House of Mystery #1

Rating Mature Genre mystery Author Matthew Sturges Publisher Vertigo External Links Vertigo Website

From the writer of Jack of Fables Matthew Sturges and co-writer Bill Willingham comes a horrific reinvention of the House of Mystery. If you are familiar with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, this house is plucked straight from those dream-filled pages. The series focuses around the strangers who have mysteriously found themselves trapped within the house. None know why they are there, nor how they can escape the fenced courtyard surrounding the curious abode.

The first issue brings a smile to the face of anyone who remembers Cain and Abel from Sandman, but you will have to read the issue yourself to find out why. The comic lays the groundwork for the series by introducing the characters in the house, as a young girl tells a horrific tale from her past (seriously, I cringed). You see, in the house, there is no TV, no books, no cards, simply the patrons of the house, and their tales. Tales have become to only currency in the house, traded for food and favors, and of course, the strange stories weaved by the house guests help pass the unending days and nights.

Curiously, a house guest is leaving, and some wonder why she is allowed to escape when others, bored to tears, must stay. A curious coachman at the gate awaits, and some guests are not confident that the lucky lady that is leaving them will live beyond the trip. Meanwhile a young lady, someplace else altogether, is being chased by two strange, hovering figures as she flees from a smoldering house. How very appropriate for House of Mystery to be so mysterious.

The artwork for House of Mystery is done by Lucca Rossi, and has the familiar dark style of many other Vertigo comics. Guest artists make contributions to the comic during the short tales told by the guests, adding a bit of extra flavor to things. It all sets a wonderfully creepy atmosphere.

It is usually hard to go wrong with a Vertigo title and for those out there who have been meaning to find one to start with from the beginning, this comic shows promise. With the premise, it is open to a wide variety of interesting story lines, all of which we can expect to be quite gruesome. I cannot wait to see what this series has in store for readers.