Ceej Says… SINK #8 review (ComixTribe)

Posted on May 8, 2019 in Ceej Says, Small Press Reviews

Publisher: ComixTribe
Writer: John Lees
Artist: Alex Cormack
Colours: Alex and Ashley Cormack
Letters: Shawn Lee
Release Date: 10th April 2019

The latest issue of ComixTribe’s SINK introduces us to Kurdish immigrant Rojan Hardi and his family, who find themselves getting the rough end of the social housing system when the flats they were living in are demolished. However, fate is smiling on them (…right?) when a friendly stranger offers them a fantastic opportunity to live, rent-free, in Graphite Green, a new block of flats set up to provide assistance and shelter for the less privileged.

As anyone who has read a single issue of this series (or, y’know, has eyes) could tell you, this isn’t likely to end well, as Sinkhill isn’t particularly well known for taking care of its more vulnerable residents. What this means is that the bulk of this issue becomes a rather compelling game of “spot the psycho”, where the reader tries to predict just how this seemingly too-good-to-be-true situation is going rapidly devolve into the kind of wanton depravity this series has become synonymous with.

Impressively, Lees takes his time here, letting the unsettling niceness of the Graphite Green gradually wash over the reader. Several of the other residents seem a little too cheery, and disquieting warning signs are everywhere (albeit just out of sight of Rojan and his family). As an former Pershmerga military man, Rojan quickly picks up on it, but his family are happy to have a proper place to live and dismiss his concerns as little more than paranoia, and he grudgingly does about his business.

Now, as I’ve stated before on countless occasions, I’m a huge fan of Alex Cormack’s work, but while his schlock-and-gore approach is definitely something to behold, for my money he’s far better when he’s gradually building tension or creating a situation where something’s just a little bit ‘off’. Thankfully he gets to do both of those things in spades here, and he and Lees work together seamlessly alongside colourist Ashley Cormack and letterer Shawn Lee to ensure than any reader worth their salt is going to be screaming “get the hell out of there, are you mental?!” at the comic in their hands about midway through this issue.

In the final pages, the true nature of Graphite Green is revealed, and yes, it’s pretty much as fucking horrible as you might expect. However, if I’m being honest, it didn’t feel like it had quite the same creative spark that this series has become known for. That is, however, until Lees delivers his masterstroke. Honestly, I don’t think anyone could have possibly seen the final page coming (I sure as hell didn’t), and it not only re-frames the entire story in a whole new light, but ensures that the second part of this two-parter has the potential to deliver one of the absolute best SINK issues to date.

Honestly, if you’re not already reading SINK by now, I’m not sure what to tell you. It’s an incredibly creative and utterly disturbing horror anthology series set in a fictional Glasgow suburb with each issue introducing us to another of the twisted, unfortunate denizens of this utter shithole. What more do you need to know? Seriously folks, issue nine can’t come quickly enough.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK]