Rigel: Blood Game
Eleven years after its debut, summer 2010 marks the return of a character who has always made the world of comics speak a lot about her: it's Rigel, the mysterious vampyre girl, born in 1999 from the fantasy and the pencils of Elena de’ Grimani.
Who is Rigel?
Once, Rigel was human and also a witch and a fire elemental, born 820 years ago. It has been 800 years since her transformation into a vampire, due to an unsuccessful suicide attempt: her human origin retained the power of the fire, and, in fact, she is immune to this element. She has a familiar spirit, Sortilegio (Spell), a black cat that accompanies her since she was a human and who, when she turned into a vampire, gave her half or his soul to help her pass the stage of transformation and then “return”.
Over the past 800 years, compared to her fellows, Rigel has always shown a keen sense of humanity, but lately this aspect of her character is changing. No one can explain why, and she also seems to be not conscious of this, but those who are close to her can feel a deep change in her; especially Artemius, the vampire who made Rigel immortal, and Tìnebra, a were-cat. Rigel has, in fact, gone into torpor (a sort of sleep/hibernation in which vampires can fall) for seven years and she reawakened recently. Since that moment, she was never the same.
It also seems that her “curse” has undergone a change. There is no certainty about that, but some are ready to swear that they saw her around during the day, under the sunlight.
Although not in her usual form…
Rigel: Blood Game
The short story of Rigel published by Cartoon Club is called “Blood Game” and it begins just like a game: an evening of live role-playing themed dark-vampire, in which humans and vampires are confused. As in Carnival time, masks and costumes are an opportunity to start long planned evil plots.
In this occasion Rigel meets a girl who was the victim of an unpredictable betrayal and seems to have lost the strength to react. Our vampire is willing to become an instrument of revenge and, in a pending and threatening finale, she proposes to two accomplices to “revive the party”. Compared to her beginnings, Rigel has really changed… her next adventures will reveal us how.
Elena de’ Grimani
Dopo il liceo artistico e la Scuola Romana dei Fumetti, Elena de’ Grimani inizia a collaborare con le Edizioni Cioè come illustratrice e fumettista. Nel 1999 autoproduce il primo albo di Rigel, subito gratificato da grande successo, al quale seguono i numeri 2 e 3 con cadenza semestrale. Escono anche un numero di Tìnebra, spin-off di Rigel, e un albetto con il nuovo personaggio Luna.
Nel 2001 Rigel diventa protagonista della miniserie in quattro numeri Rigel: Interlunium, edita da Panini Comics, mentre nel 2004 il personaggio di Luna viene brevemente pubblicato dalle Edizioni Star Comics.
Nel frattempo, Elena lavora come illustratrice per alcuni manuali di gioco di ruolo e per la rivista Cuccioli; realizza storie brevi per la rivista Piccoli Brividi; disegna illustrazioni per una linea di snowboard prodotta da KillerLoop e collabora come inchiostratrice con Red Whale, attività che porta avanti tuttora.
Ha collaborato alla realizzazione di tavole di anatomia equina per una enciclopedia del cavallo e ha realizzato le illustrazioni tecniche per un libro sulla ginnastica artistica. Nel (poco) tempo libero, esegue ritratti e quadri di animali, oltre a lavori di grafica per loghi e marchi. Si dedica anche all’arte della di decorazione, dall’oggettistica al trompe-l’oeil.
