Hell school, Tome 1 : Rituels by Dugomier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really liked this comic. The artwork reminded me a bit of the style used in The Adventures of Tintin.
I saw it listed on NetGalley and I just had to read it. At first, I thought this was a story involving perhaps zombies or some sort of monster, but I liked the direction it ultimately took.
The story just hit the spot perfectly: we got some creepy school with a whole bunch of weird traditions located on an island far away from civilization. We also have a bit of a rebel student, who is on to the weird stuff that is happening and tries to figure out what is going on.
It was a slow burn and at the end of the first volume the reader hasn’t even gotten close to anything like a conclusion, which has me itching for more.
The story took its time introducing all the relevant characters, setting the mood just right and building up the tension that follows the story until the cliffhanger ending.
The plot centred around secrets, mystery and odd behaviours from students and faculty member all thrown together on a private school on an island.
The dialogue was originally composed in French and the translation into English is excellent.
The artwork showed enough detail to bring the story and characters to life without being too busy and overwhelming.
I really liked the spooky atmosphere the artists/authors were able to create in such a short amount of space. It was ominous, foreboding and hinted at evil doing that runs very deep.
Overall, I can’t say it enough, I really enjoyed this story. My fingers are itching for the next volume, but I have yet to find out when volume 2 will be translated into English from its original French version.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone, who enjoys creepy, spooky stories that are rooted in questionable institutional traditions.
