REVIEW: ‘I Hate This Place,’ Issue #8

Spoiler Alert: This review contains major spoilers for I Hate This Place #8.

With Gabby and Joseph’s struggle ending with them both falling through a mysterious portal to escape the Horned Man, where exactly they ended up was left unknown. But I Hate This Place #8, published by Image Comics, written by Kyle Starks, art by Artyom Topilin, colors by Lee Loughridge, and letters by Pat Brosseau reveals the startling truth as it expands on the scope of the story moving forward.

This issue opens with the revelation that the portal at the end of the last issue didn’t transport Gabby and Joseph to a where but a when. Yes, they are in the future. Starks spends the opening portion of this book laying out the future of the world and how it will fall into ruins(kind of). I won’t spoil all the details, but this does a great job of elevating the threat level to create as many questions as it answers while providing constant tension throughout I Hate This Place #8’s time in the future.

While this sequence is used to create an entirely new plot line for the book moving forward, Starks’s greatest triumph in this sequence is how it reinforces some of the book’s core themes in a way that cements them permanently. It uses time travel in all the best ways as Starks weaves present and future together while keeping the light the series has always fostered shining, no matter how dark the book’s horrors become.

The art throughout this opening does a great job of establishing this new locale within the book’s world. Topilin does a great job designing the new and familiar characters, allowing them to stand out within the scene.

Once the story returns to the present, I Hate This Place #8 reunites Gabby with Trudy, and the duo tries to figure out what to do with the new revelations Gabby has brought back with her, as well as explaining to the reader why the ghosts didn’t take Trudy at the end of last issue. These moments continue to build up the evolving plot, leaving plenty of intriguing questions that the reader is left desperately needing answers to.

Throughout all these reveals, planning sessions, and surprises, I Hate This Place #8‘s most critical moments are always enhanced by colorist Loughridge’s simple but effective color schemes. The shifting colors separate the various moments wonderfully, even as they heighten the story’s most significant moments. And while green has always been a color of choice to create eerie and unsettling moods, something about how Loughridge utilizes the color always makes it feel just that much more effective for this classic purpose. Working beautifully with these color schemes are Brosseau’s sound effect designs. The letterer does a great job of balancing how they allow the effects to blend harmoniously with the panels through the color choices while making sure they still stand out, thanks to the eye-catching designs implemented in every sound.

I Hate This Place #8 once again goes beyond my expectations to change the game similarly as the story of Gabby, Trudy, and their bizarre ranch manages to reinvent itself while never losing sight of what truly makes it great.

I Hate This Place #8 is available now wherever comics are sold.