Leroy Douresseaux Reviews THE VAULT #3

"Needs more than a little luck"

THE VAULT #3 (OF 3)
IMAGE COMICS

WRITER: Sam Sarkar
ARTIST: Garrie Gastonny
COLORS: Sakti Yuwono
COVER: Garrie Gastonny and Bagus Hutomo
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

The Vault is a three-issue comic book miniseries from Image Comics, which comes to a rousing conclusion. It is written by Sam Sarkar and drawn by Garrie Gastonny and focuses on a small team of treasure hunters struggling to excavate a dangerous treasure pit before a massive storm arrives. Nothing can prepare these people for what they are about to unleash.

The story focuses on archeologists and treasure hunters, Dr. Gabrielle Parker and Dr. Michael Page. Unlocking the secrets of the treasure pit at Sable Island, known as the “Graveyard of the North Atlantic,” is the culmination of a decade of their hard work. After Gabrielle discovers a hidden vault connected to the main treasure shaft, the team finds a large stone sarcophagus surrounded by a layer of corrosive liquid.

It’s The Vault # 3, and it’s alive! The survivors leave the island, but something has followed them aboard their rescue vessel. Now, Parker and Page, the protagonists, must also become the heroes.

Think of this as Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Abyss meets The Mummy (1999) meets one of my favorite B-movies, Virus (which is based upon a Dark Horse Comics miniseries). Writer/creator Sam Sarkar focuses on the setup in the first issue; the characters, their motivations, and secrets in the second issue; and on the denouement (and what an exciting one it is) in this third issue. This is a study in creating the brief, efficient, and bluntly effective thriller.

Garrie Gastonny is a good artist; his compositions are strong and his storytelling is clear and engaging. However, the important thing in The Vault is atmosphere, and, with colorist Sakti Yuwono, Gastonny depicts a modern world full of science adventurers and mercenaries breaking down before the unknown of our largely dark ancient pasts. The atmosphere and mood make this a winner.

A

For more information about the artist, please visit http://thegerjoos.deviantart.com/.

Leroy Douresseaux Reviews The Vault #2

"Don't open that..."

THE VAULT #2 (OF 3)
IMAGE COMICS

WRITER: Sam Sarkar
ARTIST: Garrie Gastonny
COLORS: Sakti Yuwono
COVER: Garrie Gastonny and Bagus Hutomo
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

Sam Sarkar is a former actor turned television writer and is now an executive at Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil (which is a dumb ass name, I know, but I love me some Depp). Garrie Gastonny of Imaginary Friends Studios drew Warren Ellis’ Supergod and Radical Publishing’s Caliber: First Canon of Justice.

Sarkar is the writer of and Gastonny is the artist on The Vault, a three-issue miniseries from Image Comics. The story focuses on a small team of treasure hunters struggling to excavate a dangerous treasure pit before a massive storm arrives. Nothing can prepare these people for what they are about to unleash.

Archeologists and treasure hunters, Dr. Gabrielle Parker and Dr. Michael Page, seek to unlock the secrets of the treasure pit at Sable Island, known as the “Graveyard of the North Atlantic.” Their team has found something extraordinary.

As The Vault #2 opens, a hurricane bears down on the island. Inside the base, the team squabbles over what to do with the large stone sarcophagus they found in the treasure pit. Should they open it now or wait until they are at a facility better equipped to handle this delicate discovery, as Gabrielle wants? Inside the sarcophagus is a skeleton of something that looks human, but is clearly not.

Well, the first issue was not a fluke. The Vault is an absolutely riveting suspense thriller because this second issue does not let up on the mystery and still offers a thick atmosphere of impending doom. Think of this as Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Abyss meets The Mummy (1999). I like this enough to read it again.

A-

For more information about the artist, please visit http://thegerjoos.deviantart.com/.

Leroy Douresseaux on THE VAULT #1

THE VAULT #1 (OF 3)
IMAGE COMICS

WRITER: Sam Sarkar
ARTIST: Garrie Gastonny
COLORS: Sakti Yuwono
COVER: Bagus Hutomo
28pp, Color, $3.50

Published by Image Comics, The Vault is a new comic book from writer Sam Sarkar and artist Garrie Gastonny (the team behind Caliber: First Canon of Justice). The three-issue miniseries focuses on a small team of treasure hunters struggling to excavate a dangerous treasure pit before a massive storm arrives. Nothing can prepare these people for what they are about to unleash.

The Vault #1 introduces archeologists and treasure hunters, Dr. Gabrielle Parker and Dr. Michael Page. The duo has spent most of their academic and professional career trying to unravel the mystery of the Oak Island Treasure Pit. Now, Oak Island finds lead them to another treasure pit at Sable Island, known as the “Graveyard of the North Atlantic,” but the new dig requires the latest high tech equipment. Enter a new partner who is demanding more, but that money will lead to something extraordinary.

First, I should say that I really enjoyed reading The Vault. I bet this will be a hoot to read in a collected edition. It reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Abyss, as well as any of those movies about a small band of folks going after underwater treasure.

Writer Sam Sarkar is a veteran in television writing and film production, and this experience shows in The Vault’s solid storytelling structure. Sarkar has created strongly developed characters in the leads (Parker and Page), in the supporting players, and even in the extraneous characters who will probably end up in the meat grinder. Artist Garrie Gastonny and colorist Sakti Yuwono turn in truly high-quality work – solid compositions and storytelling from Gastonny and some beautifully colored pages from Yuwono.

The Vault #1’s cover by Bagus Hutomo is the perfect book cover, promising chills and thrills inside the book. And here, you can judge a book by its cover, because The Vault is a hell of a read, promising even more hell to come.

A-