Love is hard. Love is hard as a queer couple in 1907 New York City. Love is hard as a couple who travels across time encountering famous queer people throughout history and fighting back against all who would see those names and love erased. We have all been there.
Malcolm Irina, the greatest inventor the world’s never heard of, and his lover, John Wolf, is the toughest bare-knuckle boxer in the city sure do! They also happen to be the main characters of the new comic series, “Sainted Love,” from creators Steve Orlando and Giopota. Published but Vault Comics the series follows the couple as they dive into the freshly powered up portal to escape capture and go on a time traveling adventure through queer history.
To learn a little more about this wild adventure we were lucky enough to speak to Steve Orlando. They discuss the use of time travel, developing characters, the use of erotic content story telling and more. You can find out discussion below and you can find “Sainted Love” in stores this Sep 27th.
You have mentioned in other press that your career has been building to this story. What do you see in yourself as a creator that makes this the right time to tackle a series like “Sainted Love?” What’s the biggest thing you have learned in your time as a comics creator you have taken into this series?
Steve Orlando: I think, from the first short story we did with “Midnighter,” I’ve been dealing in comics that are violent, provocative, but driven by heart. That’s always been who I am — someone who’s interested in bold truth with all the imperfections attached. “Sainted Love” shares all that DNA. What I’ve learned along the way is to hone our delivery of a story, its message, its characters and themes. We’re more focused than ever, even as “Sainted Love” is more topical than we ever could’ve predicted.
I am always interested in time traveling stories and how its handled in media. What is your approach to use of time travel in this series? Was there any research done for the historical aspects of the series?
SO: Of course! Part of the work with “Sainted Love,” part of its goal, was showing readers new pockets of queer history they may not have known about. And to do that, we of course have to dig into history and find those surprising parts of history. Maybe some of these folks are characters readers know about, maybe they’re not. But even if they are, hopefully we’ve humanized these people as never before, and sparked interest and curiosity in the readership to explore real, lived, LGBTQ+ history more.
There is quite a bit of humor in the first issue, obviously the sci-fi element is there, some fight scenes, quite a few spicy moments are sprinkled in. It hits a lot of notes. What would you classify this series as for new readers?
SO: “Sainted Love” is a queer erotica adventure series–it’s fun, it’s unapologetic, and it’s sexy! But it’s also packed with action and a fight to exist, a fight to protect our history, that is about as electrified and pertinent as it gets. But to be clear–this is an adventure series first. We’ve got more sex than average for sure, but sex scenes, like fight scenes, still tell us a lot about characters and work as climaxes to conflicts, so they’ve all got their place!
In addition to the release in shops the series had a successful Kickstarter edition this summer. How does it feel to have such a great response to the series already going into the release of the series in shops?
SO: It feels great–and it’s a relief, as well! Sometimes you’re so deep in the comics mines, it’s easy to wonder if folks are out there engaging with the work. To have such an overwhelming response on the collected edition’s kickstarter is empowering, it’s heartening, hell–it’s quickening. We set out as creators to do the work we want to see in the world, and when folks connect with that, it’s a reminder we’re not alone–“Sainted Love” has been a staggering, beautiful, reminder.
Continued belowThe series is marketed as NSFW and it does not disappoint. How do you approach sex scenes in comics and do you treat it any differently than say an action scene in how it may move the plot, character/relationship building, etc.
SO: I hinted at it above, but I approach them the same way I would a fight scene–and I mean that only in a creative sense. A fight or a fuck–they’re both passionate, but of course, one has the connotation of violence and one doesn’t, at least in a nonconsensual sense. But creatively, both function as the blow off to escalating character tension. And honestly, both can be fueled by a variety of emotions (as if the concept of a hate fuck isn’t right out there). So in both cases, it’s about the build up and making sure that when the sex OR the action breaks out, it’s well earned by the characters and feels gripping and inevitable.
If anyone has read your work before they know you do a great job developing characters. What can you tell readers about Malcolm Irina and John Wolf and how you built these characters out?
SO: Irina and Wolf are both problem solvers, but they come to solving problems from opposite views. Wolf works on instinct and Irina works on logic. And they’re both stubborn as hell! The stubbornness, they get that from me. But beyond that, they’re avatars for the ways we as humans engage with life, day to day, and reality itself. Do we need everything explained or do we accept that we can’t know it all? Do we reason in all cases or follow our gut instinct. Most people fall somewhere between these two extremes. So, with Wolf and Irina, we get to analyze the positives and negatives of each.
There is no way a reader can see Giopota’s art and feel like this story is a great match for their artwork. What do they bring to the series that surprised you most? Did anything change when you started to see their work come in?
SO: It’s interesting you say there isn’t a way someone could see Gio’s art and feel like it fits the story–but in essence, IF that’s the case, I think that’s a strength. Gio’s work is gorgeous, a Studio Ghibli type aesthetic on the page. And that’s not the type of art, as you say, that you’d expect to be telling a story like “Sainted Love.” That’s an asset! Because the moment you pick up this book, see Gio’s masterful art and see the story we’re working to tell together, you know all bets are off, all rules have been thrown to the side–and anything can happen.
As far as anything changing–Gio was part of this book from the start. The world, the characters, even the script style, they’re all things that were born out of conversation and collaboration. In that way, it’s not that things changed, but that “Sainted Love” could never be in its current form without Gio at my side.
What do you hope readers take away from their time with Sainted Love?
SO: I hope they’re excited! I hope they’re shocked in the best way possible–because from shock comes intrigue, comes inspiration and action. I hope they want more–not just of “Sainted Love” but of the real LGBTQ+ history waiting right outside their window, hidden–but there–in our own past as a civilization. I hope they feel seen, regardless of their background, in two characters just fighting for the right to exist and be who they are. And I hope they’re rooting for Irina and Wolf to keep racing through time and refusing to let the bastards get them down. Two men against a crosstime conspiracy–two Davids and one goliath big enough to swallow human history!
