Sanctum

Sanctuaire #1-3

by Xavier Dorison

After receiving a distress call from another submarine off the coast of Syria, the crew of the U.S.S. Nebraska searches a series of massive caverns. There they discover a shipwrecked, 70-year-old Soviet sub whose crew died under mysterious circumstances. While investigating the mystery of the sub's demise, the away team for the Nebraska discovers a massive underground sanctum dedicated to Mot, the ancient Ugarit god of death. As mysterious events start to occur onboard, the away team soon discovers that the sanctum was not constructed to worship Mot...it was built to imprison him! Now they must find a way to escape the death god's prison without freeing him to wreak destruction upon the world!

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Adventure

192 pages, Unknown Binding

Published March 1, 2005

About the author

Xavier Dorison est né en 1972 à Paris et passe trois années en école de commerce, où il organise le festival BD des Grandes Écoles, puis travaille chez Barclays Corp. Dès 1997, il écrit le premier tome du Troisième Testament, série co-scénarisé et dessiné par Alex Alice qui remporte un succès immédiat. Il publie ensuite deux séries aux Humanoïdes Associés : Prophet avec Matthieu Lauffray et Sanctuaire avec Christophe Bec. Il co-scénarise, avec Fabien Nury, le film Brigades du Tigre, qui sera également adapté en bande dessinée aux éditions Glénat avec Jean-Yves Delitte au dessin. Il co-scénarise, toujours avec Fabien Nury, le western fantastique W.E.S.T. mis en image par Christian Rossi. Et lance début 2007 une fresque pirate : Long John Silver. En 2008, il crée la série Les Sentinelles et participe au projet XIII Mystery, en scénarisant l'album sur La Mangouste. En 2008 également, il écrit Le Syndrome d'Abel pour son comparse Marazano, de retour au dessin. En septembre 2010, il s’associe à nouveau avec Alex Alice et commence la publication de l’antésuite du Troisième Testament, intitulée Julius, toujours chez Glénat. En mars 2012, paraît chez Dargaud le premier tome d’Asgard, série dans l’univers des vikings, dessinée par Ralph Meyer. En 2013 paraîtra chez Glénat une série coécrite avec son frère Guillaume Dorison.

Reviews

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really feels like its a movie in comic book form. Plenty of intrigue, elements of horror, and ramped up suspense give the book an edge that I found really thrilling.

The plot has to do with a submarine and its crew who encounter a signal deep in an ocean trench. They investigate and find more than they could have ever imagined.

What I appreciated was the fact that slowly, the book has this influence over you that the "villain" has over the characters. The main antagonist feeds off of the fear and dread that the crew members feel. As the situation worsens, the stronger the villain gets. We do get a small does of dread and fear reading this book, as things go from bad to worse to hellish very quickly.

The art is great, though at times, it is a bit hard to tell what is happening, especially during the first book. Again, this would work better as a movie because you can use the camera to show more of whats happening in that particular scene. With comics, obviously you get one shot per panel, so there isnt anything to save you from muddled visuals.

A good and entertaining story. Give it a read if you like horror and suspense.

[MonumentToDecency · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was mostly attracted to this because of the back cover review stating 'combines the creepiness of Lovecraft with the movies of Ridley Scott.' That means Cthulhu-esque and Alien-esque. Two of my favourites.

A bunch of men in a submarine find an ancient underground demon trap. Something attacks. Men die. A few escape and finally kill the baddie. That is basically the premise of Alien. Bunch of people in a spaceship find an ancient derelict spaceship on another planet. Something attacks. People die. One escapes and finally kills the baddie.

There were too many men though. Too many names. On page -I can't remember now-, half way through the book, a brand new name popped up. I wasn't sure if I'd missed something earlier, so I stopped reading and scoured the book for the first mention of the name. The name is only mentioned once, on whatever that page was. This is a cardinal sin of writing. Name all your characters early on. Only introduce new late stage characters by name if they're necessary. Anyhoodles, it happened twice. And there were so many faces and names to keep track of that it really detracted from the story.

Something I found very interesting was that so many of the characters looked like real people. Beau Bridges, Johnny Depp, Richard Dean Anderson (as Colonel Jack O'Neill no less), William Hurt, A tom Cruise-y looking guy, Nick Cage, Lance Henrikson, Val Kilmer, Giovanni Ribisi, a young Charlton Heston, and a few I recognised but for the life of me just cant name. I don't know if this is homage or what. The whole 'name that face' was fun but ultimately it was kind of weird.

Check out Col. O'Neill. The hat, the glasses, the pose. All he needs is the P90. Beau Bridges is there too.


Yup. Same guy.

My rating: 2.9 re-watches of Alien. Rewatch Alien instead.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sanctum is perfect for fans of Lovecraft, and the style of horror that hinges on a slowly culminating sense of dread. Things only get darker and stranger once the Alpha team of the Nebraska heads into a ruined city impossibly deep in the ocean. The Sanctum is a place of impossibility, with bizarre architectures and forests in a seemingly endless abyss. The story has a good amount in common with At the Mountains of Madness, only with a modern military flair.

The story combines ancient ruined cultures, Nazi funded archaeology, Soviet driven exploration, and finally the American crew of the Nebraska to stumble upon it all. This book would make an excellent movie.

I am only confused about the ending. I'm honestly not quite sure what happened. Perhaps the story is meant to end in an ambiguous way.

As for cons, it is difficult to keep track of the characters. Many of them look similar, and the sequential art is far from flawless, causing me to leaf back and forth through pages to figure out who is doing what and where they are going.

Over all, I recommend it to horror fans and people who want more from their comics than superpowers and tights.

[Jesús · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Crimson tide" & "Abyss" meet Lovecraft

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older readers will remember the movie Abyss from the 80's. Same as in Abyss here we have a huge submarine (military in this case) finding something fascinating at the bottom of Mediterranean Sea.

Entire comic has a feel of accompanying comic version of a movie (which of course is not the case). From the beginning entire atmosphere is pretty oppressive and claustrophobic and crew although OK'd by medical checkups before the start of the voyage has its own issues that slowly start coming to the surface. When horror from the sea starts influencing everyone onboard we are shown how people's priorities change and selfishness, trauma's and deep fears (and insanity) start to surface.

So in short story is like a cross between Abyss, Event Horizon and Sphere. It is consistent and (aside from some graphical issues like the sudden submarine width getting to the carrier size) pretty good.

Art is good, it aims to have photo realistic presentation of persons (I can see that some of reviewers identified the faces because they are likes of famous movie and TV stars). Panoramas are very detailed and when you look at the submarine and environment you can be only astonished by the sheer size and vastness of this mysterious complex. Some parts are weird like aforementioned submarine size change - though story happens in the future so, OK, giant subs.... why not I guess.
Atmosphere is almost palpable, eeriness of strange constructions and especially the enormous graveyard. Even ancient evil lurking in the shadows is shown in parts, as an outline, ever present but not visible in full, like something out of nightmare.

Recommended to all fans of thriller and horror stories.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Santuario è una storia solida, che non aggiunge molto al variopinto mondo della fantascienza, ma sa dosare benissimo i tempi e i modi di somministrazione dell'elemento fantastico, adottando uno stile molto cinematografico e azzerando l'ironia, ma riuscendo a coinvolgere il lettore. Dopo un inizio lento, gli eventi prendono l'abbrivio, accelerando fino al cataclismatico finale, in una rincorsa di rivelazioni. Tutto si gioca attorno a un'oscura presenza che sembra abitare un santuario costruito sott'acqua. E' una specie di diavolo, ma se ne vede raramente il volto, perchè la sua primaria modalità di manifestazione è attraverso la sofferenza, la follia, la malattia delle sue vittime: gli esseri umani. Un sommergibile scopre l'esistenza del mostro e un gruppo di persone si avviano nel suo santuario, solo per scoprire, troppo tardi, che è impossibile uscire senza liberare l'orrore con loro. Ho iniziato Santuario un po' scettico sulla sua riuscita, e le battute iniziali mi hanno messo sulla negativa, ma la risoluzione della trama mi ha sempre più convinto. Volume da leggere.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sanctum” by Xavier Dorison, etc
Intense Lovecraft-ian US naval submarine on a supposed rescue mission finds themselves exploring an ancient submerged archaeological site. Sci-Fi (ish) horror with all the elements of a mysterious infectious ‘plague’. Lengthy and detailed and unique. ****

#1 – “We’re approaching the source of the signal, Commander.” – [and later] “You’re now inside .. it’s inner sanctum.”

#2 – “Simple. Lieutenant: Were the Russians trying to find something or .. DESTROY IT?” – June

#3 – “What? Autosuggestion? .. Telepathically?” – June. “STOP TRYING to give it names, June! .. there is no RATIONAL explanation here!” – Doc. - [and later] “You broke the sanctum! You’ve .. set it FREE!” - June

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cinematic genre blend of science fiction, horror, and mystery in the deep sea. Reminded me of Alien and The Thing as you watch the otherwise rational navy crew succumb to psychological and physical breakdowns. Are they simply coming unraveled in a tense environment or or is a malevolent supernatural force behind it all?

Some of the panels and similar in appearance characters made it hard to distinguish what was actually happening in some scenes but overall this felt like watching a less horror-centric derivative of one of the aforementioned films

[Kaylea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to find this title on here, but either way. A great mashup that feels like Alien meets Indiana Jones just underwater. The opening is a bit of a slow burn, but I once it kicked off it turned into this adventurous, dark eerie story that scratches both the deep-sea feel and the pulpy secret treasure find. Super dark, super atmospheric, and exactly the kind of weird ocean energy I love sinking into.

[Frederics · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idea interessante, ma esecuzione disastrosa. Sceneggiatura degna dei peggiori film di serie b. Ad un certo punto non si capisce nemmeno più cosa stiano facendo i protagonisti e per quale motivo. Forse chi ama le atmosfere fumose e prive di senso lovecraftiane potrebbe apprezzare, ma per chiunque altro consiglio di evitarlo.

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is atmospheric, but not always clear. The plot is well paced, but also lacks clarity at times in a way that doesn't feel intentional. Good, not great.

[Trinity9bi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mantiene la intriga durante toda la historia. Un final muy intenso.

[Zardoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Cosmic horror involving a submerged ancient city and a navy submarine. The plot was a bit predictable and the story panels didn’t always make sense, so not the easiest graphic novel to read.

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.4 (digit)

[Davide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disegni bellissimi anche se in qualche scena un po' confusionari.
Trama avvincente da subito e piena di suspance fino alla fine. Questa un po' confusionaria, credo il finale sia aperto a varie interpretazioni.
Inoltre una menzione speciale alla versione cartonata di Mondadori Comics che fin da subito mi ha intrigato con la sua favolosa copertina.

[Tommaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Santuario è disegnato molto bene, i colori di accesi di Reyes rendono come un maxi-schermo da cinema, dando una visione d'insieme molto piacevole.
Assegno solamente tre stelle perché, seppur la storia sia impregnata di una combinazione perfetta tra storiografia e mistero, il racconto è troppo intricato!
Molto confusionario.

[LordOfDorkness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average to slightly above dialogue, but does a good job of generating tension and interest. I have a major hard on for anything under the sea, so that helped.

Fans of Lovecraft, psyc horror/thriller unite. You will enjoy.

I was moderately entertained at least.

Good evening,

Mr. B

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

O civilizatie disparuta, demoni, experimente secrete, nazistii, rusii apoi americanii, un pic si de Siria(care, intre noi fie vorba, am observat ca are o istorie importanta si in crestinism si nu numai), o povestea ce se vrea cu influente Lovecraftiene, insa pe mine nu m-a convins asa tare.

[Inês · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como é que ainda ninguém fez um filme com isto??????
Lixado! Brutal!
Valeu totalmente a pena reler uma das melhores BDs que já li.

[Komuniststar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Krut crtež, kom je najveća želja da likovi liče na poznate glumce, sa pričom ala event horizont na podmornici. Ipak atmosfera je dobra, likovi liče na slavne glumce da se pročitat

[Richard Archambault · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Trop noir et sombre pour moi. Rendu à la moitié, j’ai sauté jusqu’à la fin.