Can you imagine living in a world where art, music and creativity are frowned upon? In fact, to engage in such activities is considered illegal and punishable by incarceration. As hard as that is for an adult to understand, it would be even harder for a child. Such is the story that I.N. J. Culber brings to life in Salamandre.
In his book, 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?
It is a powerful look at how one deals with grief and the way art, music and all things beautiful help people to cope. Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with Artist/Creator I.N.J. Culber about his work, his start in animation, and his new book Salamandre. So, let’s welcome I.N.J. Culber to GVN Talking Comics.
Ian’s Background
GVN: Thank you, Ian, for sharing a bit of your time. Since this is the first time, we have had the pleasure of talking to you, let’s start with a bit of your background. I saw that you started out as an animator before you began comic work. What got you started in animation, and did you have any ambition to do comics at that time or was that a natural progression?
I.N.J: What got me started in animation was I wanted to draw comics. I have always wanted to draw comics. I mean, I studied illustration and animation was a part of the course you could go into, so I did that because I love film and I could storyboard which was close enough. I don’t think we had comics courses at the time (the mid 90’s). I graduated and wound up working in the animation industry in Soho, London. Within a short space of time, I became a director at a company called Picasso Pictures making commercials and developing TV shows for the likes of the BBC, Nickelodeon, Aardman, etc. I was writing a lot of scripts for development. And all of that was fun, I loved it, but I really wanted to make comics. So, I did.
Successful Adaptations
GVN: You worked on several very successful adaptations published by SelfMadeHero of stories by H.P. Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness), Robert W. Chambers (The King in Yellow) and Arthur Conan Doyle (The Valley of Fear). What made you decide to tackle these writers and how did you decide which stories to adapt?
I.N.J: Well, the Sherlock books came about because of my first graphic novel for SelfMadeHero, “Picture of Dorian Gray,” which Ian Edginton wrote. The Lovecraft came about by accident. I wanted to adapt “The Lost World” by Doyle (natural progression from Sherlock) and I wanted to write it as well as draw it. Edginton was busy at the time, but “Lost World” was a no go because someone else was working on it, so I quickly scanned my bookshelf (this was during a pitching telephone call to Emma Hayley of SelfMade) and I saw “At the Mountains…” and suggested it and got the job right there and then. SelfMade happened to be working on an anthology of Lovecraft’s short stories so my timing couldn’t have been better. Total fluke.
Salamandre
GVN: Your latest work is a brilliant story of social injustice, family, coping with grief, creativity and courage entitled Salamandre published by Berger Books (an imprint of Dark Horse Comics). Could you tell our followers what inspired the book and a little of what it’s about?
I.N.J: The story is about an artist called Kasper who loses his father and in turn loses himself in grief and is sent to spend the summer with his grandfather in a country where artistic expression is suppressed by the state. It was inspired by my experiences growing up on both sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
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Berger Books
GVN: You have worked with Dark Horse early in your career with stories for Dark Horse Comics’ New Recruits. How did your collaboration with Berger come about for Salamandre?
I.N.J: Karen had approached me about working on “Everything” with Christopher Cantwell in the autumn of 2018. I’d already said yes before I’d even seen the project. And it was a fantastic project to work on, I learned so much doing it. When we finished that book, the conversation moved on to doing a book which I would write so we had long conversations about what that might be and “Salamandre” came out of those conversations.
Courage Takes Many Forms
GVN: One of the powerful messages that Salamandre conveys (in my humble opinion) is that courage, and heroism comes in many forms and sometimes, in the unlikeliest of ways (Papi Jacques.) Was this a plot point you wanted to explore as you worked on Salamandre?
I.N.J: Absolutely. At some point you reach a fork in the road, and you have to make a choice. Whatever choice you make, there’s every chance a part of you is going to get lost along the way, but that doesn’t mean those paths won’t cross again. Some sacrifices are abundantly clear. We see it stated in a uniform. But others, like Papi’s sacrifices and Mélisande’s, are not so apparent.
Future Projects
GVN: Thank you once again for your time, Ian. Before I let you go, I want to give you an opportunity to share any other upcoming projects you might have and where can fans follow you on either the web or social media?
I.N.J: I’m presently working on the art for “Brink” for 2000 AD… it’s a series I’ve been doing for a number of years now, there are already five volumes of that published by Rebellion. The series is written by Dan Abnett with lettering by Simon Bowland. I can be found on Instagram and Twitter with the name @injculbard.
Salamandre by I.N.J. Culber is available now through Berger Books (an imprint of Dark Horse Comics).
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.