Creator INJ Culbard has published a tantalising sneak peek of his graphic novel Celeste, out this April from SelfMadeHero.

In London, the moment two commuters, Aaron and Lilly, lay eyes on each another on a packed Monday morning tube train, everyone else around them vanishes.

In Los Angeles, Ray is sitting in gridlock on the 405 Freeway when he receives a call from an LAPD officer with news about his wife. Ray fears the worst. But just as the officer is about to give Ray the news, he is cut off. The caller has disappeared, and so has everyone else around him. Everyone except for a badly beaten man tied up in the trunk of another car.

In Japan, comic artist Yoshi has come to the demon-haunted Aokigahara Forest to die, but the spirits of the forest have other ideas.

Taking us through the deserted streets of London, the empty freeways of Los Angeles, and the dream world of the Aokigahara Forest, Celeste is described as “a compelling and profound graphic novel about the choices we make and the courage it takes to make them”… and the samples suggest it’s going to be as powerful a story – if not more so – as Culbard’s adaptations of HP Lovecraft’s Shadow Out of Time and British Fantasy Award-winning At the Mountains of Madness…

Mr Culbard himself has also been busy in Angouleme, promoting the French editions of his Sherlock Holmes tales, and has posted some wonderful pictures of the convention and the town on his new tumblr.

A collection of Brass Sun, his strip for 2000AD written by Ian Edginton, is due out at year end.

• Celeste by INJ Culbard – Diamond code FEB142663

• See the entire sneek preview on INJ Culbard’s tumblr

• SelfMadeHero: www.selfmadehero.com

Art © INJ Culbard

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies" for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Books, British Comics - Graphic Novels

Tags: Adventure Comics, Celeste, INJ Culbard, SelfMadeHero, SF Comics