Even in the future, jobs in the service industry will suck. This is the premise of Hotelitor, a science-fiction comedy by cartoonist Josh Hicks. Published by Graphic Universe, the book is a scathing satire of consumer culture set against the backdrop of the titular luxury hotel/mecha.
Hotelitor centers around 18-year-old intern Anna Green, who is thrust into a position of command after aliens attack the hotel. Stranded in deep space, Anna must organize the remaining staff and guests to survive. Unfortunately, her efforts are undermined by office politics, entitled VIPs stealing their dwindling resources, and the musician-in-residence starting a cult. Then Anna and her fellow entry-level service workers discover a shocking secret about the hotel’s owners…
An exclusive six-page excerpt from Hotelitor can be viewed below.
The Story Behind Josh Hicks’ Hotelitor
The inspiration for Hotelitor lies grounded in reality, despite the story being set in outer space in the future, Creator Josh Hicks drew upon his own real life job history in developing the story. However, it is also a political story, which just happens to feature aliens and giant robots.
“Hotelitor is super influenced by classic mecha manga like Mazinger Z and tokusatsu media like Ultraman and Godzilla,” explains Hicks. “But it’s also informed by my own history of bad temp jobs and student work placement debacles.” However, despite this serious subtext and futuristic setting, the book is a comedy first and foremost.
“It’s a very silly book about a giant robot hotel. But it’s also essentially a power fantasy about low-level service workers getting to punch out their boss with a robot and redefining their relationship to labor by flying off into space,” Hicks notes. “Basically, it’s high literature.”
Hotelitor arrives in comic shops everywhere on May 7, 2024.
