This book is available with a signed bookplate as a FREE premium! The bookplate has been uniquely designed for this book, and each bookplate is printed on acid-free cardstock and hand-signed by the author. (Click here for more books available with signed bookplates.) Please select your preference above before adding the item to your shopping cart.

Note: Signature plates are VERY limited in quantity and available only WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. If you are seeing this message, signature plates are still available as of the previous business day; however, in the event that we run out, signature plates will not be backordered.

Named a 2010 Graphic Novel Favorite by Politics and Prose

In Nate Neal's first full-length graphic novel, the author explores the primal mysteries and sordid inner workings of a Paleolithic cave-dwelling tribe, creating an original "silent" reading experience by using symbols instead of words.

When a mysterious nomad girl is offered up as an item of trade, she seeks refuge by forming a tenacious friendship with the local cave-painter turned outcast. Together they set out on a dangerous mission to bring truth to their corrupt tribe with the help of their new discovery (via some psychotropic mushrooms): drawings that tell a story. Subsequently, they become enmeshed in the violent power struggles and sensual intrigues between the alpha males and alpha females.

In The Sanctuary, art, inspiration, and communication is in conflict with tradition and law, and then ovel dramatizes the moral imperative of man facing the truth even at the cost of his, and society's, lives.

Featuring its own delicately crafted Paleolithic language, The Sanctuary breaks new ground by bringing complex ideas to the page with primal immediacy and sophistication through Neal's adroit use of pantomime storytelling that provide many layers of symbolism and meaning. This is a darkly comic journey through a prehistoric re-imagining of art and comics.

Download an EXCLUSIVE 15-page PDF excerpt (1.5 MB). See more previews and exclusive bonus material at Nate Neal's The Sanctuary blog.

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

Promotional Video #1:

Written by Nate Neal, Directed by Andrew Perrine. Starring Nate Neal and Gary Perrine.

Promotional Video #2:

Nate Neal and Chenukee offer a tutorial on the language in The Sanctuary.

"The book’s success lies less in Neal’s treatment of the protagonists’ conflicts, as engrossing as they may be, than in the masterful way he tackles the formal demands of conveying the narrative and characterization without the use of text. Through darkness and illumination he skillfully places his characters in bold relief against the drab subterranean background... [R]eaders who are up for the challenge will be amply rewarded by this exceptionally inventive work." – Gordon Flagg, Booklist

You may also be interested in:

House $12.95 Add to Cart

Mome Vol. 22 - Fall 2011 $19.99 Add to Cart

Dungeon Quest, Book 3 $19.99 Add to Cart

The Squirrel Machine [Softcover Ed. - Pre-Order] $22.99 Add to Cart