MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) – Bringing a touch of modernity to timeless classics, an artistic team in the Siberian republic of Buryatia created a graphic novel based on the local epic tradition, regional media reported on Wednesday.

The publication, titled Bator Sedkiltu (“Warrior’s Soul”), retells in pictures the legend of a Buryatian warrior who went blind defending his fatherland, but later had his vision restored through magic, Sib.fm news website said.

The comic book, mistakenly described in the press release as “anime” (a Japanese animation style), is already available in the bookstores of Buryatian capital Ulan Ude for 150 rubles ($5) per copy.

Bator Sedkiltu’s creator, Solbon Lygdenov, who teamed up with artist Denis Tsyrenzhapov for the project, previously worked on several Russian movie blockbusters, including Fyodor Bondarchuk’s war epic Company 9 (2005).

Graphic novels were a nonexistent art form in the Soviet Union, but the industry began to grow in Russia in recent years, most notably after the 2009 release of the feature-length cartoon First Squad, a Russian-Japanese co-production billed “the first Russian anime,” accompanied by a graphic novel. However, no expert estimates are available for the size of the country’s comic book market.