanna and Shio Sato (the novelist Simone Yotsuya), to name a few, however there is a continuous presence of the P.L.O's main authors and artists above all. This particular journal was anti-lolicon in particular volumes I own due to the changing nature of Comiket and other socio-political issues at the time of their publishing.

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On Lectori Salutem:

Lectori Salutem, which means 'Dear Reader...' in Latin, was seen as a journal above a standard fare doujin. Published 3 times a month, the series began with 'Lectori Salutem A' and ended with 'Lectori Salutem Z', all 27 books remaining relatively hard to find. The first issue was released August 2nd of 1982 while the last seems to have been published sometime in late 1983 to early 1984.

While having manga and novels within its pages, these books also include criticism on homosexual aesthetics, romance, manifestos and a few scathing criticisms on lolicons into the early 1980s, mainly in that members of the P.L.O did not wish to be associated with these themes and hated being criticized by 'hypocrites'. Many volumes of the Lectori Salutem imprint present itself as a fan journal, though its contents are quite pornographic and violent in theme. Themes of rape, sexual abuse and even gore can be found in particular volumes, primarily in novel form.

While many artists popular in the BL parody scene of the 80s were invited to collaborate, those who did were seen as 'subscribers'. Well curated, not everyone could join; no high school age members were allowed and many who did subscribe were queer women, gay men or college age/working class women, some well into their 30s.

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Additional Imprints:

The IRBM imprint/novel series was also published by the P.L.O alongside the Red Lily and Duo Wolf novels. In particular, these works are hard to come by/source as they were only sold via mail order and anonymously due to the contentious content that they included.

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