Plus, a new sneak peek of Vecchio’s upcoming Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale horror miniseries, kicking off in December, explores the dark origins of dominatrix Domino
Luana Vecchio, the award-winning creator of erotic horror series Lovesick, and popular punk band NIIS have teamed up to give fans a taste of dominatrix Domino’s twisted world in a new song and music video inspired by the series. Directed by Meriel O’Connell and starring NIIS lead singer Mimi Doe, the music video for “Lovesick” features Doe as a seductive yet terrifying dominatrix, alluding to Mother Demon Domino, luring in her prey. Domino’s origins will soon be explored in Vecchio’s new miniseries Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale, part coming-of-age and part horror-thriller, kicking off this December. A new sneak peek of the first issue, shown below, reveals how the tale begins.
In Lovesick, dark web subscribers pay a high price to be maimed, tortured, and killed by ruthless and irresistible dominatrix Domino. This is what they call “love” in the Lovesick Club. But as Domino faces emerging threats and mounting pressure from a needy audience, what price will she have to pay for success in this literally cutthroat world? And what will she have to become to survive? Vecchio invites you into a digital underworld of cannibalism and bloody neon to explore the limits of consent, love, and idolatry in one of the most erotic and extreme stories in recent years.
“One of the things I love most about art is how creating it inspires others to create more,” said Vecchio. “It’s incredibly beautiful and, in a way, so romantic. That’s exactly what I thought when Mimi sent me the demo of ‘Lovesick.’ I was amazed that someone on the other side of the world could create something that captured the essence of my work so perfectly. NIIS’ ‘Lovesick’ is bold and addictive, just like the world of my comic.
As I listened, I could imagine each scene vividly coming to life. When I wrote Domino, I envisioned her as a natural performer who loves to dance and sing; I had a clear sense of her voice, sweet like a mother’s yet sharp as a demon’s. I’m almost spooked by how perfectly Mimi captured her, as if she read my mind. I was blown away by the quality of NIIS’ music video. Everything is so perfectly done! I love how the visuals echo Lovesick’s style while the band still told their own story. Hats off to everyone involved—I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it!”
“When we were writing the song ‘Lovesick,’ my guitarist started kicking around a dark riff,” said Doe. “I hadn’t found the words to put on it yet. Actually, I wasn’t really feeling inspired until that night. I was laying in bed with my boyfriend and he asked if I wanted to read together. He pulled out Lovesick and I immediately was awestruck. I couldn’t get enough of Domino. She was so beautiful, strong, scary, and so fragile at the same time. Domino’s character conveyed so much power to her audience, and the fragility and incompleteness spoke to me so much. I kept getting lost in her character amongst everything else going on in the comic. ‘I would never let you shatter me’ continues throughout the song because I truly feel as if no one could shatter Domino, except maybe herself.”
Continued Doe: “For the music video, Meriel O’Connell directed it and she was so amazing. I explained to her how much the comic meant to me and how I really wanted to incorporate Domino’s character into the story. She really went above and beyond, and took it and ran. I’m grateful I got to live in a world where I was my version of Domino for a second. I just can’t wait for Luana’s next chapter.”
Vecchio’s next venture into the Lovesick world, the upcoming Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale miniseries, sheds the latex to reveal the haunting and tragic story of what first led Domino down her dark path. The new four-part miniseries, set in the 2000s, is a must-read for both seasoned fans and newcomers to the disturbed universe of Lovesick. It follows a twelve-year-old girl called Madeleine who dreads the idea of growing up. She fears becoming like the cruel older girls or facing the contempt of her devoutly religious mother. But most of all, she doesn’t want to become a target for the monsters that are out there, hiding in plain sight. However, a stomach-churning discovery forces Madeleine to confront the harsh reality that growing up isn’t a choice—it’s survival. As she is thrust into a world of perverted killers and unsavory websites, she has to come to terms with her own dark obsessions.
Added Vecchio about the upcoming Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale miniseries: “Since Lovesick was released, both Domino and I have received so much love. This support inspired me to write Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale, the prequel that tells Domino’s teenage story. I feel that female adolescence isn’t explored enough—at least, not in the way I’d like. Growing up as a girl can truly be a terrifying experience: getting unwanted attention, dealing with a changing body, and discovering love and sexuality. For some of us, these can be real-life horror experiences. That’s why I’m so proud of this prequel; I feel I’ve told this story with the freedom, honesty, and sensitivity it deserves. I love how, with Image Comics, I truly feel free to express both my creativity and my worldview, finally bringing a female experience to comics that is still too rarely explored.”
The music video for NIIS’s “Lovesick” is now live on YouTube and the song is now available to purchase or stream.
Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, December 11 (FOC is November 11):
- Cover A by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM284
- Cover B by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM285
- Cover C (connecting) by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM286
- Cover D by Jessica Cioffi (aka LOPUTYN) – Lunar Code 1024IM287
- Cover E (1:10 incentive cover) by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM288
- Cover F (1:25 incentive cover) by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM289
- Cover G (sketch) by Luana Vecchio – Lunar Code 1024IM289
Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
Lovesick Vol. 1 which collects Lovesick #1-7, is now available for purchase at comic book shops, at independent bookstores (ISBN: 9781534325937), Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones, and across many digital platforms.
Select praise for Lovesick:
“There’s nothing else like this in American comics.”—AIPT
“One of the most disturbing yet beautiful stories I’ve ever read.”—Comic Book Fiend Club
“A deep dive into the underbelly to create a powerful meditation on the darkest sides of humanity…Vecchio knocks it out on both fronts, with art that delights and disturbs and a story that beckons the reader to take the plunge and explore this dark and beautiful world.”—Screen Rant
ABOUT LUANA VECCHIO
Luana Vecchio is an Italian comic book artist and writer, and winner of the 2022 Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award. She worked in the indie comic industry through Startup and Kickstarter campaigns, but is best known for her horror/erotic self-published series LOVESICK. She co-created the short story “Something for your M.I.N.D.” featured in Heavy Metal Magazine and is the artist/co-creator of BOLERO.
ABOUT NIIS
NIIS—pronounced “Nice”— synthesizes the sounds of punk, hardcore, lo-fi garage, and early grunge to create an undefinable noise that is original and all their own. The four-piece outfit with members from Los Angeles and the Bay Area takes musical and lyrical influence from punk rock bands like Rudimentary Peni, Crass, and Subhumans. Mimi, the band’s fierce ringleader, uses her guttural screams to orally dissert capitalism and sociopolitical constructs. The band’s songs are reflections of Mimi’s lived experiences, like “Fuck You Boy,” a commentary on what it’s like to grow up in a male-dominated music scene permeated with misogyny and sexism.