‘I Hate This Place: Volume 1’ – Starks, Topilin, Loughridge (Image)

 

Page Count: 128 Pages

I’ve used this very phrase on a number of occasions over the years (mostly old jobs and at least one UK city…) so when I saw it across the front of a comic book, my interest was immediately piqued. And what looked like glowing green zombies didn’t hurt its chances either ;o) What clinched it though was when my youngest daughter took a look and said, “yeah Dad, you should get it.” My process, for choosing books to buy, is subject to change and is pretty incomprehensible to everyone else; it makes sense to me though and that’s the main thing ;o)

And that’s how I found myself reading the first volume of ‘I Hate This Place’ last night :o) Let me tell you about it…

They wanted a fresh start…. Instead, they got… THE MOST F***ED UP PLACE EVER.

After inheriting a farmhouse, Trudy and Gabby are ready to start the next chapter of their lives together… except the farmhouse is already home to a mysterious forces that’s attracted ghosts, aliens and all kinds of supernatural beings for decades.

Now, Gabby and Trudy must play by the ‘House Rules’ in order to survive living amongst the frightening creatures on Earth.

Collects ‘I Hate This Place’ #1-5

I had no idea this title existed until I saw it in Waterstones the other day and now… I’ve got another title, on my hands, that I have no choice but to follow and see where it all ends. Trudy and Gabby may well hate this place, I loved it (sorry, it had to be done).

What we’re looking at here is the opening stages of a tale that could be a UFO conspiracy tale, a slice of rural horror, maybe even a little cosmic horror; we’re not sure yet. It could go any one of a number of ways and while we wait to see that big picture, Starks throws a little bit of everything at us to keep us guessing but also to drive the narrative at a ferocious pace where just as I thought I was starting to figure things out, I was sent down another path entirely. Like I said, I loved it; the pace is relentless and the horror matches it. And so does the humour, funnily enough, Gabby and Trudy are in way over their heads but their relationship is strong enough that they’ll make each other laugh in the meantime (and I laughed too).

There’s plenty of horror to be had here then, wrapped around an intriguing mystery that I’m fully on board with (and a poltergeist that I have high hopes for, given where his loyalties seem to lie). It’s a little bit of a shame then that the artwork didn’t quite work for me. It’s a weird one to try and put my finger on. Topilin’s art clearly complements the story almost perfectly, really capturing that ‘weird horror’ vibe; I just didn’t get on with it so… More likely it’s my problem rather than the art itself. That’s the way it goes but like I said, it really does complement what Starks is doing with the plot.

If you go down to the woods today… Turn around and get the hell out if you hear a cry for help, seriously. And that’s only a small part of what ‘I Hate This Place’ has in store for you, definitely worth a look if you haven’t read it already.


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