Hotell Vol 2 #5
John Lees words
Dalibor Talajić art
Lee Loughridge colors
Sal Cipriano letters
From AWA/Upshot Studios
I don’t care how tired you are. Keep driving. Don’t stop for snacks. Don’t check in for the night. Keep your foot on the gas and peep the solicit:
The second volume comes to a terrifying close with this pulse-pounding final chapter! Pierrot Courts is under siege, with Jack Lynch and the surviving guests held captive. But when the hotel is under threat, when it is treated with disrespect by unwelcome guests, it has a way of fighting back. Alliances are formed, fates are sealed and familiar faces return in this explosive finale!
Technically, this review is for the final issue of Hotell’s second volume, but it’s going to be hard to only talk about the final issue because of the absolutely genius structuring put in place by horror master John Lee’s.
I should begin, I suppose, by letting you know that if you enjoyed the first volume, the second rises up, levels up, and leaves you breathless. If you haven’t read volume one, you can still check in and meet Jack Lynch. You’ll be fine. Well, you’ll be scared–not exactly fine–but you won’t be lost. Well, you’ll be lost in the haunted nooks and crannies of Pierrot Courts, but you’ll be able to understand the narrative. What I’m trying to get across is that it’s new reader friendly. Well, it’s not friendly–it’s evil–but…
Anyways.
John Lees is an excellent writer, and he’s back to drag you through the monstrous hallways and maze of crawl spaces existing in everyone’s favorite roadside hotel. Though I loved volume one, the second installment does everything better. The frame story, the culmination, the insanity of the conclusion: it’s all perfect. Lees exists to manipulate your raw emotions. He digs deep into your trauma, your histories, your base instincts and fears and uses that to create universality within his horror stories.
It’s a firm belief of mine, and I like to think I know a thing or two about writing, that great horror must attach itself to the emotions of readers. What’s a better way to fear death than by feeling alive? What’s a better way to fear loss than to be reminded of things we love? How easy is it to catch us off guard if you can make us laugh and feel comfortable? The answer: very. Hotell does this easily, and part of its success is through the very clever frame story that begins each issue.
Jack Lynch, the innkeeper, tells readers a story about a goat who pretends to be a tiger. This blatant lie enables the goat to traverse its world with a very false sense of security, and that safety net comes crumbling down when it finally bumps into an actual tiger. All of these stories shine in the spotlight of falsitudes: the happy family that’s falling apart behind the scenes; the insecure artist possessed by a newfound bravado; found family disguised as an evil biker gang; a pet owner who loves his dog so much that he elongates its pain because he can’t say goodbye; and the illusion of control. In each of these tales, the characters lie to themselves by claiming they have control over these given situations, but with each new circumstance, control is just out of reach.
The twists and turns and scrambling for success all entwine into a monstrous finale that is both gorgeous and grotesque. The narrative reminds us, in the end, not to look back, but the tension is so rich that no reader can look away. Again, control becomes a myth because we, the readers, are powerless to the structure and pacing of the narrative.
Hotell is set to manipulate you. It carefully guides you down darkened, mysterious corridors and drags you into its underbelly. It blinds you with its shadows until it’s too late and its cold fingers are tightening against your throat. Though Lees is a powerhouse with the pen, the success doesn’t all fall on his shoulders. This comic book has an extraordinary art team.
Dalibor Talajić can fucking draw! Earlier, when I mentioned how important human emotions are to great horror, Talajić makes you see it! You see it so well, you feel it, and when those emotions turn against you, when the fear kicks in, you feel that too because it’s seen so well on these characters to whom you’ve become attached.
Lee Loughridge colors all the madness to perfection. The blood and the mold and the chaos has a vibrance to it that you wouldn’t expect. The darkness shows itself in the themes present within the narrative. The pages are able to stay visually exciting and come alive in the worst ways, ways that linger when you look away and cloud your pleasant thoughts when you try to dream peacefully.
Sal Cipriano does an exquisite job lettering this comic. It’s organized, easy to read and no panel is crowded or burdened. Fonts and sound effects are visually pleasing, and when the screams travel across the panels, you can hear them in the back of your head, rattling around between the bones of your skull and the goo coating the brain. Their vibrations travel into your jaw and make your teeth chatter.
I’d recommend finding these five issues and crushing them in one sitting like I did, but if singles aren’t your jam, the trade paperback drops in June. Tell your local comic shop you’d like to pre-order it. Pick up volume 1 while you’re at it.
Keep driving. Don’t stop.
And now for some housekeeping:
Blake’s Buzz Episode #34 is available. David Andry is in the lab talking shop on his Vault Comics titles Resonant and End After End. He also talks up Tim Daniel and their new imprint Second Rocket! I had an absolute blast talking to David. Buy his books & check it out! You can download Blake’s Buzz anywhere epic podcasts can be downloaded, or you can go to my Megaphone link here.
Blake’s Buzz Live is back, baybees! Did you miss me? I missed you!
Tomorrow, May the fourth, Honor Vincent and Manny Shape are joining me to talk about their current crowdfunding endeavors. When everyone else is talking Star Wars, we'll be talking rats and gorillas! Click here to set a reminder and come hang out!
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As always, thanks for reading, watching and listening.
Dude, I want to read this now.
Hey thanks for the rec btw !