Sunlight: Christophe Bec (Story), Bernard Khattou (Artwork)
Reviewed By Sarah J. Huntington
I’ve always enjoyed graphic novels. It’s that easy escapism they bring while being visually stunning and captivating. A person can enjoy the story and be swept along without having to try too hard. They have always been something I’ve picked up for fun, a light read.
Sunlight manages to capture the reader’s imagination, but for me, that ran out at the halfway point at which point I actually rolled my eyes and groaned.
The story itself is by Christophe Bec. It’s not a bad little tale but it went exactly the way I expected and with little surprises. Carol, Eva, and Kevin fall down a hole at Park Mills Mine and no one knows where they are because a cat ruined the note Eva left. I have cats, so this was the realistic part.
There were several missed opportunities here. Instead of doing something different for the back story of Eva, the plot became contrived and predictable.
In my opinion, the rape of a woman is an overused trope and there are plenty of other traumas in life that could have been used. It seems it was added for the sake of controversy.
The twist was also nonsensical and failed to come across well.
With that being said, I need to talk about the art by the phenomenally talented Bernard Khattou. When I say the images were beautiful at times, I mean that. The drawings were almost 3D. His talent shone brightly and the skill level was so good, I began to actually care about the characters or one at least. Because of the art, I liked this more than I expected I might and that will lead me to buy a copy and read it, or enjoy looking at it again.
The survivalist aspects were also a nice touch.
If you like graphic novels of any kind, Sunlight will be very much worth getting. It is enjoyable and an easy, escapist read and we all need a little of that in these dark times.
In summary, weak plot, stunning art.
Sunlight
Three young friends, Kevin, Caro, and Eva, who are passionate about caving, decide to explore the ruins of an abandoned mine. They discover, bathed in the light of dawn, a surreal setting to explore. As soon as they enter, they take a dizzying fall through a poorly sealed well. Now trapped at the bottom of an abyss where not a ray of light reaches, they have only one thing to do: wait for help and survive.
Victims of their anxiety, they begin to lose their bearings. Fear and madness set in, making it impossible to discern reality from illusion.
Sunlight tells an agonizing survival story penned by French screenwriter Christophe Bec and illustrated by Bernard Khattou.
You can buy Sunlight from Amazon UK
Sarah Jane Huntington
I am the author of several short horror story collections, Paint it Black, Iron Maidens, Between light and shadow and Waves of Mutilation.
Cabin Terror is my first full-length novel.
My stories have appeared in a few anthologies so far.
I am a nurse, currently working in hospice care.
You can follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahJaneHunti1
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