Without spoiling much of anything, the action is set into motion when a pretty young girl decides to disrobe and take a dip in the lake. Just how much can one human being take? If a person is stretched far enough from what they know, have they lost their purpose, their will to live? That is a big theme here, being pushed to the limits. Even the most innocent or noble among them is less a shining example and more an average person pushed to the limits.

No one in this story is a hero or even all that likable. It is a very understated story filled with very understated characters which can make for the best fiction. And there’s a nice dash of the fantastical to make it all the more eerie. It’s a story involving a bunch of people that fate has thrown in together for a most extraordinary event, one they may not survive, one they are most likely not going to survive. There is also a “Twilight Zone” or “Lost” vibe. There’s a certain hint of the Apocalypse mixed in here. The story itself is right in tune with what we all seem to want to read these days while also having a timeless quality. How, for instance, are you expected to know for sure that the kids back in the first set of panels have somehow changed? You can create this uncertainty with other mediums for sure but drawings carry their own special energy. With drawings, you get an added sense of ambiguity. If the pacing is done right, you can easily slip into more than you bargained for. Your eyes rest on one panel, are pulled by one thing and then another. It would slice and dice the story into something just as spooky if not more so. I’d love to see a graphic novel version of “The Conjuring,” by the way. It fits right in with my current favorite summer movie, “The Conjuring.” It’s not set in a haunted house but it comes close. This graphic novel, published by SelfMadeHero, an imprint of Abrams ComicArts, lures you into quite a gripping tale. “Sandcastle” is a refreshingly creepy sci-fi mystery set to words and pictures.

Pierre oscar levy sandcastle