House of Mystery v4: Halloween Annual #1

Do You See What I See by Matthew Struges (writer), Luca Lossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), Lee Loughridge (colors) - This is the framing device for the rest of the stories in this issue. It seems to take place outside of the House of Mystery's current continuity. The participants in the framing story are all HoM regulars (Fig, Harry, Cress, Poet, Anne) but some of them were out of the picture by the end of the last story arc. Given the weird nature of the House, in particular, and comic books, in general, this isn't a difficult situation to accept.

The rest of the stories all read like promos for other Vertigo series. Some are better than others. All but one involve a mask which also plays a key role in the first story.

High Spirits by Mark Buckingham (write), Bill Willingham (writer, penciler), Kevin Nowlan (inker), Lee Loughridge (colors) - a Merv Pumpkinhead story

Letter from a Suicide by Peter Milligan (writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (layouts), Stephano Landini (finishes), Dave McCaig (colors) - a John Constantine/Hellblazer story

Trick or Treat by Chris Roberson (writer), Mike Allred (artist), Laura Allred (colors) - an I Zombie! story

Captive Audience by Matt Wagner (writer), Amy Reeder Hadley (penciler), Richard Friend (inker), Guy Majors (colors) - a Madame Xanadu story - by far the prettiest of the four stories

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

House of Mystery v4: #20

The Beauty of Decay: Part Five: Elegies by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - Once again, the ending to an arc is not conclusive. Rather than close the door on what has come before the final chapter just seems to open new ones. A new status quo is established on the final pages with little in the way of explanation of how or why it came to pass.

This sort of storytelling defies logical analysis. It meanders here and there without presenting a clear path. Possibly, a bird's eye view of the story so far might reveal some pattern or method to the madness that is the House of Mystery. Things happen; there are consequences to actions but new elements are regularly introduced and old ones often reveal themselves to be more than they previously seemed to be. As previously noted these characteristics could be a drawback but Sturges, Rossi, and company continue to make HoM an entertaining read.

Spellbound by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Michael William Kaluta (artist) - This seems to be a story of and by Peter, Fig's father.

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

House of Mystery v4: #19

The Beauty of Decay: Part Four: Convergence by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), Joe Rubinstein (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - More twists and turns as the denizens of the House struggle to make it back to their current abode.

Despite or due to some of the incredible direction changes the main story continues to be entertaining. Will there ever be a satisfactory resolution to the tale of the House, Fig, and the other residents? Does there need to be a satisfactory resolution? The fun in this series seems to be the way that Sturges weaves together the disparate characters and their backgrounds. What makes the story attractive right now may not make it so in the future.

Also, the images are soft on the eyes.

House & Home by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Antonio Fuso (artist) - Cain tells a tale of the House itself and how he came to be separated from it. There isn't much of a departure between the visual stylings of this backup story and the main story as is usually the case. The humorous touches are appreciated.

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

House of Mystery v4: #18

The Beauty of Decay: Part Three: Academics by Matthew Sturges (writer), Werther Dell'Edera (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), Andrew Pepoy (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - Lots of interesting developments following the event that is foreshadowed on the cover of this collection. Some of the residents of the House go for a walk about the City. Fig, Peter and Jordan head for the library. Ceorel and Cain materialize from the remains of a tragedy. The others stick close to the House and clean up after another tragedy. The most interesting developments are those involving Fig, Peter, and Jordan. The other story bits and pieces seem to be setting things up for future installments.

The Tale of Brutus the Bold by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Jeff Lemire (artist) - This is of the best looking backup stories in the series so far. That said, the meaning of it all and its connection to the main story is tenuous at best. Possibly it is an allegory that requires the reader to look beneath the surface in order to see a deeper meaning.

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

House of Mystery v4: #17

The Beauty of Decay: Part Two: Poetics by Matthew Sturges (writer), Werther Dell'Edera (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - Not a lot happens in this segment of the Beauty of Decay. The only curious, new development is the substitution of Werther Dell'Edera for Luca Rossi. Their styles are different enough that it is noticeable but not so much so for it to be jarring.

The best way to characterize the shift from one artist to the other is to say that Rossi's pencils feel much lighter than Dell'Edera's. The lines on Dell'Edera's pages are thicker and feel heavier. It is difficult to say how much of this is due to the inks and colors. The choice of color pallette for this segment probably contributes to the heavier feel.

The best part of Poetics is the humorous lines thrown in here and there. They help to keep it light in what could otherwise be an oppresively down segment of the arger story.

Mise-en-Scène by Bill Willingham (writer) and Al Davison (artist) - Poet's origin tale, just in time for, what appears to be his exit from the central storyline. If his full name was revealed in an earlier arc then it was not a memorable event. Take a love story, add a twist, and that describes this tale. It isn't particularly good or original but at least it is relevant to the central story

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

House of Mystery v4: #16

The Beauty of Decay: Part One: Entropy by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr. (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

This segment of House of Mystery is visually engaging but narratively incomplete. Still, the two page spread that simultaneously depicts the goings on in various rooms of the House is splendid. Not every room is populated but each one adds to the overall picture.

The Hounds of Titus Roan by Bill Willingham (writer) and Richard Corben (artist) - This is a straight up gothic horror story about a writer trapped in a mysterious castle (Titus Roan) by the feral beasts. Nothing really stands out about this tale. Sometimes the tales help to paint in details or background information of the ongoing story but that is not the case in this instance. Maybe it is unreasonable to expect something special from each of the tales but more often than not they are nothing special.

House of Mystery is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics

DMZ v7: #41

Zee, DMZ
by Brian Wood (writer) and Nikki Cook (artist)

Several issues ago while the book continued to focus on Matty, Zee took off. She headed north, left the area controlled by Parco Delgado and his forces. For the moment Matty is set aside as the book turns its attention to Zee, Matty's ex-girlfriend. She's fed up with Matty and how cozy he has gotten with Parco. She doesn't see the turmoil Parco is putting Matty through, just the outward signs that Matty works for Parco.

I'm through with DMZ. I gave it two tries, read the first 7 trades, more than 40 issues. It doesn't speak to me the way some books do. There's a framework that I like but there isn't enough meat on the bones, for me.

DMZ is published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.