Meet the Creators of Love Me: A Romance Story, the Hit Title About a Robot Romantic Named JoJo
“We hope [Love Me: A Romance Story] reminds readers that while we may feel like there are certainties in life—sometimes something or someone shakes it all up and changes our world.”
Tuscany, Italy is known for its landscapes, wine, and good food—but it’s also home of the creative team behind Love Me: A Romance Story.
This indie comic book, published by Mad Cave Studios, has not only been a hit with critics—with issue #1 earning an average score of 9.4 on Comic Book Round Up and a perfect 10/10 from Pages and Panels—but also features one of the most endearing characters of late: JoJo, a hopeless romantic robot.
Written by Francesca Perillo with art by Stefano Cardoselli, colors by Lorenzo Scaramella and lettered by Buddy Beaudoin, this romantic comedy begins with a meet-cute between JoJo and Gilda when he picks her up during his taxi-driving shift. After setting up a date, JoJo’s world soon gets turned upside down and he’s forced to fight for love.
Francesca Perillo and Stefano Cardoselli were kind enough to talk briefly about their story and what inspired their metallic hero.
Seth A. Romo: Let’s begin with how you all met and what prompted the title, Love Me: A Romance Story?
Francesca Perillo: Stefano and I met in a bar in Orbetello, the small town in Tuscany where we were born and where we returned to live after many years in other cities. We met and fell in love. One day he told me "You should write" and I believed him. So I started writing Love Me: A Romance Story.
Stefano Cardoselli: Francesca and I wrote to each other for a long time. I immediately realized that she had her own way of talking about the things that happened to her. So, instinctively, I thought she would be perfect to write a story.
Seth: From start to finish, Love Me, was so entertaining. Where does your storytelling side come from?
Francesca: For me, it derives from my desire to talk about life and personal experiences—enriching moments and even disagreeable ones. I turned to writing to help me keep memories alive.
Stefano: I’ve never been a great speaker, but I enjoy visual storytelling through images and drawing. It’s helped me in difficult moments and has always been a method of expression.
Seth: Where did the idea of a robot in love come about?
Francesca: During a discussion about music, I played “Love Me or Leave Me” by Nina Simone and the idea sparked. The song then became the soundtrack to JoJo’s life.
Seth: This story could’ve been told in any way. Why tell it through a comic book?
Francesca: I am a historian of medieval art so the world of images and iconography, much like a comic book, are no stranger to me. Love Me is my debut into the world of comics but it has some similarities to my love story with Stefano—except the mafia was never involved!
Stefano: I spent my first 100 lire to buy a Spider-Man comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, so comics have always been important to me. Comics inspired me at the age of 6 to tell stories through art.
Seth: Within just the first issue I saw little fun details like “Perillo Cakes” as JoJo explores New York City. What other details are you all excited about including?
Stefano: JoJo’s cat, Frida, is named after our cat with the same name and we included a “Fridonia Jazz Club” and “Perillo’s Cakes” because Francesca makes a cake every Sunday.
Seth: Before we wrap up, what are you most excited for readers to experience in Love Me?
Francesca: I hope Love Me encourages romance and inspires courage for people to express their feelings. I also hope it gives courage about standing up for yourself, fighting for love, and never giving up!
Stefano: We hope [Love Me: A Romance Story] reminds readers that while we may feel like there are certainties in life—sometimes something or someone shakes it all up and changes our world. I hope readers experience that in JoJo’s story.
More about the creative team:
Francesca Perillo
Francesca Perillo lives and works in Tuscany (Italy). She is an art history teacher. Screenwriter and colorist, Francesca Perillo collaborates with Mad Cave Studios for the United States and Green Moon Comics and Rw Astromica for Italy. She created a movie-poster for the horror film A Killer and the Dead for Tin Sky Films. She collaborates with the independent American studio Gloomy Cat Productions as a colorist. Love Me. A Romance Story is her debut as a screenwriter.
Stefano Cardoselli
Bram Stoker Awards (c) Winner
Artist ,Illustrator and scriptwriter. He has collaborated with the magazines Heavy Metal and 2000 A.D. Rolling Stone , Time Magazine , Sky Arte, DC comics (Zuda) His works have been published by Mad Cave studios, Oni Press, Epic games, Simon and Schuster, Scout Comics, Caliber Comics. He lives in Orbetello (Tuscany, Italy) with Francesca and Frida the cat.
Stefano Cardoselli’s creative work was primarily inspired by the 1980s. The 1980s were an era of growing global capitalism, political upheaval, global mass media, wealth discrepancies and distinctive music and fashion, characterized by hip hop and electronic pop music. This had a strong impact on the generation of artists growing up during this era. The fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of the decade signified the end of the Cold War, yet the era was also distinguished by the African
Famine. During this time prominent art movements included Neo Geo, The Pictures Generation and Neo-Expressionism, which took a stronghold in Germany, France and Italy. Artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorf, Enzo Cucchi, Francesco Clemente and Julian Schnabel were key artists
working at this time, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, who developed the street art and graffiti movements, which quickly gained recognition.
This interview has been edited for clarity. Volume 1 of Love Me: A Romance Story will be released October 2024. Francesca Perillo and Stefano Cardoselli can both be found on Instagram at @francesca_perillo_writer and @stefcardoselli.