AWA Upshot Studios 2020
Written by John Lees
Illustrated by Dalibor Talajić
Coloured by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
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.
What a morbidly twisted and delightful mind John has! I mean I knew we were in for something special after the first issue but I’ll be a brass monkey’s left testicle in the fact that I would never have seen this coming no matter what. This is definitely a large part of the appeal when it comes to John and the work he does, always keeping me on my toes guessing as to what’s next. That and the fact that he’s able to creep the reader out time and time again in some truly wondrous ways is another large factor in his appeal.
I am thoroughly enjoying the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. The opening here is fantastic and it makes you wonder just what the heck is going to happen because it seems innocuous enough. This leads me to the character development that we see within these pages. It doesn’t take long before you as the reader begins to see we’re not getting the entire picture and all that does is draw us further and deeper into the story. The pacing is incredible and as it takes us through the pages unveiling the story we see how everything works together to create the books ebb & flow.
The way that we see the book being structured is stupendous. How it is able to draw the reader into the story and how it engages the reader is something that you will be surprised at how easy it’s done. John has a very unique voice as he’s able to not only weave a tale full of depth, layering and a surface that is deceptively soothing. This almost lulls you into this false sense of security and that is precisely what it should be doing, sleight of hand if you will as you watch what’s happening and then bam along comes the unexpected. Few have this ability and fewer still can do this as well as he can.
Dalibor has a very nice way about his work. The linework is great and how we see the varying weights being utilised to show the attention to detail is superb. The classic comic book style actually works a lot better than I was anticipating it to. I marvel at how the forest we see looks and the vibrancy of which we see the trees and vegetation. How they are utilised in the backgrounds and within the composition within the panels bring us this great depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a great eye for storytelling. The colour work is really rather beautifully rendered as well. How we see the hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work leaves the finished pages gorgeous.
This book is something else. It has these beautiful twists and turns that continue to take us through the emotional spectrum in ways that are incredibly unexpected and thoroughly entertaining. I have been misled, deceived and duped at almost every step along the way and I have never ever been happier about that than I am right now. Brilliantly done folks, brilliantly done.