All Time Most Popular Post in 2024 (MPP3)

 

"A judge caused a surprise in this year's IFNB Open, Western Semi-Final by going on stage and confronting the contestants. Gerry Kabalski (Idaho) said later that the unexpected intervention put him off his stroke and ruined his chances, but the Judges dismissed his appeal on the grounds that it was the same for everyone. Judge Trumble was subsequently suspended"

.

 Art by this year's winner for the sixth year running, IFNB.

 

~

 

I've flipped the 'all time' popularity listings this year to give precedence to hit rates averaged out over the number of years since publication. This is a method that gives recent articles the same chance as older ones. I have retained the 'total number of hits since publication' but as a secondary measure, since it has reached a point where older articles have established unassailable totals.

 

 

Table 1

Articles with the Highest Average Hits per Year Since Publication (2024)

 

Article	Year Published	Ave Hits per year	Position (& last year)	'Total Hits' position
IFNB – A Fantasy World of Bodybuilders	2018	8226	1 (1)	2
The Milking Factory	2017	7209	2 (2)	1
The Art of Amalaric – 1 A Slave To Passion	2020	4140	3 (3)	13
Homoeros Gallery Guide	2018	3981	4 (4)	7
Milking Factories - 3	2018	3937	5 (5)	6
Priapus of Milet - 1	2012	3643	6 (6)	3
Ain Postolos - Milking Fact Workers	2024	3130	NEW	n/a
Etienne - Index of articles at mitchmen	2016	2771	7 (7)	9
Milking Factories-4	2019	2664	8 (8)	14
A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel	2010	2438	9 (10)	5
The Art of BrosFate – 3	2020	2408	10 (9)	22
The Art of Homoeros - 6 (Art of The Cross)	2018	2362	11 (12)	16
A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo	2008	2358	12 (14)	4
The Art of BrosFate – 1	2020	2222	13 (11)	28
The Art of Amalaric – 3 Hunks & Manipulators	2020	1966	14 (15)	40
The Art of Homoeros - 1 (Beefcake Boys)	2018	1782	15 (18)	26
Come and Get It!	2021	1777	16 (13)	78
Another Milking Factory No2	2018	1729	17 (20)	23
A New Life For Our Air Force Boys	2017	1665	18 (-)	21
Milking Factories 5 (Development Lab)	2019	1608	19 (-)	35
A Christmas Criminal	2015	1593	20 (-)	17

Stats compiled 31/12/24

Short cut to Last Years Table

IFNB and Milking Factory topped the table again this year and continue to outscore every other post in the blog on a regular basis. The gap between these two closed a little, but the the chasing pack have been falling further and further behind. All of the top 8 articles kept the same position but there was much jostling further down.

 The two top articles benefitted from new posts on the same subject in 2024 (IFNB Newsletter and the continuing stream of Milking Factory posts). Other entries which benefited from 'connected articles' were Homoeros, Etienne, Brosfate and Chirenon's 'Air Force Boys' which re-entered the chart after a two year absence thanks to it's linkage with Etiennes 'Sailor Beware' story and it's Royale Studio spin-off. There are 3 articles about Homoeros' work in the table and 2 by Brosfate.

 Amalaric stormed this chart back in 2021 and has kept it's 3rd position just behind the two leaders without any extra support this year, a measure of genuine lasting popularity. Amalaric has 2 articles in the chart. Three older stalwarts of the chart have also been quietly maintaining their positions without any extra publicity - Priapus at 6, MCarcel at 9 (up 1) and Cavelo at 12 (up 2). The resurgence of the last two is remarkable, considering that they are the oldest articles in this top 20, no less than 14 and 16 years old and still going strong!

There were three new entries this year, or rather, three 'returners' who ejected more recent upstarts who haven't sustained their early successes (Roa, Planet Gay and Brick). They were replaced by Milking Factory 5 and Airforce Boys (both after one year out) and my own 'Christmas Criminal' (last here in 2020) which I gave a modest plug this Christmas on 'X'. The departers look likely to be followed next time by the only photographic article in the table, 'Come and Get It!', which has become redundant with the transfer of Royale Studio material to the new Royale blog. 

I don't count articles less than one year old in this table. I have indicated where they would have registered in orange but Ain Postolos score is artificial, it exceeds the number of real hits he has had so far, due to being published less than a year ago.

The entry level to this table is 1593 down from 1862 last year. It's well within the range of Ain Postolos if he can keep up with his first year score of 1475 in the future.

The A-Z Index of Artists at mitchmen hit score presently averages 10,777

Table 2 mitchmen Articles With Most Hits Since Publication to end 2024

Posn (last yr)	Title of Post (& link)	Year of Pub'n	Cum Hits	Hits in 2024
1 (2)	The Milking Factory	2017	56,740	5355
2 (1)	IFNB – A Fantasy World of Bodybuilders	2018	56,095	4338
3 (3)	Priapus of Milet - 1	2012	46,311	1936
4 (4)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo	2008	39,193	2572
5 (5)	A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel	2010	35,595	1100
6 (6)	Milking Factories - 3	2018	26,027	1170
7 (7)	Homoeros Gallery Guide	2018	24,096	909
8 (8)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Jotto	2009	23,524	567
9 (9)	Etienne - index of articles at mitchmen	2016	22,590	933
10 (10)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Malex	2010	20,287	586
11 (11)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Franco	2009	20,044	716
12 (13)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Brick	2008	18,080	2671
13 (12)	The Art of Amalaric 1 - A Slave To Passion	2020	18,034	2169
14 (15)	Milking Factories-4	2019	15,882	1489
15 (14)	A-Z of Fetish Artists – Martin of Holland	2010	15,289	537
16 (18)	The Art of Homoeros – 6 (Art of The Cross)	2018	15,049	2001
17 (17)	A Christmas Criminal by Mitchell (1-5)	2015	14,389	608
18 (16)	A-Z of Fetish Artists – The Hun	2009	14,258	369
19 (19)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Kalabro	2009	12,891	578
20 (20)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Julius	2009	12,532	403

 

This year again it was pretty much 'as you were' in the all-time table of total hits with the notable exception of Milking Factories-1 which reclaimed the No 1 spot it had in 2022, returning IFNB to second place (and closing the gap in Table 1). These two continue to pull away strongly from the rest of the pack, who are now a long, long way behind them. 

 

This table has a number of older articles which no longer feature in Table 1, but have built up big totals in earlier years which are almost unassailable by new ones. Thus Brick's resurgence here, prompted by the release of new work in 2023 and continued in 2024, doesn't register in Table 1, where under-performance in earlier years depresses it's rating . He nudged past Amalaric's 'Slave to Passion' into 12th place and is closing in on Franco and Malex (two other old-timers). Further down, Homoeros (Art of the Cross) swapped places with The Hun, rising to 16th position and more than reclaiming the ground he lost last year. 

 

The Milking Factory series has 3 entries in this table and all consolidated their positions in the top 20 with Milking Factory No 4 overtaking Martin of Holland to take 14th place. Milking Factory No 2 is just outside the top 20. Homoeros is the only artist to have two dedicated articles in the top 20, although Kalabro contributed to 'Milking Factory 1' as well as his dedicated article, so he has a comparable claim.

There were no new entries to the top 20 once again this year, but there's a gaggle of contenders just outside and performing strongly (including 'Airforce Boys' and Brosfate 3). The bottom two articles, Kalabro and The Hun, are now vulnerable to this wave.

The entry level to this all-time top 20 is now 12,532 about 400 more than last year. It's about 10 times the winning total of the new posts in 2023 and 2024 which is why I have switched to the annual hit rates as the principal measure of 'all time' performance.

 

The mitchmen  'Index of Artists' page reached 99,300 hits at the end of 2024, a 13% rise (compared with 13% last time also). It would have earned top spot in this ranking if I counted it as a post.

~

mitchmen blog was first published in 2008 and ten of the sixteen years since then are now represented in this survey, the missing years between 2008 and 2022 are shown below

• 2011 - Top Contender is A Tribute to Bound Gods at 39, down from 37
  
• 2013 – The nearest is still my 2nd article on Mike Carcel at 53 (51)
• 2014 - The Art of Baron is at 30 (30)
• 2021 - Come and Get It! at 79 (77)
  
• 2022 - New 'Slave Academy' Pictures by Brick jumped to 158 from 194
• 2023 - Slave Training 11 (Cockaphobia) at 447**
  
• 2024 - Recruiting Workers for the Milking Factory at 456**
  

**These articles have yet to score enough hits to register in the table properly, I don't count every score less than 2000 hits. 2000 is position 402 currently.

 ~

The articles I post to this blog are very much based on my own interests and fancies but the results of this survey do help me plan future offerings. My readers preferences doesn't always match my own (where are Les, JoeT and Link?). Nevertheless it's gratifying to see such interest in the great gay fetish artists who often have a fairly low visibility on the web.

Remember, this comparison is only made for entertainment, since I don't really know how accurate Google's stats are, they don't seem to add up to the overall hits at the blog and I suspect they don't count the activity of people who just browse through the blog roll.

Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support.

 

This annual set of articles is made up of 3 charts

MPP1 - Most Popular New Post of the Year 

MPP2 - Most Popular Post during the Year (All articles )

MPP3 - Most Popular Post of All Time (i.e. cumulative performance)

that's this article!

 

Charts and reviews for earlier years can be accessed by clicking the 'MPP' label below

Diplomatic Language

AI image generated by 'muscle and boots'

caption by mitchmen

Art by Hijaden

Hijaden - Drone Initiates

This is a very typical example of Hijaden's work, depicting two young men in the grip of hi-tech machines which hold them, suspended, in a forward arched position. They are dressed in close-fitting, rubber suits and subjected simultaneously to sensual deprivation and external stimulation. This suspension position with legs spread wide and very little support is quite demanding. 

The setting is a Sci-fi environment, possibly alien, although the master of ceremonies here is remarkably humanoid in appearance. Hijaden calls the unfortunate captives, 'drones'. Their white suits seem to suggest a milking role, a modern update of the white suits of 1970's TV Milk ads. Milking isn't actually happening here, however. It appears that the colour is what identifies them as initiates. They will graduate to black suits in due course.

 

Hijaden - Milking Drones 1

 

Here we see two of the black drones, held in a similar arrangement and being milked by a robot arm. Their faces are masked and there's something going on between their buttocks, which make an eye-catching display. It would probably look even better if we could see the movement induced by the thrust and pull of their attachments. You have to wonder if someone is able to watch them through that panel they are facing.

 

Hijaden - Milking Drones 2
 

This close-up perspective is dramatic and sexy, although the detail is tantalisingly obscured. A similar arrangement to this memorably featured in Milking Factory 3 here at mitchmen. I can't class this as an entry in that series because there are only two donors in evidence and no sign that the milk is being collected. It would appear that the milking has a control purpose, rather than a farming one. Quelling their masculine urges and showing them who is in charge.

Hijaden - Drone Milking Sessions

  This is the nearest I have seen Hijaden come to depicting a milking factory that utilised those marvellous arching positions. Again, though, no collection equipment is shown, and with the drone's bodies stripped naked, the scene is more suggestive of a prolonged torment of unsatisfiable erections. 

It's not clear how the suspended, black-suited, visitor drone fits into the picture. His open legs suggest he is going to be dropped onto those primed erections, one by one, to perform the milking of each and every man (sorry drone) without even laying a hand on them. In that case, it's clearly not going to be collected for onward use.

 *In a separate, recent post, I have presented two examples of mass milking establishments by Hijaden that do seem to be commercial. They use completely different techniques for restraining and extracting from the donors. 

 

Hijaden - Always Watching

 This image perhaps offers some explanation of the purposes and motivations. The young man here having his oral and reproductive functions put through their paces is under surveillance by unseen captors according to the title. It seems to imply that they are aliens, delving into the mysteries of human body functions. However, I wouldn't rule out fellow humans with the pocket to pay for all this gadgetry, enjoying the experiment. At least the aliens have an excuse for doing it. This man's milk is being collected, for analysis presumably, it wouldn't be a viable commercial process.

 

Hijaden - Testing The Deluxe Model.

The title here, by contrast, seems to suggest Corporate branding and profit driven manipulations of a high order. It's reminiscent of Franco's hapless jocks, but they were paired with machines much less sophisticated than this. Normally in these fantasies, the young men respond enthusiastically to their predicament and with firmness, but Hijaden gives us a dose of reality and the more likely, limp outcome. 

The experimenters must have had high hopes of uncovering something better than this when they persuaded this red head to volunteer. Perhaps he's caught sight of that thing just in front of him that looks like a monkey wrench (gulp!). Fortunately (or unfortunately) the unseen experimenters seem to have thought of this and a solution is ready at hand, or at neck to be pedantic about it. I have no more idea than the redhead has about what the syringe contains, but I predict he'll be filling that green, glass pot in front of him in very short order, and having fun at the same time.

Hijaden - Slave Feeding Time

This image depicts a different, more private context, some sort of training scenario. The baseball cap worn by the foreground 'top' reminds me of captured rogues, thwarted in their misdeeds and being rewarded here with some exceptionally creative mutual punishment. However, the comprehensive fetish equipment and cell is probably beyond the average householder's budget. I'm not sure that I can even label these two as buddies. It's all rather conceptual.

 

The detailed imagery, however, is striking. The X-stretched foreground figure in particular. He is obliged to perform another variant of the forward arch. Our downward-looking viewpoint, makes him seem like a top, even if he's simultaneously being treated like a bottom. I'm not the biggest fan of latex suits or dicks on sticks, but the teasing rear opening and inserted plug here are super-sexy. 

 

The kneeling, partner figure seems to have got off lightly in the body stress department. It's anybody's guess how he feels about his 'food' or the feeding connection which he can't shake off, something like an umbilical tube making him dependant.

 

 

Hijaden - Milking Machine

 It's interesting here how unclothing the captive throws the focus of the image onto the machine. He's clearly being milked, but once again it's not obvious that the result of his efforts is being collected, although the top and base of the machine both seem to have hydraulic connections. There's something very business-like and economical about the mode of restraint, suspended from the ceiling and offering up the human to the machine. One can imagine a factory set up like this, where the milkers are rotated by robots, giving up their load to a central extractor and then moved away to rest and recharge while the next man takes their place. A nice dose of realism.

 

Hijaden - Tank Torture 2

What better way to recharge the batteries than this? Not quite a spa but better than nothing. Actually, Hijaden has labelled this as torture. The tight limb isolation bondage speaks for itself and the cock attachment looks as though it's getting hot, like a heating element, although it don't know if that would work underwater, if it is water, that is. It's the water level that poses the threat.

 

One is reminded of the classic, Bound Gods water trial, where Dante is put in a tank like this by CJ Madison*. He's simply restrained, but threatened with drowning as the tank fills up and Madison lies on the lid. Something similar is happening here, the cylindrical tank extends way above his head (it's more obvious in other images in this series). The captive is impaled on a post so he can't float. However, he has a tube in his mouth which is presumably carrying air to him, so it's scary, but not fatal.

*See also Rusty Steele is dunked in a giant fishtank by Derek Diamond at BGods.

 

 

Hijaden - The Pod

'The Pod' also sounds like a relaxing place to be, but it doesn't look very private. More like a sci-fi, display cabinet rather than a place to have a quiet doze. But it's a nice containment image. The user inside is restrained, in a mild-looking way admittedly, but someone has decided his limbs have to be prevented from moving. I wonder if he noticed the sign on the door behind him when he stepped into the pod (assuming he got in voluntarily, which I suppose we can't take for granted). The tube attached to his cock looks like a drainage arrangement of the toilet kind rather than a milking device, but if it's going to be very cold it's usually considered prudent to turn off outside taps so they can't leak.

Hijaden - The Egg

This image obviously derives from the same line of thought as The Pod above. The user inside this container is unrestrained and floating in a medium that the colouring suggests is a fluid. Preservation springs to mind, and you may have noticed that the egg seems to have a decorative frame and been mounted on a stand. However, you can also see gas bubbles inside, like an aquarium, so we can hope this humanoid is capable of breathing in this situation, an alien conversion project, perhaps. That doesn't explain why he's got a raging erection (although it's also welcome evidence that he's alive).

Find more Hijaden images at X.com

 

Most Popular Post of 2024 (MPP2)

KW - The Farm

Above: KW's 'The Farm' headlined the first 'Milking Factory' article,
which was the most visited of all the posts at mitchmen in 2024. 

 The table below lists the top 20. Commentary notes follow. 
(Titles have links to the original posts ).

 

TABLE 1 - Top 20 Posts at mitchmen (in 2024)

 

Rank (last yr)	Title (+link)	Total Hits	Last year	Pub Date	Note
1 (1)	The Milking Factory - No 1	5355	7506	2017	1,5a
2 (2)	IFNB A Fantasy World of Body Builders	4338	7187	2018	1, 5b
3 (3)	Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Brick	2671	4332	2008	1
4 (6)	A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo	2572	2316	2008	1
5 (5)	The Art of Amalaric – 1 A Slave To Passion	2169	2551	2020	5c
6 (12)	The Art of Homoeros - 6 (Crucifixion)	2001	1420	2018	1, 4
7 (4)	Priapus of Milet - 1	1936	2604	2012	6
8 (9)	Milking Factories – No 4	1489	1502	2019	5 a
NEW	Ain Postolos - Milking Factory Recruits	1475	-	2024	2 ,5
9 (8)	The Art of Amalaric – 3 Hunks & Manipulators	1314	1549	2020	5c
10 (10)	Milking Factories - No 3	1170	1466	2018	5a
11 (-)	Milking Factory 14 by Shenguanlin	1127	552	2023	3
12 (11)	A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel	1100	1437	2010	1
13 (19)	IFNB Revisited	1088	1092	2020	5b
14 (13)	The Art of Brosfate – 1	999	1350	2020	6
15 (18)	Another Milking Factory (No 2)	965	1098	2018	5a
16 (-)	A New Life For Our Air Force Boys	955	763	2017	4
NEW	IFNB 3 - Newsletter	955	-	2024	2, 5b
17 (-)	Etienne/Stephen – Index to Articles	933	786	2016	4
18 (-)	Art by Shenguanlin	929	501	2023	3
19 (15)	The Bondage Art of Black Prof	916	1200	2020	6
20 (-)	The Art of Homoeros -1 (Beefcake Boys)	911	779	2018	4

 

(Stats collected on 31st December 2024) 

1

Since this table covers all 2000 posts at mitchmen, you would expect it to be quite volatile with new visitors bringing different interests to the fore, but in recent years it has been remarkably stable. In 2024 the 3 most visited posts were exactly the same as last year, with the first two well ahead of everyone else.

 

The rest of the top 10 were also the same but shuffled positions, except for 'Homoeros - Art of Crucifixion' which entered the top 10, rising six places to No 6. It replaced The Art of 'Muscle' Matt -1 which dramatically dropped out of the top 20 altogether after a run of popularity in the last couple of years. 

 

Amazingly, two of the top 10 articles date from as far back as 2008 and none are more recent than 2020. This blog is retrospective in character but it's remarkable that so many of the classic fetish artists, like Brick, Cavelo and Mike Carcel, remain more popular than the many accomplished, newer ones. They share the same characteristic of being 'old-fashioned' art created by hand, not a keyboard. Computer techniques but don't seem able yet to capture that elusive element of authenticity and personality that creates lasting appeal. At the same time the repetition is a little depressing, I don't want this blog to become stale and fossilised!

 

2

As usual, I have hived off 2024's new posts into a table of their own (MPP1) because their initial flush of visits can mask the wider picture. I have shown where they would have appeared, however, with entries in orange. Onlt two qualified, 'Ain Postolos - Milking Factory Recruits' would have taken 9th position leaving 'IFNB Newsletter' to share a revised 17th spot with Chirenon's enslaved Air Force Boys. It's hits in the second year and onwards that separate the new wheat from the chaff  but, encouragingly, last year's winner of the new post category - 'Slave Training 11 – Cockaphobia' did well again, finishing just outside the top 20. The 2022 winner 'Brick's Slave Academy' also finished in the top 30.

3

In this sea of tranquillity, Shenguanlin managed to make a splash with two new entries at 11 and 18. His articles from 2023 were the only ones in the top 20 more recent than 2020. The first of his them probably got an extra boost from being part of the popular milking factory series (see 5 below). His art is high fetish and hits the button in the earthiest way imaginable. His brand of domination might not be everyone's cup of tea (if I may use that expression) but it's welcome here.

4

 

 The other 3 'new' entries were actually returning to former glories. 'Etienne's Article Index' at 17 dates from 2016 and was unexpectedly top of this chart in 2020. It's resurgence is probably attributable to the flurry of articles at the blog related to his 'Sailor Beware' story, notably Planet Gay's re-interpretation of the desert trek inflicted on the captive, Navy boys. 

 

Planet Gay's article also helped to pull Chirenon's Air Force boys back into the top 20 for the first time since 2020 (at 16). I used his image to promote the subject of desert abductions on 'X' and it seems to have drawn some new admirers. More about 'X' in the summary at the end of this post.

 

Homoeros' crucifixion images have an enduring popularity but his more vanilla work in the 'Beefcake Boys' post was last in this chart in 2020. It's the lead article for my series about him so it will tend to attract readers with an general interest in his work, they were prompted this year by the sexy 'Ross in Trouble' images that I featured in January.

 

Dropping out to make way for these new entries were - Homoeros Gallery Guide, Enslavement Art by Planet Gay, Exciting New Slave Academy Pictures by Brick, and The Art of Tentakun.

 

5

 

The 'Milking Factory' series has been hugely popular at this blog for several years now, so much so that it's hard to find something new to say about it! No 1 in the series finished in top spot again this year. It benefits from being the entry point for the whole series, but other MF articles claimed 4 more positions in their own right and together they made up 25% of the table. That's not even counting the new article (featuring AI images for the first time) by Ain Postolos.

The IFNB series is smaller, only 3 articles, so claiming 2 places in the chart (again not counting the newest one) is arguably an even greater achievement. It's in the nature of this field for talented artists to disappear without trace (having shot their load you might say), but this one, with his dry, witty commentaries is particularly missed. I attempted to emulate his style in IFNB3, but it's not the same.

Amalaric shouldn't be forgotten either with 2 articles steady in the top 10 reflecting the continued popularity of his photo manipulations. 

6

The table is completed by a trio of talented artists with very different styles. Priapus of Milet is a familiar name here, a long time champion in the 'all time' table. He has moved with the times and it's hard to credit that his very modern style originated back in 2012. He's probably the greatest story-teller since Tagame, but with a more sophisticated, almost cosy line in threat and sexuality.

Brosfate at one time was the great rival to Amalaric in this table. He has slipped behind a little this year but his art too has evolved considerably and it's continued, deep-rooted popularity is well attested by 2 entries in the separate New Post category (MPP1).

Black Prof is a relative new boy but his cartoon-based bondage imagery is a visual delight. He exploits the medium to add drama and clarity. It's not really 'gay' art at all but he has the clever knack of making it seem so.

 

 ~

 

9 different years are represented in this year's table. There are no  photographic entries this year, but 5 are by photo-manipulators. 6 are by renderers, 7 by traditional artists (I have included Shenguanlin here)  and 2 cartoonists. Together they represent the usual, eclectic range of interests.  

The mitchmen 'Index of Artists' page recorded 11710 hits in 2024, up 16% on 2023,but in line with the long term average. It would have easily taken top place in the top 20 table. I'm glad visitors are still finding the index useful and hope it will lead many more newcomers to a fantastic heritage of gay art they didn't know about. Perhaps reflecting that phenomenon, the 77 individual articles which registered increased hits reads like a revival of all the old classics:- Naomichi (+283%), Manflesh, Etienne (Sailor Beware), Nath66, Ehrlich, Rex, Homoeros, Quaintance, Teddy of Paris, Tom of Finland, Tagame, Sabian and Ulf. They were interspersed with a gaggle of my own captioned images.

 

  Overall hit counts at the blog, however, declined further this year by 20%. I believe this is mainly due to Google imposing sign-in barriers and also perhaps to the rising popularity of other outlets. I suppose my opening comments might also be taken as implying that recent articles may not as interesting or original as they used to be. 

 

The decline prompted me to engage in some promotional activity by starting to post 'tasters' regularly on 'X', which has become a haven for fetish artists of late. I was surprised by the traffic levels there and initial results gave me much food for thought. The captioned image, 'After The Parade', which I posted on both platforms in December has presently attracted 85 hits on blogger and 1,300 on 'X'. An image from 'Cowboy folio No 8' has 136 hits on blogger and 403 (plus 4 'likes') on 'X'.  

 

Posting at X requires a lot less effort and it's a good exercise in brevity for me, but it's format is not suitable for in-depth articles like this, so I don't envisage defecting there completely. There is some evidence that my posting there has improved footfall at this blog where visitors face exactly the same entry barriers as X. Hopefully the superior image display of blogger will keep them interested once they find me. Only time will tell. There's now a growing trend now, for artists to move on from 'X' to BSky Social which is a similar platform without the uninvited political views. I'll wait and see in that department.

~

 

 Next time I will reveal the most popular mitchmen post of all time, based on cumulative hits,

To look at other charts for earlier years just click on the MPP label at the foot of this post.

Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support of mitchmen blog.

Keep the restraint tight in 2024!

Milking Factories by Hijaden2

Hijaden2 - Milk Collection 1

 

The artist does not describe this hall as a milking factory, but it seems to be set-up for collecting the stuff on a substantial scale, albeit in individual jars, not carried away in pipes. That suggests a focus on quality and traceability. The building architecture resembles the futuristic designs of Sci-fi sagas* and one could easily visualise robots periodically emptying and taking away the contents of the collection cylinders for processing. That would account for the spacious aisles.

 

*I suppose this might be the crew of a giant spacecraft in some sort of stasis during an interstellar voyage, but I can't recall the authors of such stories identifying an ability to produce milk in such a state. It might be a useful function if their mission is to found a human colony on a distant world. But if that is the case, I'm thankful that we are spared the sight of eggs being harvested from their female opposite numbers.

 

Hijaden2 - Milk Collection 2

This, more detailed, view reveals that the conditions for the donors in this place are pretty austere. They are totally naked and vacuum-packed inside rubber sacks. They sacks have a degree of transparency, which is useful for monitoring the condition of the donors, but perhaps discomforting for them. It certainly keeps the place tidy, but severely limits their movement, and you might think that the inability to feel any sort of sensual, skin contact might inhibit a man's ability to produce. However, I have observed that mummified men do have a disturbing ability to weep without very much stimulation. I imagine the extraction device is able to render assistance to them. 

An overhead feed line provides air and, I dare say, water and essential nutrients too. You'll observe in picture 1 that the men seem to share these arrangements in pairs. It's not clear how this works, but one can imagine 'buddying up' being beneficial for the milkers The full cylinders and presence of a good, old-fashioned pump on the output tube implies that decent quantities are in fact produced. The control panel on the left even seems to have options for an external operator to make adjustments to optimise output further.

 

Hijaden2 - Milking Drones

In this installation, the produce is carried away by a communal pipeline, implying that output volume is what matters most. The men are clad in tight-fitting latex suits and described as drones, with no visible individual identities. The men in the first facility seem to have allowed to choose their own positions before being sealed inside the vac pack. These drones are not afforded that, they cannot even move their heads because of the rigid feeder tube to which their helmets are attached. Their kneeling positions seem to imply that they are not passively extracted, but are expected to actively promote their own output. Fortunately, their helmets look as if they have the capability to assist, with visual stimulation.

 

Hijaden2 - Storage Facility

 In our enthusiasm for seeing men harnessed to the thankless task of producing milk for their masters, it's easy to overlook the biological fact that they have to rest and recover sometimes. A short pause 'on the job' can enable younger milkers to come back surprisingly quickly -  given the right incentives and diet. But ultimately, even they will run out of steam and post-orgasm disinterest will take hold. I don't think there's a drug for that yet, but no doubt it will come one day.

Hijaden gives us a look behind the scenes with this storage facility for drones who need such a holiday from their endeavours. Chillingly, a rest does not mean that they can take off their suits, clean up and exercise as we would do. However, I imagine their owners have thought of that need and catered for it in some other part of the factory. This is the equivalent of bedtime for the men. We see them, still tightly packaged, being delivered by a robot transporter and stored away in an underground bunker to recover in comfort for the next shift.

Hijaden2 posts at 'X' and bsky.social (it's Musk-free equivalent)

This is Milking Factor No 20, go to Milking Factor 21 (link pending)

Click on the 'Milking Factory' label below 

for all other posts on the subject at mitchmen blog

or the 'milking' label for all posts with milking imagery.

Most Popular New Post of 2024 (MPP1)

Ain Postolous - Dungeon Bondage

An unusual fetish scene from this year's winner. Not a milking Factory, but it looks like a private creamery to me, with interesting stereotyping. Notice the twin ball ties - advanced stuff!

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The table below lists the most popular of the new mitchmen posts during 2024. I'm sticking with last year's method of simply counting hits with a mention of other factors in the notes.

(Titles have links to the original posts, column 4 shows hit rate ranking
On mobiles the table is best viewed by turning your phone sideways)

 

TABLE 1 - Top 20 New Posts of 2024 at mitchmen

 

Rank	Title (+link)	Total Hits	Hit Rate Ranking	Pub Month	Note
1	Ain Postolos - Recruiting Workers for the Milking Factory	1475	1	July	1
2	IFNB 3 - Naked Bodybuilders Newsletter	955	9	Feb	2
3	Art by Aizenhower	744	12	Apr	3
4	Art by JomsViking 1	735	17	Jan	4
5	Defeated Army Enslaved	698	13	Apr	4
6	Enslaved Sailors by Planet Gay	635	2	Jul	1
7	Art by Catweazle	633	7	Jun	6
8	Milking Factory R&D (No18)	594	3	Jul	5
9	Milking Factory 16 by Gorounaoki	571	14	Apr	5
10	Brosfate 5 – The Art of Control	546	4	Jul	6
11	Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 8	516	18	Apr	4
12	Captivity Art by Eclyom	508	16	May	6
13	The Art of Uruonurun - 1 Heroic Endings	503	5	Aug	3
14	Brosfate – Recent Highlights	484	10	Jul	6
15	The Art of Uruonurun – 2	461	6	Aug	3
16	Vintage Bondage – James Seely	459	19	May	7
17	Homoeros – Ross In Trouble	453	21	Feb	6
18	Art by JomsViking 3	449	20	Mar	4
19	Roman Prisoners of War	429	15	Jul	1
20	Etienne's 'Sailor Beware' and Royale Studio	428	23	Jan	1

 

(Stats collected on 31st Dec 2024) 

NOTES

 1.

 

2024 was the year AI art really made its mark and Ain Postolos was the runaway winner of  the 'Most Popular New Post' with the 'Recruiting Workers' article, a group of images which I cunningly wove into the Milking Factory saga, although strictly speaking, they are not true factory depictions. His winning total comfortably exceeded last year's winner (as did the runner-up). A separate Ain post with a better 'factory' feel - 'Milking Factory 19' failed to make the cut, but his present popularity is underlined by the continuing success of his debut post at mitchmen. 'The Season of Chastity' from Christmas of last year racked up 589 hits in 2024 alone, a total which would have propelled it into the top ten if I had admitted it. Its hit rate would have placed it just inside the top 20. This artist's work is extraordinarily sexy and he shares Absolut Bleu's love of exaggeration to almost unpublishable lengths. However, AI can trap artists into churning out more of the same, I hope he will broaden his range of subjects in the new year. 

 

Two other AI posts made the top 20 - Planet Gay's reworking of an image from Etienne's marvellous 'Sailor Beware' story (at 6) and some images from 'Roman Prisoners of War', an anonymous artist (at 19). The Planet Gay post actually finished second in the 'rate' table, which takes account of time since publication. Coincidentally, it's subject, 'Sailor Beware' featured in another post (at 20) that presented fragments of a rediscovered, original version from the 1960s and linked it to Royale Studio's 'Shanghai'd Sailor' storyette (also newly-unearthed this year from early beefcake magazines). Posts about Royale Studio have now moved to the new Royale and Hussar blog.

 

2

 

There was a case of déjà vu next in the table with 'IFNB newsletter', the third in my series of articles about the 'International Federation of Naked Bodybuilders'. It finished as runner-up. I attempted to re-create the original fantasy and feel of the now-defunct IFNB website in this article and am pleased that it went down well with the fans who sorely miss the wit and craft of the original author. It's already showing signs of longevity, posting more hits in December than any other month since it was posted in February.

 

3

Third spot this year somewhat surprised me. Aizenhower's art veers between truly sensual imagery and outright cartoonery with fetish interests occasionally blended in. It's good, otherwise I wouldn't have featured it here, but doesn't strike me as blockbuster material. However, his result speaks for itself.  

 

Uruonurun has a similar cartoon-driven style, but his hunting ground is 'young superhero' territory rather than Aizenhower's more romantic, retrospective fantasies. Uruonurun's images are much more sexy, however, and seemed to be enthusiastically received by mitchmen readers. He got two articles into the table, and at one point I thought he was going to have a tilt at top spot. They ended up at 5th and 6th in the hit rate table, but only made 13th and 15th positions based on total hit counts. 

 

4

Traditional, pencil on paper art was well represented this year by JomsViking with two posts that finished at 4 and 18 (with a third, Part 2 just missing the cut). It gives him a valid claim to be regarded as 'Artist of the Year', especially if you side with the AI nay-sayers! His comic style takes some getting into, there's no colour, the individual images are small, and he doesn't set out to be pretty, but there are some sexy gems lurking amongst the frames and the underlying abduction storylines are compelling

More traditional art is also represented in the table by my own 'Cowboy Folio No 8', placed at 11. I regarded the two images in this post as interesting ideas that hadn't developed into full pictures, but I polished them up for publication and gave them an AI gloss and am delighted with this result. A number of other posts in this series were also well received and one of my attempts at pure AI art, 'Experiment with a Swimmer' almost got into the top 20, scoring 406, so it's been a satisfying year for me. Both these were probably bolstered by some exposure on 'X', of which more in the next post

 

Perhaps the most surprising event this year was the first appearance of a truly traditional, painted, 'old master' artwork in the table. I think it's the first to even figure in the blog, let alone the top 20 table. 'Romans Under The Yoke' by Glyre headlined the 'Defeated Army Enslaved' post, which finished in 5th position. His treatment of the extraordinary mass humiliation of the Roman Army was as sensationalist as my post title, with fearful men passing under the severed heads of their comrades, so it's perhaps not so surprising that my readers should enjoy it! By chance, it happened to appear at almost the same time as the 'Roman Prisoners of War', some AI art (at 19) which perhaps shows there's never anything truly new.

5

Milking Factory posts have dominated this table in recent years, and they took 3 places this year, including Ain Postolos in top spot. Arguably though, Gorounaoki in 9th place was the most authentic of them, with a row of restrained captives giving their all, whereas 'R&D' in 8th position and Ain at the top illustrated 'behind the scenes' processes. I expect to see more fireworks from this series of posts in the 'all-comers' and 'all-time' tables.

6

 

Despite the AI-surge (if you'll pardon that expression), rendering continued to be well represented in the table led by another newcomer, Catweazle at 7 with his man v monster mini-epics which rely on the popular, fetish theme of 'man in mortal danger, dressed only in skimpy clothing'. His images are not gay nor overtly sexual but are nevertheless very sexy, and I accorded them 3 articles, unable to leave the subject alone. 'Leaves you wanting more' is an accolade for any artist. 

Brosfate returned with two articles at 10 and 14 illustrating his continued progress in refining his technique with some truly stunning, new imagery. He made his name with 'Captured Soldier' but recent work has featured some promising domination storylines which only lack a similar dark intensity and maturity in the visual concept.

Some of Eclyon's art (at 12) will have been familiar to old hands, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover some experiments with epic-style, historical scenarios that bore comparison with PlanetGay's enslaved Egyptian adventurers. 

The final render contributor is our old friend, Homoeros at 17. My 'Ross in Trouble' post was insubstantial, simply drawing attention to his new series, which felt like he was striking new ground in terms of the intimacy and intensity of the punishment scenario. That it should do so well is a tribute to the popularity of Mr H.

7

A photographic entry took top spot in this table last year, but this year's sole representative of that genre (excluding the IFNB photoshop post) was the first part of my profile of the vintage model James Seely, which finished in 16th place. I confess that I was captivated by his expressive face and sexy physique, and am relieved that it seems I'm not alone!

~

This year's table features articles based on photographs, comics, cartoons, renders, traditional art and AI. The wealth of gay, artistic talent enhances all of our lives in difficult times. Long may it continue!

~

Next time - The most viewed post of  all the posts at mitchmen during 2024. 

 

 

A big, big Thank You! 

to all my readers for your interest in my blog, 

I hope mitchmen has managed to divert you from the tribulations of the world in 2025

 

 

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

from mitchmen blog