Hotell Volume 2 #1

Hotell Volume 2 #1

AWA Upshot Studios 2021

Written by John Lees

Illustrated by Dalibor Talajić

Coloured by Lee Loughridge

Lettered by Sal Cipriano

Five more interconnected stories chronicle another harrowing week at Pierrot Courts, the mysterious roadside motel where lost souls make their last stand with the demons that haunt them. A family, desperate and destitute after being evicted from their home. A struggling artist, yearning for inspiration. A lonely bachelor, tending to his beloved, ailing dog. A brutal motorcycle gang, hunting for a runaway initiate...When all these haunted souls check into the Pierrot Courts, who will survive to check out?

It has been much too long since I’ve had the pleasure to read John’s work. So it makes me happy that the tales at the Pierrot Courts Hotel are once ready to be rented out and thrill readers with this middle of nowhere fright fest. I have to say that I mightily impressed with the way this issue uses misdirection and misinformation to completely change the way we see what’s happened throughout the book. I was so surefire convinced of what was happening I hadn’t even stopped to consider the ramifications of what if it were really someone else? Honestly this almost feels as good as Identity did when I saw that film in 2003, it has that kind of intensity and surprise thrown at the reader.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in establishing their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing the characters and the story we are caught up in this web of lies and deceit so thoroughly.

I am a fan of the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I am also a fan of how we see the layers in the story open up new avenues to be explored and these add so much depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The interiors here are absolutely lovely. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp and along with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail we see within the work throughout is extraordinary. That poor tree is a stellar example of how good the work is and how the creativity and imagination come into play here. How we see backgrounds enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story are magnificently rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a superb understanding of how colour works. Also that we see the colours not being overly dark helps to keep the dark moments that much stronger and more full impact.

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What a spectacular start to this volume of tales. I love that each issue is a one and done story that tie together through Jack Lynch and the Hotell itself. This one ties into the previous arc in a way that is unexpected and delightful and shows how John thinks about how to keep this connected in some subtle yet strong ways. With some intelligent writing and interesting characterisation alongside these wonderful interiors it’s time for horror to keep us up as the daylight shrinks and the nights become longer.