Sleep

Sleep (Issue) #1-8

by Zander Cannon

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror

256 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2026

About the author

Alexander Cannon is an American cartoonist, known for his work on books such as Top 10, Smax and Kaijumax.

Reviews

[Alexander Lisovsky]

В мелком американском городке поселяется какое-то чудище, которое ночью рвёт коров и крушит всё вокруг. Странные бомжи, как культисты, малюют поверхности ослепительно красной краской. Привыкшие к тихой жизни люди не понимают, что делать, полиция тоже чешет репу. Интрига вскрывается уже во второй главе (из восьми), но тут же оказывается, что захватывающая история вообще построена иначе и довольно оригинально.

Суперский комикс от Зандера Кэннона, автора Kaijumax. Он напомнил мне Blank Slate, где тоже берётся затасканная, казалось бы, концепция и подаётся под совершенно новым углом, дающим возможность автору основательно копнуть туда, куда и мысль-то обычно не идёт. Получается глубокое расследование как бы поперёк традиционному направлению.

Рисунок тоже заслуживает похвалы. Задумка была всё сделать в двух цветах (чёрно-белая графика + ярко красный). Забавно, в доп. материалах автор пишет, что типография за такой "двухцветный" подход выставила счёт в два раза больше обычного, поэтому напечатали книгу как обычную четырёхцветную. Но выглядит всё равно эффектно. Поначалу кажется, что красные детали разбросаны большей частью случайно — но нет, конечно, тут есть своя система.

Не скажу, что итоговая развязка потрясает воображение (она скорее берёт шаг назад), но в целом было довольно круто. Отдельно меня умилило, как автор обошёлся с традиционной, опять же, для Штатов темой религии. Прикладываю небольшое превью.

[Ya Boi Be Reading]

This excellently portrays a person trying to be a good person and feels like they can't control doing bad things (technically he cant but theme wise it matches well onto the portrayal of those who struggle). Then it evolves into a shocking horror about being kept alive only for research and other people's intentions.
The day by day format to each format was nice and enjoyable. It only built to the ever worsening situation. Our main character remains interesting even as he remains pretty firmly in a meek and terrified demeanor throughout. Zander knows when and how to throw a curveball to keep the plot interesting and when to really push the limits of the main character like in his final meeting with Kipp.
The art is nice. Fear and devastation is at the forefront and is drawn in stark chilling desolation. The color choices of greys with pops of red and blue were excellent. Sometimes red black and white can be too much of a clash and look harsh on the eyes. But the heavy use of various greys and only splashes of red keeps that from happening. The red only highlights notable elements. Sometimes the red and blue add intense cold eeriness.

[Jeffrey Wong]

I just finished reading, it was amazing (especially issue #7)
I very like the unknown/mystery atmosphere that require more reading to figure it out later.
The buildup, the tension is attractive. Very nice story setting.

I also find the coloring idea is awesome.
The comic is purposely colored in black and white, while some items/details will be colored in red.
I see how author is leaving us clue that lead to the mystery.

However, in the final chapter, the explanation is not very exhaustive as it creates more questions unsolved. I guess author is hoping for a season 2 hence leave us hanging. :(

[Drew Woodworth]

Good Stuff! Zander Cannon is always pretty solid, and he weaves a familiar tale with a lot of original flourishes in both execution and structure. Basically, our main character keeps waking up with a path of destruction in his wake and no memory of where he's been or what he did. We never see the actual destruction, just the aftermath and his attempts to get to the bottom of whatever is happening to him. The end with the big reveal felt a little abrupt, but I think this would be a good re-read to catch all the little clues and nuances that Cannon has sprinkled throughout.

[Evan Peterson]

The story is a modern take on the Jekyll/Hide slash werewolf genre, told from the POV of the human side of the monster. There are interesting uses of colour in the graphic novel--at first it seemed gimmicky (like Sin CIty), but as the story progresses, it's quite apparent that the coloring choices are also a part of the story itself. The art isn't one that would usually attract me to a book, but I enjoyed it here and felt it was very expressive and rated a solid 9 out of 10 at coherent, easy to follow storytelling.

[Manu]

This graphic novel was so gripping and intriguing I read it twice as soon as I finished it. In Sleep, the protagonist, a goody-two-shoes in a sleepy small town commits atrocious violence upon his town whenever he goes to sleep. When he wakes, covered in blood, our story begins. Fast paced and unsettling. The use of black-and-white artwork with stark use of a single color gets you deep into the lore and makes you hunt for clues.

[Alican Kunta]

Read through single issues.

This was a really interesting take on the Jekyll and Hyde concept and the artwork carried the atmosphere really well but I am left befuddled with this ending.
I wish I could get a clearer finale to an 8 issue run.

[Heenz]

While the art was very attractive and I liked the use of color, I did not overall like this. It was a bit too confusing and muddled for me at the end, and I felt it didn't answer any of the questions I had at the beginning.

[Shawn C. Baker]

Reread the monthlies. A masterpiece.

[Odo]

7.5/10

[Bryan]

A truly excellent and smartly executed horror story that rewards a close reread.

[Nafmi]

A slow burn of comic made think of the Eggers makes his horror movies...good stuff.