Don't call Dale Lazarov's erotic comics "porn"—although the storylines are as hot as anything in that genre: In "Clinch," a young Latino boxer and an older, fit Irish boxer figure out how to get each other off when they can't find condoms in the gym; and in "Busted," a hot rest-stop bubba helps a tough-guy federal agent stop an escaping crystal-meth chef. They both get medals—and then "bust" each other. But here's the true money shot found repeatedly in Lazarov's work: his uncanny ability to blend the super-sexual and emotional without taking away any of the heat. And he does it all without writing a single word. There are no dialogue bubbles in any of his erotic comics.
Windy City Times spoke with Lazarov, a Chicago native, about his new work, MANLY, and what it was like to collaborate with a bisexual female illustrator on this project.
Windy City Times: Talk about what it's like to collaborate with a female, bisexual illustrator on this adult male-on-male content. Describe how your perspectives and personalities blend to create the work.
Dale Lazarov: Like all artistic collaborations, it's an aesthetic friendship where the collaborators bring out the best in each other. I asked Amy Colburn to work with me because she is able to draw masculine men in a way that is dynamic and exciting and that isn't loaded with the usual arrogance or angst one sometimes associates with burly gay porn. Because she wasn't sure she could do it—she is a fan of STICKY, and Steve MacIsaac ( Lazarov's original collaborator ) is a hard act to follow—I enticed her with a script designed to give her characters that are both hyper-masculine and adorable at the same time. This is a potent combination for her and she couldn't say no. When the first draft of the character designs came in, we both knew we were onto something special.
She was able to either give me perfect pages or make corrections that absolutely nailed what the page needed: You can really tell we love these guys as well as have the hots for them. Very rarely did I have to tell her if something didn't seem right emotionally, anatomically or sexually. The desire to integrate the emotional and sexual in my collaborations might explain why MANLY ( and, before it, STICKY ) play so well with gay men who are not erotic comics fans and women who love m/m erotic romance comics and novels. I think this is why, despite the rather explicit nature of the gay erotic comics I write, people have described them as "wholesome" and "warm" and they are reviewed as if they are art comics.
WCT: How are you inspired, Dale? Do you get ideas from your own personal experiences or maybe the experiences of your friends?
DL: I steal bits and pieces of my experience for the comics but, overall, it's more reflective of what I want to see in pornography and what I want to see someone draw for me. I've lived in situations where there was a paucity of gay porn available, I was too broke to buy gay porn or much of the gay porn available didn't meet my desires or actually turned me off. So I've spent a lot of time imagining, say, the Highland Scottish Games' burly, beardy guys on basic cable lifting their kilts for each other with strong but elegant fingers.
What's more interesting is it's more common for me to have an experience like something from my comics after I imagine and write them. Now that I think about it, when's the next Chicago Highland Scottish Games?
WCT: Why are there no thought bubbles or dialogue in the work, Dale?
DL: At first, I struggled with writing non-cheesy porn dialogue, then realized that translation would be a problem, as most of the serious publishers for gay erotic comics are in Japan and Germany. It made sense to transform this limitation into a creative choice and a selling point; the lack of text makes the work more suggestive and involving for the reader, and the books are distributed absolutely everywhere. I can't seem to run out of ideas, either; I had a dream last night that would be perfect for a future wordless homoerotic comic.
WCT: Do you have a favorite storyline?
DL: I can't choose favorites! I would rather organize a free-love condo for me and all my protagonists following the parts of the polygamous Mormon model that aren't about subjugation and greed, and more about building a community of love, respect and husbandly duties.
WCT: I assume some readers use the storylines and images as part of their own personal sexual repertoire. What's it like knowing that you help juice up the sex lives of others? Is that part of your writing process at all?
DL: I am thrilled to bring more sexual self-expression into the world. More fulfilled gay guys means less miserable ones, which improves the quality of life for everyone. I do think less about expanding people's sexual vocabulary and more about creating the possibility of complex emotional chemistry between sexual and romantic equals.
WCT: What are some storylines that you would never include in your work?
DL: What determines what I don't want to write is the "personality" of the sexual content of a storyline. I am disturbed by non-consensual, unsafe, emotionally disengaged and/or mean-spirited sexuality in porn and in life. It seems to be everywhere, so I don't want to add to its visibility.
WCT: Talk about the challenges of finding an audience for your work considering that the Internet is bursting at the seams with adult content.
DL: You know, I haven't really thought about it that way because word of mouth drives books in a way that video porn doesn't, so book buyers network tightly around their niche interests. One reason why my work crosses over for women who like m/m erotic romance is because I befriended some of the fandom movers and shakers in that social network. People want to connect with quality work so they don't see me as a spammer or intruder; lovely sample pages from the books make me welcome nearly anywhere.
WCT: When was MANLY released and where can fans buy your work?
DL: MANLY officially came out on Nov. 1, 2008. In Chicago, I suggest you try Unabridged Books, Chicago Comics and Quimby's Bookstore. The Borders chain carries MANLY system-wide. If you want to support a gay-owned and -operated neighborhood comic-book store, your best bet is Brainstorm Comics, whose friendly, knowledgeable and strikingly handsome comic-book clerks special-order gay comics filth for me. Since most of my books sell online, Amazon.com, TLAVideo.com and Powells.com keep it flowing in and out of their warehouses.
WCT: Best-selling author Clive Barker described your work as " [ s ] exy, stylish, minimalist … an intense mixture of erotic realism and the freedom of comics' storytelling makes STICKY a pleasure to have in one hand." What was it like being blurbed by Clive Barker?
DL: A comics dealer told me that Clive Barker was a fan of STICKY, and I instantly wanted to get a blurb from him for the Gmünder hardcover collection. The comics dealer kindly forwarded my request and Clive called me on the phone. I, thankfully, did not squeal like a supermodel when I heard his voice.
WCT: What's up next for you?
DL: NIGHTLIFE, drawn by Bastian Jonsson, is coming out next fall from Bruno Gmünder Verlag. FANCY, drawn by Delic Van Loond, and CHUMS, drawn by Foxy Andy, will follow it. Mioki asked me to work with him and will start on POWER POP BOYS when he is done with the sequel to Side By Side. I just signed my first Chicago collaborator for a project, too, and I cannot wait to see what he does.
