Review: Sara Lone #1

Sara Lone is a comic published by Sumerian Comics (formerly Behemoth) with #1 being released on the 28^th of October. The story follows Sara Lone, aka Joy Carruthers, a “dancer” at the Blue Parrot in New Orleans. She is contacted by the police from her home town when her estranged father is found decapitated and left on display on a local beach. Before long, Joy is framed for the murder of her boss at the Blue Parrot and put under the care of a Secret Service agent named Vandoorne.

Sara Lone is not the typical comic book that I read. For one, there are no superheroes! Nor is it a supernatural story with devils or witches. So what am I doing picking up the comic? Well, its Friday when I’m writing this review, and I’ve already had several customers in the store buying it and telling me what great things they’ve heard about it. Sure, the covers caught my attention – either a pretty woman by herself or with an older man (turns out that’s Vandoorne). But frankly, covers at best can get you to pick up a comic, not read it. And for many comics, the prettier the cover, the more the story is likely to be lacking.

But not in this case. Sara Lone starts off as a “framed woman must prove her innocence” story that quickly moves to something with much more depth – a sunken treasure, a pissed-off mob boss, hit men, and a woman who is an expert shot with a rifle on the way to Dallas [the story is set when Jack Kennedy is running for office – so it’s unlikely that Joy is going to get pulled into the killing of JFK … but still].

The run of Sara Lone is 4 books, so time enough to explore all these different story dimensions that are introduced in #1, without being too long as to be an intimidating commitment. If your local shop still has copies, I encourage you to pick one up. And if not, hit up my store … I may still have some.