Sandcastle (comics)

Sandcastle (Château de sable) is a 2011 French-language graphic novel published by Atrabile (publisher), written by Pierre Oscar Lévy from France and drawn by Frederik Peeters from Switzerland. Nora Mahony translated the work into English, with that version released in 2013. SelfMadeHero published the English version.

It is the inspiration for the 2021 American film Old, which has some differences in the character composition.

Story
The main setting is a beach, which Nitish Pahwa of Slate states "is presumably set somewhere in France", with relatively little of the story taking place in other locations. On that beach, people age very quickly and cannot leave. A dead body of a woman who goes skinny dipping appears early in the story. The main characters realise they are trapped and do not escape.

Reception
Daniel Kurland of Comic Book Resources wrote that in 2021 the comic was "gaining a larger appreciation" and that until the release of Old, the comic had "flown under the radar for a lot of people".

Morning Star wrote that the work is "beautifully drawn".

Comic Book Resources stated that the work "feels like you should be seeing it in 35 MM at the Cannes Film Festival."