INFERNOA graphic novel by Fabian Göransonbased on the novel by August Strindberg

The year 1895. The Swedish author August Strindberg takes leave of his wife, Frida Uhl at Gare du Nord in Paris, who will return to her native country Aus-tria to take care of their sick daughter Kerstin.

August Strindberg has just put the pen on the shelf to try to produce gold by alchemical experiments. The more experiments that fail, the more convinced he becomes that a hidden hand controls his life. Step by step, he’s lost in a maze of black magic, secret characters and paranoid delusions.

When Strindberg realizes that his scientific experiments has failed completely, he suffers a nervous breakdown. Strindberg leaves Paris and seeks refuge with his friend, doctor Eliasson, in a small town i southern Sweden. But instead of being cured, Strindbergs paranoid delusions convince him that the doctor is in conspiracy with invisible enemies, armed with electrical weapons.

The flight goes on to Austria, where Strindberg hope to see his wife. Instead he gets to live his mother in law and her twin sister, who introduce him to the philosopher Swedenborgs writings. From these writings, Strindberg comes to the conclusion that his resent torments have all have been part of an earthly hell, arranged for him by a higher power.

Somewhat comforted by this knowledge, he returns to Sweden, and settle in the small university town of Lund. There he discovers that his old friends have lived through the same hell as he has himself.

The story ends with Strindberg notes:“What a grim joke is not life?”

The autobiographic novel Inferno is the one of the most mysterious and intrigu-ing works by the Swedish author August Strindberg. The Swedish cartoonist Fabian Göranson has interpreted Strindberg’s novel with a large portion of black humor. Göranson was born in 1978 and lives in Stockholm. He has previ-ously published several books, among others Gaskriget, a tale of travels in Latin America and political activism, and Kirurgi, a collection of short comics.

“Not since Joakim Pirinen and Max Anderson has a Swedish cartoonist made his debut with such authority.”

Stefan Helgesson, Daily News

FOLLOWING MORNING: AN OLD GENTLEMAN WITH EVIL EYES CARRIES IN OBJECTS I CANNOT IDENTIFY.

CABLES ARE DRAGGED ABOUT, AND THERE IS A HAMMERING IN THE ROOM ABOVE MINE.

IS HE ASSEMBLING AN

INFERNAL MACHINE LIKE THOSE OF THE

NIHILISTS?

SO, I HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED DO DEATH!

BUT BY WHOM? THE RUSSIANS?

AND WHY?

OR BY THE DEVOUT, THE CATHOLICS, THE

JESUITS, THE THEOSO-PHISTS?

AS A SORCERER OR A PRACTITIONER OF THE BLACK ARTS?

THE SAME NIGHT:OR PERHAPS BY THE

POLICE? AS AN ANARCHIST?

ANARCHIST IS A CHARGE COM-MONLY EMPLOYED FOR GETTING RID OF PERSONAL ENEMIES …

AT EXACTLY TWO O’CLOCK …

JARDIN DES PLANTES IS THE WONDER OF PARIS, A NOAH’S ARK, A PARADISE REGAINED.

FAREWELL VULTURES,INHABITANTS OF THE HEAVENS, SHUT UP IN A MUDDY CAGE.

I HAVE BOUGHT SOME CHERRIES FOR THE BEAR.

FAREWELL BEHEMOTH, FETTERED DEMON.

I BROUGHT BREAD FOR THE BABY ELEPHANT, WHO SPAT IN MY FACE WHEN HE HAD FINISHED.

FAREWELL SEA LIONS

CONSOLED BY CONJUGAL AFFECTION FOR THE LOSS OF THE OCEAN AND ITS WIDE

HORIZONS …

FAREWELL WRETCHED EARTH!

ABOUT FABIAN GÖRANSON

Short Bio:Fabian Göranson was born in Stockholm 1978. After finnishing high school he attended art school for two years and then studied at Stockholm University for one year. In 2001 he moved to Paris, where he lived until 2002, when he began a long journey throughout Latin America. In 2003 he arrived in Bolivia where he stayed for almost a year. During this period, Fabian Göransons comics started to appear in Swedish magazines. After returning to Sweden in 2004, Fabian Göranson compiled his autobiographical and documentary style comics in the book Gaskriget, that recieved overwhelming reviews in the press. In 2006 Fabian Göranson moved to Malmö, and started the publishing house Kolik förlag together with three friends. Kolik förlag released Fabian Göransons third book Inferno, an adaptation of August Strindbergs epinomous novel from 1897, which received excellent reviews from critics as well as readers. In 2011 Fabian Göranson released the first issue of the comics magazine Utopi, that will come out four times per year.

Published books, in Swedish:Vägen (Seriefrämjandet, 2006)Gaskriget (Galago, 2006)Kirurgi (Galago, 2008)En hjälpande hand, med Lars Krantz och Fredrik Quistberg (Atlas, 2010)Inferno (Kolik Förlag, 2010)

Fabian Göransons comics has been published in the following international anthologies.Best war comics (Constable & Robinson, 2007 England)La boîte d’aliminium (La boîte d’aliminium, 2005 Frankrike)Warburger (Stripburger, 2005, Slovenien)Stripburger (Stripburger, 2006, Slovenien)From the shadow of the northern lights (Galago, 2008)From the shadow of the northern lights 2 (Galago, 2010)

Miscellaneous:Price for best nordic fanzine 2006.Nominated for best swedish comic book (the price Urhunden) in 2006 for GaskrigetNominated for best swedish comic book (the price Urhunden) in 2010 for Inferno (the winner has not yet been chosen)Awarded the Paracelcus-medal 2011 by the Swedish Paracelcus Society.Will participate in the Strindberg-exhibition in Angouleme 2012