Comic Review: Nice House on the Lake #1

Nice House on the Lake #1

DC Comics

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artists: Álvaro Martínez Bueno and Jordie Bellaire

It’s no secret that horror is the hot genre in comics right now and it seems every week I see another professional creator jumping on the bandwagon. James Tynion IV is no stranger to the genre, given his hit book, Something is Killing the Children.  Now, DC is allowing him to bring that energy under their banner. Despite my horror burn-out, I decided to give this a go given all the positive it’s been receiving leading up to the release. Much to my delight, Nice House on the Lake #1 by Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno manage to stand out from the crowd and doesn’t fail to impress.

I’m going to do my best to run down the plot without actually spoiling what the book is about because the actual hook needs to come as a surprise. In essence, thirteen friends have fallen out of touch, and one decides to bring them all together for a week of partying at his house on the lake. That’s really all I can say.

Up until the unmentionable hook, we’re mostly introduced to a large cast of diverse and distinct characters. Given that the book only has 30 pages to set things up, many characters fall to the wayside with little more than a few balloons worth of dialogue. That’s just the nature of the beast, and while I don’t yet find it to be an insurmountable obstacle as a reader, it certainly could become one. Waiting a month between each issue and trying to reorient yourself with a cast this size isn’t always easy, and it will take some very slick writing from Tynion to effectively pull it off. That said, the few characters we do spend time with seem likable enough.

Up until the big reveal, I wasn’t too certain I would be interested in continuing with this series. So, while I enjoyed this book a lot for its craft, I’m still feeling a bit cautious of what comes next. The set-up is fantastic, but I’ve been fooled by a genius premise more than once, and I just hope that this team can make good on the promise of this stellar first issue.

The book’s greatest strength lies in the art of Tynion’s long-time creative partner Alvaro Martinez Bueno, and the accompanying colors of Jordie Bellaire. Both are artists I love and respect based on prior works, and yet this particular issue doesn’t look like what I’d expect from them. Bueno’s work is gorgeous, as usual, but his style is much sketchier than what I’ve seen in his pr, rather than buckling under its intense weight.

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