Now is as important a time as ever to support queer creators and LGBT+ tales. As mainstream avenues for delivery narrow, and non cishet content risks being ghettoed or banned (in the anti-representation US at least), it’s going to be even harder for storytellers to get their work seen – especially by the people who need its identifiability most.
This means we’re absolutely going to get the word out about the latest crowdfunded effort from one of our favourite comic creator teams: the Italian duo of Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli, who’ve been behind such books as raunchy romcom Alice in Leatherland, roadtrip romance A Thing Called Truth, Image Comics’ fantasy actioner The Least We Can Do, and ongoing supernatural-touched slice of life miniseries You Never Heard of Me, for Dark Horse.
After including lots of lady love in their past work, No Saints Nor Poets is Zanfardino and Romboli’s first-ever BL/MLM story. It’s also the first-ever comic series from queer owned and driven publisher Tightrope Press, a small indie business intent on using art to help people feel less alone.
With Ilaria Chiocca joining Zanfardino and Romboli as colourist on the series, No Saints Nor Poets lists as its influences the likes of Cowboy Bebop and Nimona (you can certainly sense the latter in the comic’s mix of historical sensibilities and more modern technology), while the official plot synopsis is as follows:
After their beloved city of Serena sinks into the dark waters of the lagoon, leaving it half-submerged, a charming two-bit con artist, Flynn Perfect, and a disenchanted former priest, Pierre-Antoine Dubois, reinvent themselves as delivery men working on the razor’s edge, bordering between sanctity and blasphemy on their motorized gondolas. As they fight for a brighter future, they soon realize their past is not far behind them.
The six issue story promises sea monsters, motor-gondola races, pride, faith, chaotic action and the romantic confusion of love triangles. In keeping with Zanfardino and Romboli’s previous comics, No Saints Nor Poets is also adventure first. While it’s packed full of diverse characters, and sexual orientations, there’s no fretting over individual drives; no deep dives into identity angst. LGBT+ characters just so happen to take centre stage for a change, trying to live their lives like anyone else despite being yanked into a wild escapades.
As preview pages of No Saints Nor Poets have revealed, the comic features Zanfardino and Romboli’s visually exuberant, expressive and emotionally driven style. Plus, there’s that immediately noticeable nice touch of motor-gondola racers in the Venice-like Serena wearing helmets designed after medieval plague masks.
Issue 1 of 6 of No Saints Nor Poets is now live on Kickstarter, with the campaign running until 2 May. Rewards for backers start at €7 (about USD 8) for a PDF copy of Issue #1, and a physical shipped issue for 12€, at which point the tiers expand with all manner of content, like variant covers, glimpses at WIP designs, signed pages, digital commissions and separate add-ons if you want to pick and choose items. Notably, there are two variant covers available – one cheekily suggestive, while the other is very much NSFW. You’ll just have to head to the Kickstarter page to see them.
So get backing. If the campaign is successful, Issue 1 and various related rewards have an estimated delivery of August 2025.
