When things get dark, you seek sanctuary. But in this case, Dark Sanctuary, a new miniseries from Canada’s Sandstone Comics, may not be the perfect refuge we would all wish for!

At its heart, Dark Sanctuary #1 is a ‘film noir’ thriller, a lonely walk down the urban alley toward trouble. A story about Cassie, a young woman who goes missing without a trace. But we the reader know where she is, and it ain’t all good.

Written by D. A. Stewart, the script is strong. Especially strong for a self-confessed first-time comic writer! The characters are clear and individual. The scenes are as tense as a livewire, as taut as a cable. We squirm and twist as the drama takes hold, resisting but enjoying the ride. Where is Cassie, and who is in control here?

Veteran comic artist Sandy Carruthers (Men In Black, Captain Canuck, Spookman, Wild Rose) pencils, inks, and colours the tale. Carruthers brings on the David Lynch unease, the hand-drawn facsimile of horror, the twisted streets and sneers of intent. The art is highly detailed in ink, a many-lined epic, with colour applied judiciously in order to emphasize certain moods. Dark Sanctuary is a wonderful thing in the hands of Stewart and Carruthers, as they bring the hatching of plans, the cross-hatching, the scratching of the surface, the way we catch on just a little too late sometimes.

Be sure to catch this issue, available from some comic retailers, and directly from Sandstone Comics online, at https://sandstonecomics.com/

Sandstone Comics, Dark Sanctuary #1, $3.99 for 24 pages of content.

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!

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