Interview: Gay Comics Writer Dale Lazarov
Posted 10 Mar 2021
Viking Love is the latest gay graphic novel by Dale Lazarov (script and art direction) and Jeff Jacklin (linework and colors). It follows burly Viking captain, Bjørn Ásbjørn, who is shipwrecked by the All-Father Master of Ecstasy and his raven Hugin. Hunky mermen to the rescue! A fuckfest ensues where the gods show they can take as much as they give.
Openly gay comics writer Dale Lazarov recently spoken to GayDemon's Joe Spunk, come inside and read the interview and see previews of Viking Love.
Where did the idea for Viking Love come from?
After the success of Greek Love, I felt like I could do another book featuring classical myths, since it liberated me from, say, thinking of a romantic narrative and going for a full-on fuckfest. This time, it would involve a human swept away by two Norse gods (rather than a godly Greek threesome). Once I realized the story could have a literal shipwreck, I knew who the leads in the story would be.
How long did the whole project take from concept to publication?
It takes me a while to think about the story but writing the script takes me a few days. It took me several years to find the artist for it. Jeff Jacklin, who does great muscle art and material inspired by mythology, signed on and he drew it in a few years on breaks between other projects. Jeff turns out to be a Norse mythology enthusiast and has that clean, traditional "heroic" comic art style, so he was perfect.
Do you find it more challenging to tell a story without dialogue?
The hard thing is thinking of stories that would work with just visual storytelling. Once I think of a visual story, I just describe the page I see in my mind into a script format.
Is all your work wordless?
I’ve done one or two comics with captions or dialogue. I’ve written and published literary fiction so I can write dialogue. The thing is gay erotic comics are a niche of a niche of a niche market, and wordless comics are easier to market internationally.
As a comic book fan, I'm always interested in the creative process. Do you start with hand-drawn images or story boards then move them into something like Illustrator?
I write a full script that describes everything that needs to be there to tell the story visually with descriptions of the pages, panels, actions, expressions, narrative moments, etc. The rest is to the artist’s pleasure, but I do edit the art at layouts, pencils, inks and colors unless the artist wants a little more freedom from editorial intervention in the collaboration.
Were you into comic books as a kid?
Since I was three years-old. :)
Were you Team Marvel or Team DC? Or Team something else?
I was born and raised in a town in Puerto Rico that didn’t get Marvel comics until I was in my mid-teens, but they did get comics in both English and Spanish from North America and Europe in both hardcover and softcover format. My fave comics as a kid were Sugar & Spike, Legion of Super-Heroes, Mortadelo y Filemón, and Archie. As an older teen, I got into 2000 AD and Heavy Metal and I was ruined for all decent company...
Do you still buy comic books? If so, do you have a couple of faves?
Oh, absolutely. My fave comic right now is Black Hammer.
I see you have 15 graphic novels on your site, do you have a favorite yourself?
I cannot choose between my boyfriends! By the way, I do sell autographed hardcovers of our books, and for digital, including some digital-exclusive titles, our books are at Class Comics.
I love that you explore a variety of guys and men, but as a bear myself, I really love Bulldogs, Greek Love, Manly, Timber, and now Viking Love. Thanks for bringing us into the comic book world.
You’re welcome! <<manly blush, simper >> I do think we bring something to comics that no one else does as gay erotic comics are often too rapey, and mainstream gay comics are too timid. Boldness doesn't require toxicity and sweetness doesn’t preclude carnality.
Can you talk about how you came to idea of bringing gay sex to comic books and graphic novels?
It was just opportunity and timing, really. My really big idea, once I had the opportunity, was to take the tropes of Tom of Finland, leave out the rapey and racist stuff, make the relationships and body types more diverse, and bring in a more character-based approach to gay erotic stories. Once I did it, I kept wanting to do it, and I was encouraged by friends, even straight friends, who said the gay erotic comics were more of an achievement than my literary short fiction. And that’s how you end up with a body of work of gay erotic comics over 15 years.
Finally, what are you working on now? What can we expect to see in the next little while?
Well, I have hardcover editions of Tapstuds and Viking Love ready for release when comic cons restart. (We currently don’t have comic store or bookstore distribution for the print editions.) I have some scripts looking for collaborators, and I am in talks with a French publisher about taking over the imprint in the near future.
Sticky Graphic Novels publishes gay character-based, sex-positive, wordless graphic novels for an international audience, published in hardcover through ComicMix and in digital format by Class Comics.
