House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom

About this book

This volume collects the first five issues of the House of Mystery series from Vertigo. Many years ago, DC published House of Mystery as an anthology of self-contained horror stories. There was no continuity from issue to issue and no recurring characters other than the narrator's appearances in a brief framing sequence. This relaunch of the series by author Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham (of Fables fame) is a very different animal. The House of Mystery itself now takes center stage along with a recurring cast of occupants and ongoing storylines and subplots. The house sits at something of a cosmic crossroads that allow visitors from many different worlds. Most can come and go as they please, but a handful are trapped indefinitely. This small group runs a restaurant and bar in the house and the only payment accepted is a story to alleviate their boredom. When a new permanent occupant arrives, the status quo appears to be shaken up a bit and a number of subplots and minor mysteries slowly bubble to the surface. This first volume does a solid job of introducing the cast of characters and establishing the House of Mystery as a, well, mysterious place. It's clear that Willingham and Sturges intend to move the story forward at a measured pace and take their time before revealing too much. While I don't find the pace to be a problem, I would caution readers who like things to move forward briskly that this may not be your cup of tea. The core members of the cast are made up of the four permanent residents of the house, only one of which happens to be a man. Except for the new addition, Fig, the other three are pretty interchangeable so far. Snarky and bored, but not overly mean spirited. I'm willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt that they'll be fleshed out more fully as time goes by. Fig is the focus of more attention and we learn enough about her that I did care what happened to her even if she isn't exactly one of my all time favorites just yet. Overall, House of Mystery has gotten off to a good, but not great, start. The story and characters are both being revealed at a relatively slow pace. There's enough good here to make me come back for more, but I'll probably need to see a bit more substance within the next volume or two for me to read this series over the long haul. I recommend giving it a try, especially if you're a fan of Fable, and am cautiously optimistic that we'll be rewarded as the series continues to unfold.