Hotell #1
AWA Upshot 2020
Written by John Lees
Illustrated by Dalibor Talajić
Coloured by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Kaare Andrews
You won't find it on any map, but if you happen to be driving down Route 66 late at night and you're truly desperate for shelter, sanctuary or secrecy, you might see a battered sign on the side of the road: The Pierrot Courts Hotel. - where many check in but few check out.
The description made me start singing Hotel California and that is never a bad thing. Also I love the way that this set up for us and the introduction of Jack Lynch. Now he reminds me of a modern day Rod Sterling and that makes for a much nicer change of pace than trying to compete with the Crypt Keeper or other horror icon hosts. It is a really nicely done introduction not only to him but to the series as well. John is smart and he's got this amazing way of approaching his storytelling and it is nice to see that he thinks this through for that optimum impact.
The way that this is being told is exceptionally well done. The fact that as the story continues to move forward and builds this crazy tension along the way that continues to build and build until the climax is just bloody lovely. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. The character development is great and as we get to know Alice and the reasons we see her here makes her extremely relatable to and someone for us to root for. The pacing is fantastic and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it helps to create this great ebb & flow.
I adore this book for the fact that it is a modern psychological thriller more than it is a straight up horror book. It makes this a really interesting book and that we are seeing this in a one and done format is even more impressive to me. To be able to do a complete story in one issue showcases some strong talent from John. There is also something intriguing by how Alice is dreaming and yet not realising they are anything more, this just fills us with this dread for her and as we learn more and more it just has the effect on the reader of screaming at the screen to NOT go into the basement!
The interiors here are fantastic! The strength of the linework is incredible and how the varying weights are utilised to bring out this level of attention to detail is astounding. Those flashback panels with how they are filled up and all the patterns we see in the furniture, walls etc., really just makes things pop even more. It is some damn fine work I gotta tell ya. How we see the backgrounds and their utilisation within the composition bringing us this depth perception, scale and this overall sense of size and scope of the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous. The way we see the various hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered extremely well. Plus to do the same thing in those flashbacks to create those tones is really some quite extraordinary.
This is exciting both this title and this new company. I have been saying there's always room for more outlets that provide high quality books and that's what we are seeing right here. This fresh, new and engaging plus it feels like it is establishing a new franchise and that's the best possible scenario I can think of.
AWA Upshot 2020
Written by John Lees
Illustrated by Dalibor Talajić
Coloured by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Kaare Andrews
You won't find it on any map, but if you happen to be driving down Route 66 late at night and you're truly desperate for shelter, sanctuary or secrecy, you might see a battered sign on the side of the road: The Pierrot Courts Hotel. - where many check in but few check out.
The description made me start singing Hotel California and that is never a bad thing. Also I love the way that this set up for us and the introduction of Jack Lynch. Now he reminds me of a modern day Rod Sterling and that makes for a much nicer change of pace than trying to compete with the Crypt Keeper or other horror icon hosts. It is a really nicely done introduction not only to him but to the series as well. John is smart and he's got this amazing way of approaching his storytelling and it is nice to see that he thinks this through for that optimum impact.
The way that this is being told is exceptionally well done. The fact that as the story continues to move forward and builds this crazy tension along the way that continues to build and build until the climax is just bloody lovely. The story & plot development that we see here through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. The character development is great and as we get to know Alice and the reasons we see her here makes her extremely relatable to and someone for us to root for. The pacing is fantastic and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it helps to create this great ebb & flow.
I adore this book for the fact that it is a modern psychological thriller more than it is a straight up horror book. It makes this a really interesting book and that we are seeing this in a one and done format is even more impressive to me. To be able to do a complete story in one issue showcases some strong talent from John. There is also something intriguing by how Alice is dreaming and yet not realising they are anything more, this just fills us with this dread for her and as we learn more and more it just has the effect on the reader of screaming at the screen to NOT go into the basement!
The interiors here are fantastic! The strength of the linework is incredible and how the varying weights are utilised to bring out this level of attention to detail is astounding. Those flashback panels with how they are filled up and all the patterns we see in the furniture, walls etc., really just makes things pop even more. It is some damn fine work I gotta tell ya. How we see the backgrounds and their utilisation within the composition bringing us this depth perception, scale and this overall sense of size and scope of the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous. The way we see the various hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered extremely well. Plus to do the same thing in those flashbacks to create those tones is really some quite extraordinary.
This is exciting both this title and this new company. I have been saying there's always room for more outlets that provide high quality books and that's what we are seeing right here. This fresh, new and engaging plus it feels like it is establishing a new franchise and that's the best possible scenario I can think of.
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