I Hate This Place vol. 2

Kyle Starks finally gets a series to last more than one volume only for it to end with its second.  While that may seem like bad news, everything about vol. 2 of “I Hate This Place” indicates that it was intended to tell a ten-issue story.  That may not seem like the case at first, as we’re filled in on Trudy’s history with her veteran turned doomsday prepper cult leader father Joseph and the two bad, bad men who’ve come to assist him in bringing his wayward daughter back into the fold.  

While it was conceivable that Trudy and Gabby’s fight against these people could’ve sustained an entire volume, that doesn’t happen here as things quickly spiral out of control.  That’s because it turns out that it’s just not the fate of the couple’s farm that’s at stake here.  The entire world may be in danger because of all the aliens, ghosts, and monsters on their ranch.

While it may seem like Starks and artist Artyom Toplin are scaling up the nature of the threat for this volume way too fast – did I mention time travel plays a part as well – the story never feels like it descends into utter chaos.  That’s due to the creators smartly focusing on the bond between their two protagonists, as well as their deluded antagonist, all of whom have understandable goals to achieve.  All of the supernatural/sci-fi horror is window dressing to that, yet it’s not neglected as well.  It’s all smartly explained by the end of this volume in a way that makes sense without diminishing its over-the-top nature.

Which is something that Toplin still illustrates with great skill.  He did an excellent job bringing all of the craziness to life in the previous volume, and he gets more opportunities to show off just how much stuff he can draw – idyllic cult life, claustrophobic bunker scenes – and make it work.  He’s also good with letting the bits of dark humor that the writer keeps peppering the story with come through very well on the page without disrupting the overall tone.

It’s quality work all around from both creators that’s wrapped up quite well by the end of the volume.  Starks mentions in his afterword that “I Hate This Place” has been the most successful comic of his career so far.  Some might wonder why that doesn’t mean we’re getting another volume in the future, I’m just glad to finally see one of his ongoing comics that I’ve read reach its natural conclusion.  This is a series that’s definitely worth reading in both volumes right now, or in the two-in-one deluxe hardcover (or softcover) edition it surely deserves in the future.