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Score:
★★★★★ (5/5)
When 'I Hate This Place' debuted it really felt like the storytelling possibilities were endless. Issue one laid the foundation where anything could happen. The story of a young couple inheriting a haunted farmhouse in a remote rural area is the perfect launching pad for horror but Kyle Starks was not satisfied with just having scary elements. In four issues, the team has thrown ghosts, monsters, and aliens at readers with apparent devilish glee. There's even a tense subplot of a murderous gangster trying to recoup stolen money from the farm. If you thought all these things would be too much to try and incorporate into a single series you'd be wrong. 'I Hate This Place' is the most enjoyable horror-crime-sci-fi- action-thriller-romance (yes, romance!) you'll find in comics this year.
Things hit the fan in issue 4 and it's the payoff readers have been waiting for. The literal "paranormal nexus" converges on the property and monsters of different kinds have Gabby, Trudy, and Howitzer on the run fighting for their lives. It's a raucous wall-to-wall horror action issue and it doesn't disappoint. Yes, it's a tension-filled gory sequence of altercations with supernatural forces and one very human monster but you won't be able to take the smile off your face page after page of this fantastic cinematic-worthy journey. It's just an entertaining horror action adventure with both thrills and surprises.
Artyom Topilin has done some great art so far. With the eye of a cinematographer, Topilin has established the landscape, the terrain, and the scope of the area that these larger-than-life characters will have to traverse while fighting off deadly creatures. From the farm to the forest, it all comes to play in a relentless chase scene that Topilin choreographs with great detail full of scares and blood. Some of that blood comes in the grossest of ways. It's a freaking delight in the ways classic horror films are - just off the rails and over the top. Lee Loughridge's colors set the tone of each scene. Darker tones offer a respite from the chaos until splashes of bright colors announce the next attack and fill the page with reds and yellows. Loughridge is a bit of a conductor here, using colors as a special effect to dictate the emotional response. It's a great symphony of design and color that just envelopes the eyeballs with awesomeness.
'I Hate This Place' #4 could be one of the best single issues of the year. It accomplishes everything the creators promised when it debuted and for fans of horror action, it's a captivating and thrilling issue from cover to cover. The build-up was worth the wait as issue four brings it all together into one exciting and fun terrorfest. I don't know how the creators top this but savor this issue and re-read it, it's a freaking blast. And if you haven't picked up 'I Hate This Place' what are you waiting for?
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