BOOM! Studios has announced a new original graphic novel, Tradecraft Manor, that follows a British spy into new territory. Today, The Beat can exclusively reveal the details.
Written by Alejandro Arbona (Lake Yellowwood Slaughter) and illustrated by Leandro Fernández (The Old Guard), with colors by Daniela Miwa, Tradecraft Manor takes place in Great Britain in 1935. Protagonist Clara Cardinal, a widow, is tasked with running the household of an elite spy organization.
Here’s the synopsis:
Great Britain, 1935: Clara Cardinal made the unlikely social climb from simple housemaid to Lady, but the death of her husband threatens to cast her back to her humble beginnings. But fate seems to throw her a lifeline when she is approached by a man who reveals that her late husband was in British Intelligence and offers her an unlikely mission: run the household of “Tradecraft Manor,” a secretive estate where the British Crown trains elite spies in preparation for the impending war with Germany.
However, when Clara uncovers treachery and Nazi sympathy in the ranks of the privileged lords, she drafts the servants of the Manor to spy on the spies in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that erupts as bluebloods and blue collars fight for the future of Britain on the eve of World War II.
Check out cover and interior art by Arbona below.
“Tradecraft Manor is a dream come true, and I mean that literally,” said Arbona. “The idea came to me in a dream, and the great Leandro Fernández brought that dream to life. Then we took a long journey across today’s wintry publishing landscape. But now it’s my good fortune to see that dream realized a third time over, publishing the book with my friends at BOOM! Studios. I’m thrilled for everyone to meet these characters at last!”
“This is a very particular book for me,” said veteran comic artist Fernández. “When I started to work on storytelling, I had to focus on developing the Manor’s design in a way that made the story possible, believable, and fluid. It was really challenging; we worked so hard. But at the same time, it was a joy to work besides such a good writer. It feels so good to finally see it realized.”
“Only by the power of the comics medium are we gifted a story that’s of one-half Downton Abbey and one-half Inglorious Basterds,” said Sebastian Girner, Executive Editor at BOOM! Studios. “A comic best enjoyed with a cool gin & tonic spiced with a whiff of gun smoke.”
Tradecraft Manor will be available everywhere books are sold on March 23, 2027.
