Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons
Created by Tom and Nimue Brown
Written by Tom and Nimue Brown
Illustrated by Tom Brown
Letters by Deron Bennett
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Cover Price: $19.95

Created and written by Tom and Nimue Brown, Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons is the story of a little girl named Salamandra who lives on a hidden island just off the coast of Maine. The denizens of Hopeless haven’t seen the sun in forever. The parents of this gloomy island are constantly disappearing giving rise to a booming orphan population. And on top of all that, demons inhabit the entire island. Yes, actual physical demons with pointy teeth and huge appetites flit about the town and loom ever-present through the entire story.

Salamandra is a little girl who is found living alone in a sizable Victorian house. This is how a young woman by the name of Nightshade finds Salamandra. “My mother wants to drink me,” is one of many odd things the little girl says throughout Hopeless, Maine. Another odd bit about Salamandra is that she commands great magic. This is learned after a rather unfortunate occurrence with the good samaritan Miss Nightshade’s chair. The decision is made then and there that Salamandra cannot stay there so she is whisked off to the town’s orphanage where our story slowly, slowly begins moving forward.