a large gay fan base, and despite initial skepticism from broader comics audiences due to the work's consistent "gay culture" setting, have also gained great popularity among heterosexual readers. Several of König's comics have been adapted into films; his work has sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into 14 languages. British comics were for significant parts of the 20th century regarded as being aimed at children, hence avoiding adult themes. One exception is 2000 AD, a more mature and violent comic book. 2000 AD introduced its first openly gay hero in 1992 in the story Swimming in Blood, in the form of the camp vampire exorcist Devlin Waugh. Waugh was created by writer John Smith and artist Sean Phillips and his character's homosexuality is frequently referenced in the strip; in his first story he attempts to seduce one of the men he is rescuing. The character was deliberately created in opposition to such characters as Judge Dredd and Johnny Alpha, gruff, macho men. Waugh, by contrast, was camp, flippant and flamboyant. In the annual poll of readers' opinions, Waugh became the first and last character ever to knock Judge Dredd off the top spot as Favourite Strip. However, the character was not used for seven years after his initial introduction, due to production problems. In the British small press Martin Eden launched Spandex, which claimed to be "the world's first all-gay superhero team". Mainstream Japanese comics Comics are an established art form in Japan, which has the biggest comic book industry in the world. Comics are respected and aimed at both child and adult audiences. Sex and violence are common, and their presence in fictional manga is regarded as a "safety valve". Yaoi and yuri Yaoi and yuri (also known as "boys' love" and "girls' love", respectively) are Japanese genres incorporating homosexual romance themes across various media. The genres emerged in the 1970s in a branch of manga aimed at girls. Yaoi and yuri have spread beyond Japan: both translated and original yaoi and yuri are now available in many countries and languages. The characters in yaoi and yuri manga do not tend to self-identify as homosexual or bisexual.Lees, Sharon (June 2006). "Yaoi and Boys Love" . Akiba Angels. Famous works include Hiizuredokoro no Tenshi (The Angel that Came from the Sun), an 11-volume series beginning in 1980 that reinterprets the life of the introducer of Buddhism