Posted in: Comics, Dark Horse Comics | Tagged: berger books, Comics, dark horse, I.N.J. Culbard, Salamandre

Berger Books Announces Salamandre by I.N.J. Culbard for November

Published Fri, 13 May 2022 16:27:11 -0500

Dark Horse Comics and Berger Books announced a new OGN coming from I.N.J. Culbard in November: Salamandre. The comic is about an artist named Kaspar Salamanre who is sent to a place "where flowers are contraband, music is illegal, and art is created in hiding." Or in other words, Florida by this time next year.

From the press release:

Kaspar Salamandre is a bereaved young artist who is sent to stay with his enigmatic grandfather who lives behind the Iron Veil—a land lorded over by an oppressive emperor. In this foreign place where flowers are contraband, music is illegal, and art is created in hiding, Kaspar seeks to heal his grief—discovering a world of art revolutionaries, espionage, and the Secret Police—who are not what they seem.

Ultimately his search for answers brings him face to face with the meaning of sacrifice. But will anything bring him closer to overcoming his loss?

Culbard had the following to say about Salamandre:

Writing what you know is really about writing what you think you know. Instead of what really happened, a confabulation grows with each retelling—a story, transforming a factual truth into a universal one. I took an event from one hot summer afternoon in my own life, made it the finale and then worked backwards through my story, using the jigsaw puzzle of my own memories growing up on both sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War as a foundation for this world—that is a little off-kilter to our own.

Karen Berger also commented in the press release, and while we normally have a rule about editors — if Bleeding Cool doesn't care enough to hire one to proofread our articles, then they must not care enough for us to print their quotes either — but we'll make an exception for Berger:

I was blown away when I first heard I.N.J.'s thrilling graphic novel idea inspired by his unusual travels as a child. It has a real European comics feel—kind of like an off-beat Tintin, panoramic vistas mired by underlying political danger, sparked with dashes of wonder and the fantastic. Ultimately, it's about perseverance of love, and the power that memory and stories have over us. It's I.N.J. Culbard's immense storytelling talent as never seen before and I'm so excited to be sharing it with the world.

Salamandre deluxe softcover will be in comic shops November 2, 2022 and in bookstores November 15, 2022 for $24.99.