The Lunar Lodge, especially on the night of a full moon, is a wonderful place for a romantic getaway. Or is it? Find out in Lunar Lodge #1 from Dark Horse Comics!
LUNAR LODGE #1
Writer: Tyler Marcea
Artist: Mirko Colak
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Editor: Megan Walker
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 22, 2023
Previously in Lunar Lodge: Marriage is not always easy. Rob Moreland wonders about his wife, Fiona, and her travels. And then one day, he gets a call from the Lunar Lodge, confirming her stay.
TRYING TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH
The opening of Lunar Lodge #1 immediately grabs your attention. The focus is on a bloody hand, and then it expands to reveal a disemboweled body, and then a heap of body parts with a young, naked (and apparently uninjured) woman curled up among them. Considering the title, we would not be surprised to find werewolves involved, but this is certainly an interesting point from which to start the story. The woman wakes up and gasps, then finds a ring among the mortal remains. She slips it on her finger. Then we see she is not alone in the room. There is also a man. In the background, there is a howl. The woman walks outside. A sign in Italian proclaims that this is the Moon Inn.
The next scene opens in the U.S. Rob Moreland is a veterinarian. One of his patients bites him and he must bandage his hand. It is a long and stressful day for him. When he’s at home, the phone rings. It is someone from the Lunar Lodge, confirming his wife Fiona’s reservation. The problem? She told him she was going to a conference in Scottsdale, AZ. This Lunar Lodge is in Montana. Over dinner, Fiona sticks to the Scottsdale story. That night, Rob enables tracking from her phone and decides to investigate.
Rob arrives at the Lunar Lodge. The parking lot is full, and the man at the desk says they are booked full. There is no conference here, but there is a full moon, he says, as though that is a reason for staying here. A tough-looking, dark-haired man follows Rob to his car and makes sure he leaves.
A sheriff’s deputy spots an empty van by the side of the road. He calls out to see if the owner is nearby. A man comes out of the woods and explains he was making a pit stop. It seems like no big deal.
Rob stops at a roadside restaurant. One of the customers, Elias, asks if he is staying at the hotel up the road. The bartender tells Elias to leave the man alone. Then a woman asks if Rob wants a drink. The careful reader will notice she looks familiar, like the woman in the opening scene. She makes a comment about the Lunar Lodge being a great romantic getaway. Then her phone rings. It is the man who talked to the deputy a few minutes before. He has done what they planned.
Rob returns to Lunar Lodge at night, sneaks into a locker room, and steals an access card. His wife is listed as being in room 14. He goes there and finds it dark and empty. He checks the room next door. It is also dark and empty. And then he hears footsteps.
CLOAKED IN SHADOW
The atmosphere is rich in Lunar Lodge #1. The opening clearly establishes the horror genre at the heart of the story. The bodies are not only bloody; they have been violently torn apart. Little details like a bloody jawbone lying next to a broken pair of glasses let your own imagination fill in the details of just how they happened to arrive there. Amidst the carnage, the woman is a strong contrast, and we cannot help but wonder about her. Was she responsible for all of this? Was she even aware of what happened? We cannot tell much at this moment, but when we see her again, we wonder even more.
The character work is excellent. When we meet Rob, the only dialogue is a few comments throughout his day as a vet. We understand his day by seeing his facial expressions and body language, as well as that of his patients. This continues through the rest of his day and during his time with Fiona. When they are with each other, everything is cordial, but they do not meet each other’s eyes. The calm between them struggles to hide the tension. But it also makes us pay attention. How does this apparent infidelity tie in with werewolves?
BOTTOM LINE: A SINISTER MYSTERY
Lunar Lodge #1 primes us for a story about werewolves and instead delivers a tale of mystery and intrigue. I still suspect werewolves, but obviously, the plot is more sophisticated than a mere monster tale.
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Lunar Lodge #1
A man’s investigation into his wife’s possible infidelity leads him deep into the unexpected.
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Art9
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Coloring9
By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.