(art by Dr Abbey, text by Nimue)

About four years ago, Dr Abbey started drawing Salamandra with green hair. I wasn’t sure what it meant at the time, only that it belonged to the part of the story that comes after the graphic novels.

We’re in that time frame now. The last graphic novel (Survivors) has been out for a while, and as a community we’re figuring out what island life is like now that the fog has lifted (a bit). The island is still mostly cold, damp, haunted and weird, but people have more options and are finding their own way of doing things.

Hopeless has become a more hopeful sort of place. People are banding together to do what makes sense to them – be that researching the fungi, developing the science, being part of the folklore response squad or trying a bit of piracy. Islanders are getting better at making the most of what they have. Hopeless has become a slightly happier place.

Salamandra has green hair now, because she’s becoming a happier and more playful sort of person. Responsibility doesn’t sit so heavily on her shoulders. Not least because magic washes around the island more than it used to. Philomena Bucket has a lot of power, Lilly May is handling things well, Annamarie Nightshade lives in the sky, there are crow queens, and there’s lots of folk magic out there. Sal doesn’t have to worry so much about what she ought to try and fix, and what she might get wrong.

It’s always been tricky for her. Salamandra is magic, but she’s not always that keen on doing magic. She just wants to be left alone to get on with being herself, and she can do that now. She can be a bit reclusive, but she’s got green hair, and plants to grow, and a desire to live quietly. Whether she’ll be left in peace to do that is a whole other question…