Beware of what may superficially look like a romantic story, but has the potential of turning into a fierce action tale with a feminist heroine as protagonist.
Written by French comic book author and artist Maxime Garbarini and illustrated by Italian comic book artist Lucia Saldutti, 'Nights of the Blood Rose', is one of the four series featured in the "Fragments" anthology.
The volume, to be published by Close Call Comics and currently in the crowdfunding stage (closing on July 12th), also includes stories illustrated by Sébastien "Sebba" Barré, Sebastian Carrilo Cortez and Garbarini himself. 
When 'Nights of the Blood Rose' starts you get the impression this may be an old Hollywood romance: Susan, an ingénue with a fiercely independent temperament and the look and elegance of Grace Kellly and Kim Novak combined, meets Warren, heir to a prestigious dynasty. Yet, as the story progresses a heroine costume complete with a rose inspired cape, petal shrug and thorny sensual boots (Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino, who’s into rose inspired designs, may want to check her out as she could be the star of the house’s next Haute Couture show…), takes the place of '50s Dior dresses and a bloody vendetta ensues.
Saldutti may be in the early stages of her career, but, with her genuine passion for comics in general and for manga in particular, her attention to details and her dedication to fashion research to dress the main characters of the stories she’s illustrating, you can bet that, as she continues to refine her skills and push the boundaries of her artistry, we will hear more about her in future. 
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers: when did you discover you had this passion for comics and which comic illustrators / writers prompted you to pursue this career?
Lucia Saldutti: After graduating from a school of drawing and comics, I started gaining experience in various fields, which allowed me to develop versatility in my work. However, the attraction and fascination I feel towards the ninth art is unquestionable and remains my favourite way of communicating and creating artworks. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I discovered my love for comics because ever since I was a child, I would read popular Italian weekly comics magazines such as Il Giornalino and Topolino. But it is thanks to the discovery of manga during my teens that I started to develop the idea of becoming a comic artist. Takehiko Inoue and Naoki Urasawa are currently the mangaka who most influence my artistic and narrative vision; looking at the Western world, I can't help but mention Sergio Toppi, Sean Murphy and Matteo Scalera.
Can you share your creative process behind the story 'Nights of the Blood Rose' in the "Fragments" anthology?
LS: The creative process behind every comic book is basically the same: there is a scriptwriter who writes a story, creating a universe of reference, and there is an artist who literally gives shape to the ideas described. Often they are two separate and distinct figures, but, sometimes, they overlap. In the first case, when we, as artists, approach a story, we study the scriptwriter more than the content per se: this is because each professional has their own way of working and scriptwriters can be both rigid or flexible. Personally, I found a pleasant middle ground in Maxime, someone decisive and confident, but also open to suggestions and new ideas. I feel particularly lucky because it's exactly how I prefer to work, and I think I speak for both of us when I say that our brainstorming sessions for character and setting creation have been a wonderful experience.
What kind of artistic challenges did you face to bring 'Nights of the Blood Rose' to life?
LS: In general, it is always a challenge for an artist and illustrator to bring to life the vision of a scriptwriter. In the case of 'Nights of the Blood Rose' I immediately felt a connection, as it is a story that begins like an old Hollywood romantic film, but then progresses with a sequence full of intrigue, suspicion and above all suspense. Maxime and I realised from the outset that the genius of Alfred Hitchcock would have been a reference, and it was natural to take figures such as Grace Kelly and Kim Novak as inspiration for the protagonist. A true challenge has been and will be studying the atmospheres and recreating them, to try to imitate the director, letting the shots speak more than the characters themselves, trying to distribute in a balanced way the looks and gestures that speak for themselves, and treating the love scenes and the violent scenes with the same pathos and importance. 
Can you discuss your artistic style and techniques used in illustrating 'Nights of the Blood Rose'?
LS: Despite having an analog background, I currently feel much more comfortable drawing comics digitally with a graphic tablet, mainly for the sake of speed and accuracy. For 'Blood Rose', I have used and will continue to use the technique of digital inking and coloring, trying to preserve that freshness of line that is inherent to paper and pencil. I'm striving to adapt and master this technique within the digital realm.
Do you feel that fashion and costumes play a significant role for you in setting the tone of the story and in bringing your characters to life?
LS: Absolutely. As mentioned earlier on, the story starts out like an old Hollywood romance film, which, for me, means primarily two things: aesthetics and vintage fashion. I got several books that delve into the fashion of that time – such as Fashion in the 1950s by Daniel Milford-Cottam, Fashions of a Decade by Patricia Baker and Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire by Woody Hochswender – and conducted my own extensive research before bringing Susan and Warren's characters to life. Maxime and I are also big fans of Tom Ford, both as a designer and as a director, so it was natural for us to draw inspiration from his incredibly elegant cinematic style to define the settings and visual aesthetic of the comic.
What do you hope readers will take away from 'Nights of the Blood Rose' and the overall "Fragments" anthology?
LS: The work and dedication that Maxime has put into "Fragments" is incredible and serves as a great example for all those who dream of creating comics and feel the need to express themselves: Maxime shows us day by day, with his enthusiasm and tenacity, that all of this is possible. This is the first message I hope our audience gets from the volume. I also hope that readers will find themselves in the characters described: each of these heroes is actually much more similar to us than we believe, they have their own strengths and weaknesses, they have their own anxieties and are afraid of being different, wrong and ending up being left out. Because at the end of the day, we too are small puzzle pieces, fragments, of something enormously bigger of which we are a part.
LS: The fact that with the digital era, one can access a desired product with a simple click, makes its consumption easier, but it also leads to inflation. I think the most dangerous thing these days is to confuse facilitated accessibility with devaluation, and this is a much more tangible phenomenon nowadays due to the advent of Artificial Intelligence. The fact that software can create interesting graphic solutions for free in a matter of seconds, inevitably pushes everyone – individual customers or companies – to its use. But what worries me is not the tool itself that achieves results in the blink of an eye – because it is clear that we can and should expect this and much more from technological advancement – but those individuals who fail to grasp the difference between the creative process and the assembly of various pre-existing images on a server. The former is irreplaceable – where subjectivity, skill, error, are at the core of the journey – while the latter is a mechanical process. Ultimately, I want to believe that the comics industry has little to fear because it needs a combination of multiple skills, ones that a mechanical system cannot provide in abundance. I hope that AI will be used as auxiliary tools rather than replacements for artists.
Looking ahead, are there any specific themes or genres you would like to explore in your future work?
LS: I hope my future career holds many surprises for me! Being in the early stages, I hope to explore as many genres and themes as possible, hoping one day to be able to write my own stories as well. I have a soft spot for moral issues and the complexity of the human psyche, so I would like to delve deep into characters and also into the readers themselves.
You can support the "Fragments" crowdfunding here (closing on July 12th 2023).
Image credits for this post
All the images in this post are work-in-progress from Fragments.
1. Fragments cover courtesy Maxime Garbarini.
2 – 6. 'Nights of the Blood Rose' story, illustrated by Lucia Saldutti.