The Vault #1 cover image

The Vault is a comic book miniseries from writer Sam Sarkar and artist Garrie Gastonny.  Published by Image Comics, the series 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.

THE LOWDOWN:  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.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for adventure and suspense thrillers will want The Vault.

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