Comic Review: Motel Hell – Issues 1-3

Issues: Motel Hell #1-3
Writer: Matt Nixon
Artist: Chris Moreno
Colors: Tom Smith
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: 2011
Pages: 24 (each)
Price: $3.99 (each)

“Welcome back to America’s favorite cinematic psycho siblings, Vincent & Ida Smith as these two insane farmers recruit some new prospective “crops” for their special garden. A group of wine snobs are flown into to their Napa Valley winery for the time, as in last, of their lives!”

Artwork: 4.0 out of 5
Damn that’s a big hog! Want to know what I mean by that, then I guess you would have to read Motel Hell. These books had a great gritty look to them, that placed me directly where I needed to be. Sadly I have not seen the original movie, but I am guessing that the character designs are spot on. The new cast looks great as well. The one thing that this book had going for it was the gore factor, and for that alone I have to say it was a GORE-Geous collection of issues. Sadly the first issue seemed to have some rough spots with pixellated images, but overall I loved the look of this series.

Story: 4.0 out of 5
Again I need to mention, I have not seen the original movie, but how cool is it that a comic book sequel would make me want to run to the video store to find a copy! This story had everything I needed to give me a classic slasher movie feel. The dialogue was spot on and completely in line with a B-Movie. I do have to say that if I had to complain about one thing, it was the choice for the cast, I found them to be a bit to cliché. However it didn’t take anything away from the overall story and I was in love with it all from page 1.

Dying Breath: 4.0 out of 5
Who would I suggest pick up this book? Honestly anyone and everyone reading this review. This story was packed full of great moments that would be found in any classic B-Movie. It may seem like an easy thing to achieve in writing, but I think it’s harder than writing something serious. You have to know when you cross the line into dumb, and then come back and make it work. This book delivers on the artwork, story and everything in between. I’m sorry I missed the initial release of these issues because I would have been spreading the word of Motel Hell so much sooner.

If you would like to buy or know more about Motel Hell you can find it at http://www.idwpublishing.com