House of Mystery v6: #30

Safe as Houses

Chapter 5: monsters / the goblin king / baby universes / problem solved / the fix / what you need vs what you want / three guys walk into a bar by Matthew Sturges (writer), Werther Dell'edera (pencils), and José Marzán, Jr. (inks)

Fig and Tursig, individually, get themselves out of the pickles they have found themselves in. This arc is resolved in a quick and tidy manner, although there is some bloodshed involved. The reader is left to fill in much detail. This isn't a satisfactory approach to storytelling. It feels cheap and unfair. Readers deserve more.

Backup story: Lotus Blossom's Theory of Names by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Carine Brancowitz (art)

Mack, the wizard, figures but does not star in this story. It is primarily a text piece hut there are a few illustrations. It is a body-switching, revenge-type story but aside from the inclusion of Mack it is unclear how this story relates to the main story.

House of Mystery v6: #29

Safe as Houses

Chapter 4: mindworms / rejection, rejected / it's all done with rabbits now / bodies are easy / the eternal flame thingy by Matthew Sturges (writer), Werther Dell'edera (pencils), and José Marzán, Jr. (inks)

As if this story wasn't confusing enough as is there is a drastic change in the look of the main storyline. Luca Rossi steps aside and Werther Dell'Edera takes over the penciling duties. Ideally such a change should have happened with the beginning of a new arc rather than in the midst of one. The coloring seems considerably less subtle than in previous chapters, although there is no indication that someone took over for Lee Loughridge.

Backup Story: the story about the goblin who loved babies and also there is a hunter in it by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Esao Andrews (artist)

It is pretty to look at and simple to understand but it is unclear what purpose it serves other than to fill pages. It isn't particularly compelling and doesn't provide any vital information.

House of Mystery v6: #28

Safe as Houses

Chapter 3: announcement 1: public / announcement 2: private / some goblin concerns / little known pitfalls of time-travel / it's "oedipus" / summerlands by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), and José Marzán, Jr. (inks)

Backup Story: Peace by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Phil Noto (artist)

This chapter is seductively great. It could lead one to believe that there is more to the story than there actually is. There are some great character moments. Fig makes a decision which will separate her from the other denizens of the house. She feels it is something she has to do. They don't agree. The art tells the story as much as the words they exchange do.

Possibly the key to enjoying HoM is learning not to expect too much from it. It is doubtful that it will go everywhere and explore everything that it hints at in this chapter and has hinted at in previous chapters. The images are pretty and the story inspires the imagination, which is not true of plenty of other comic books.

The backup story doesn't slouch. It merges seamlessly with the main storyline. Noto's art is a vital part of the narrative.

House of Mystery v6: #27

Safe as Houses

Chapter 2: flying killer robots / mother issues / time travel is exactly what it used to be / a pyrrhic victory / i'll let you drive by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), and José Marzán, Jr. (inks)

Backup Story: Long Strange Trip by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Brendan McCarthy (artist)

Stuff happens. The art is the real draw in this series. The story wanders this way and that with very little in the way of closure or a sense of progress. It was fun for a while but after more than 2 years one has to wonder if the writer has an end point in mind. If the backup stories were consistently better than they are then reading this series might be more satisfying than it currently is.

The main storyline does not work as the feature of House of Mystery. It feels more like a backup story. It doesn't feel right to judge it as a backup, because it takes up most of the book. It would work much better If it was just a bookend-type story that only ran for 5-8 pages each issue.

House of Mystery v6: #26

Safe as Houses

Chapter 1: walden away / true love sucks / the universe doesn't care about time travel / goblin democracy by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), and José Marzán, Jr. (inks) - the main story continues to wander as this chapter (presumably) lays the groundwork for future chapters. New characters and conflicts are introduced.

Backup Story: Ziggy by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Cristiano Cucina (art) - Lily tells Daphne the story of how she helped her father escape after he robbed a bank by animating the corpse of a woman he had killed during the robbery.

House of Mystery v5: #25

Exquisite Corpse

Part 1: Comes the Hunter, written by Bill Willingham
Part 2: The Heart's Filthy Lesson, written by Dave Justus
Part 3: The Pen Is Mightier..., written by Paul Levitz
Part 4: Heart and Soul, written by Alisa Kwitney
Part 5: A Pure and Noble Heart, written by Matthew Sturges

Art by Lucca Rossi (pencils), José Marzán, Jr (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

Summary: All but one of the denizens of the House are killed, murdered by a newcomer to the House. Why did he do it? What is he after?

What a weird and welcome departure from the usual meandering storyline. At first glance this looked like it might be a collection of 4-6 page stories but it isn't. It's a done-in-one that takes place entirely within the House, notwithstanding a few a brief flashback or two.

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

House of Mystery v5: #24

Under New Management
Part 4 of 4

by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

The pace of the story seems glacially slow. This does not feel like a complete installment. It is all aftermath. Strawberry is dead and someone has to pay for it. The images are beautiful. It is a shame that the story doesn't rise to the same level.


Romantic Comedy (with Corpses)
by Matthew Sturges (writer) and John Bolton (artist)

The middle of this story was the best part. That's where it jumped the rails and seemed to be headed somewhere different. Unfortunately, in the end, it was very standard: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back.

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

House of Mystery v5: #23

Under New Management
Part 3 of 4

by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

This chapter is a 'tweener. More information is provided but not much is resolved. Fig seems to admit to herself that Strawberry isn't lying about his identity but publicly maintains that she doesn't know him. The only other moment of interest is one that transpires between Cress and Poet, although it isn't entirely clear what was in that syringe.


Sucked In
by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Sam Kieth (artist)

This is a beautiful looking story which doesn't seem to have a purpose or a destination. That is mildly disappointing considering who the artist is.

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

House of Mystery v5: #22

Under New Management
Part 2 of 4

by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

A couple seeds are planted but most of this chapter is focused on the newcomer, Fig's brother, Strawberry. Whether he actually is her brother or nor not is unclear but he seems convinced of the fact.


Fig and Strawberry's Adventure in the Cloud Kingdom
by Matthew Sturges and Farel Darymple

This is the story that Strawberry tells Fig, in his attempt to jog her memory. It doesn't come across as entirely convincing, aside from the fact that it does sound and look like the sort of story a child might tell. As with many of the side-stories in this series, this one just seems to be getting started when it ends.

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

House of Mystery v5: #21

Under New Management
Part 1 of 4

by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (penciler), José Marzán, Jr (inker), and Lee Loughridge (colors)

Fig and the others, but mostly Fig, cope with the changes to the management and location of the House. The main characters (Fig, Cress, Cain, Ann, Jordan) seem more more peripheral in this chapter. They are in the story but for once they don't seem to be the ones that the camera is focused on. Instead it focuses on a newcomer, a cowboy, Blind Buck.

Rossi and Marzán do possibly their best work to date on this series. Although the backgrounds are sometimes spare to nonexistent the foregrounds, especially the facial expressions, are very expressively illustrated. As always Loughridge does an outstanding job with the colors.


Abomination
by Matthew Sturges (writer) and Sergio Arragones (artist)

Blind Buck tells a story from his past. Nothing much goes on here. It is a nice showcase for Arragones art but there isn't much else to this four-pager.

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

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

House of Mystery v3: #15

The Space Between Part Four: Hide and Seek by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), José Marzán (inks), Stefano Landini (inks), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - This volume ended with a cliffhanger but it also took a weird turn just before it ended. Who knows what comes next. The game has changed. It feels as though an extra dimension was added to the story.

I'm having a little difficulty adjusting to the new look of the book. The penciler remains the same. I had grown to like the look of Luca Rossi's art. I'm not as keen on it now that it is being inked by others.

Jordan's Idea with the Gorillas and Shit by Matthew Sturges (writer), David Hahn (artist), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - There's no twist in this 3-pager or maybe there are too many of them. Either way, it feels like filler. It comes out of nowhere, goes nowhere and has nothing to do with the main storyline.

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

House of Mystery v3: #14

The Space Between Part Three: Lost and Found by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), José Marzán (inks), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - I love how the story continues to evolve. What looked like a throw away sequence from the first arc that was included just to help set the tone is turning out to be much more than just that. How it will intersect with the story of Fig and company has yet to be revealed.

I'm also intrigued by what Peter, Fig's father, tells Harry. It makes sense. It could be true but is it? Things have a tendency to get very twisted in the House of Mystery. While Peter's explanation seems plausible given the nature of the story, considering his role and his feelings toward Fig and Harry it's also possible that he may be lying or deluded.

The influence or impact of José Marzán's inks on Luca Rossi's pencils is apparent in this issue, primarily on the faces. I'm a little torn as to whether this is a good thing or not. I liked the book without Marzán's inks, when Rossi penciled and inked the book solo. I'm not turned off by Marzán's inks. It will take me some time to get used to them.

Maidenhead by Matthew Sturges (writer), Gilbert Hernandez (artist), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - Best side story ever. No lie. For the first time I was sad at the end of the side story. I wasn't sad because of the content of the story, but because there wasn't anything more to it.

Gilbert Hernandez has done a masterful job mixing myths from two very different sources: tales of werewolves and tales of adolescent women in Middle Eastern countries like Iran and Iraq. I was entralled by the story and really wish there was more to it. I've never read any of the stories written and drawn by any of the Hernandez brothers, prior to today. The power this story exerted over me has convinced me that I need to seek out some of his other works.

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

House of Mystery v3: #13

Change of pace. The ongoing story of Fig and the other residents of the House of Mystery takes a break and, for the first time, doesn't make an appearance. Instead three short stories fill this regular-sized issue.

The Thirteenth Hour by Matthew Sturges (writer), Ralph Reese (artist), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - Before Eric can propose to Misaki there's something he needs to show her, something horrific.

The Lace Anniversary by Bill Willingham (writer), and Eric Powell (artist) - While looking for an anniversary gift for his wife
Shopping on 13th street

13th Time's The Charm by Chris Roberson (writer), Neal Adams (artist), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - After touching a mysterious, glowing orb a man and a woman destinies become intertwined.

The first two stories were proper horror stories with gruesome endings. The third one was not and seemed out of place in this issue.

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

House of Mystery v3: #12

The Space Between Part Two: Push and Pull by Matthew Sturges (writer), Luca Rossi (pencils), José Marzán (inks), and Lee Loughridge (colors) - As often, with stories like House of Mystery, just when I think I grasp where it is and where it is going the rug gets pulled out from beneath me. My guesses, after reading the previous chapter, about there being two throughlines seems somewhat off base. One of the throughlines seems to get split in this story and a new one is introduced.

There's a lot going on in this chapter: a new character (Genevieve) arrives in the House, Harry and Peter unintentionally leave the House (the building not the story), not to menton what gets revealed in the story within the story. As always Luca Rossi's art as colored by Lee Loughridge is beautiful and, for my money, evokes the right sort of mood for this sort of story.

When a story morphs as fast as this one does, as capriciously as this one does I get a little worried. I worry that not all the plot threads and snippets will get resolved or at the very least further attention. I worry that some of them are being introduced as smoke screens to help the writer get the story to where he feels it should be without revealing which cards he is holding. This isn't a fully justified fear. Serial fiction lends itself to weird twists and turns. I've seen it happen often enough. I don't know if Sturges has a long range plan for House of Mystery or is just making it up issue by issue, arc by arc but I am enjoying it and it wouldn't be the same without the weird and sudden twists in the tale.

A Cress in Every Port by Matthew Sturges, Grazia Lobaccaro (pencils), Stefano Landini (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors) - At first I thought this was going to be Cressida's origin story. I was wrong. It left me more puzzled than informed. It provides information but isn't conclusive. Additionally one should consider that the narrator, Genevieve, has fallen for Cress more than once in the past and her opinion may have colored the story so that it less resembles that than it does Genevieve's vision (romantic or otherwise) of past events.

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