Warning: CELESTIA is a MATURE comic
Italian artist Manuele Fior (The Interview, 5,000 KM Per Second) is weaving another spell for Fantagraphics, as his science-fiction/fantasy graphic novel epic Celestia finally receives a proper English translation for its summer release. Following the adventures of two psychics, Pierrot and Dora as they wander a surreal post-apocalyptic future depicted in Fior’s signature modernist/impressionist art style, Celestia is a bold, sensual and cerebral journey into the hidden subconscious of the contemporary zeitgeist, and a tour de force for Fior’s gritty yet gracefully powerful style.
First published in Europe in 2019 by Oblomov Edizioni, Celestia tells the story of the titular concrete island in the middle of the sea, long separated from the mainland ravaged by a long-forgotten doomsday a millennia past. Fleeing from the Venice-esque city of canals to escape the wrath of violent gangs and the tyranny of their own telepathic brethren, Pierrot, an irreverent, disillusioned ruffian and Dora, a sensitive girl of impossible psychic power, find themselves on the dreamlike mainland brimming with an almost supernatural, surreal energy as a new generation dawns. With Celestia in the midst of a new holocaust at the hands of the psychic conclave, can the city be saved?
In this exclusive first look below, the roguish Pierrot (donning a make-up teardrop most likely influenced by A Clockwork Orange) traverses the city at night, bathed in shadows like a Renoir painting, as he mutters to himself in an effort to ward off psychic attack. It appears, however, that his strategies are in vain, as he falls victim to a disorienting telepathic attack causing him to experience déjà vu as his world skews wildly out of control. Check Fior’s entrancing classical style, as well as a new trailer from Fantagraphics, presented here for the first time:
In his adoption of the late 19th/early 20th Century painting styles of impressionism and modernism, with hints of inspiration from artists like Édouard Manet and Henri Matisse, Fior showcases his ability to move beyond the more realist-oriented imagery associated with the comics medium and into a more subjective, dreamlike mode of storytelling that is in many ways a more psychologically compassionate, relatable method. Never far from nightmare territory, Fior navigates the enrapturing wonderland of his highly imaginative tale of loss and redemption with a draftsman’s deftness.
Can the two young telepaths navigate a world of decadence, debauchery and surrealism to redeem their future? Celestia goes on sale July 20 from Fantagraphics.