Don't worry...

Happy Hill #1

Written by: Joe Mulvey and Rich Douek
Artwork by: Joe Mulvey
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Published by ComixTribe

Preorder Part 1 HERE.

Coming to Kickstarter: parts 1 AND 2 HERE.

... be happy.

Right off the bat, I like the stance this comic makes. There is no wobbliness, no tentativeness, or a sense of 'feeling things out' here. In the space of two seconds the reader's thrown into the story by practiced, assured story crafters who know what they are doing and won't let you go until the story is told.

There's something out there.

Happy Hill is an overpriced Vacation Resort with a past. There's rumors of a gigantic antlered and gas-mask wearing assailant in a thick heavy jacket who lurks in the woods called 'The Wudsman'. Proof of his deadliness is made known in the first few teaser pages. But that's not all. There's a missing girl. There's an investigative team of detectives posing as guests.

Candy colors and pretty faces.

Happy Hill uses a style of drawing that has me mesmerized. Joe Mulvey's people are mostly drawn very chunky and wide eyed, with his trademark 'wide mouth' expression on almost everyone. This sense of Disney-like innocence gets blotted away by the story line, which is very VERY dark indeed. You feel even more empathy for the characters. The Wudsman may or may not make himself known in part 1 here, but you know it's only a matter of time.

A nod to the colorist, Chris Sotomayor for going against type and using a wide warm candy colored palette. Not horror show fare of course, but I suspect that's only to suck you into a more malevolent violent sense of dread. When the bad stuff might happen in a cheerful setting you can't really let your guard down.

Next Tuesday:

It's Crossover Division by Will Allred, where fictional stories become real!