The Yuan Twins have brought us Servine Supes and Inspector Oh. Now they have a new comic out, Love Town. It’s a different twist on the police drama. The Yuan Twins were nice enough to stop by First Comics News and let our readers know all about their new series.
First Comics News: Why is it called Love Town?
The Yuan Twins: The official name of the city where our series takes place in Los Amores, but no one really calls it that. To everyone who lives there, it needs a name that isn’t so romantic or regal, so they call it by its earthier, rougher nickname of “Love Town.”
In the real world, we wanted a name approximating Los Angeles and Los Amores, we thought, fit nicely.
1st: Who is Allie Saxon?
The Yuan Twins: Allie Saxon is Los Amore’s first female detective and only vampire detective.
1st: What made her want to join the police force?
The Yuan Twins: It’s difficult to decide whether or not to say Allie “is” an idealist or “was” an idealist, because when we first meet her, she could go either way, really. But when she first decided to join, it was definitely idealism that drove her to the badge.
What keeps her on the force? That’s something the reader will discover as the series goes on.
1st: As a detective, what division does she work in?
The Yuan Twins: She currently works the police department’s vice and organized crime division.
1st: Does Allie Saxon face prejudice being the only vampire on the police department?
The Yuan Twins: Allie does face prejudice not only for being a vampire but also for being a woman. Despite not stating what year or even decade it is, LOVE TOWN takes place in a time roughly analogous to the late Forties/early Fifties. So being different is not something that is looked kindly upon.
1st: How does she feed in a legal way?
The Yuan Twins: The Infected – more on that later – feed legally through something called “bonded sustenance.” Bonded sustenance is going to be either human blood or human flesh that has been donated to or confiscated by the state to keep the infected from preying upon the populace at large. While the details are somewhat murky, the implication is that a lot of it comes from prisoners and/or morgues.
1st: Does she only work after dark?
The Yuan Twins: No. Vampires in this world find the sun painful rather than fatal. So while she would rather only work at night, she works when and where the job calls.
1st: How do the other Vampires react to Allie, is she a hero or a sellout?
The Yuan Twins: Vampires are going to be just like regular folks, so their opinion of her will vary by the individual.
1st: Are Vampires the only mythical creatures in Love Town?
The Yuan Twins: No. Other “infected” include ghouls and werewolves. All of the infected arise from the same source – a bite or other similar infection by another infected. Such is the nature of the infection, however, that the disease doesn’t always spread true. So if you get bit by a werewolf, there is no guarantee you’ll wind up a werewolf and in fact, may wind up either a ghoul or a vampire. Ghouls are the most common of the infected while vampires and werewolves are actually quite rare.
1st: What types of crime are committed by magic users?
The Yuan Twins: It depends on the ambition and capabilities of the magic user in question. Some of them are content to rob banks or kill people, others look to conduct scams or cons. Given the nature of magic, however, magic-related crimes never reach the sort of apocalyptic, extinction-level events one might expect from folks like Sauron from Lord of the Rings. Magic in the world of LOVE TOWN is more of a performance enhancer rather than a deus ex machina.
1st: What is Love Town’s code of silence?
The Yuan Twins: Everyone has their price, but paying it is a bitch and a half.
1st: What makes Love Town so cool no true comic fan should miss the first issue of Love Town?
The Yuan Twins: Love Town is a must-have for true comics fans because it combines many elements – film noir, supernatural tales, and true crime – without being a simple mash-up of genres. We feel that it uses the more fantastic elements within the story – vampires, magic, etc. – to give the reader that element of escapist fantasy while using some very human characters and situations to give them someone/something to identify with. And in this day and age of over-the-top events and world-shattering epics, we think that something a little more approachable, a little more earthly and not so messianic in its scope is something true comic book fans will appreciate.
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