The Nice House on the Lake vol. 1

For all of the massive success he’s enjoyed over the years, I’ve never been able to fully get on the James Tynion IV bandwagon.  That’s mainly because the DC superhero work I’ve read from him, his “Detective Comics” run specifically, has been too straightforward to be enjoyable.  Then there’s his breakout creator-owned work “Something is Killing the Children” whose success continues to baffle me given that I found nothing surprising about its storytelling.  Yet there have been exceptions like his work writing villains in the pages of “Justice League” and the ongoing “The Department of Truth.”  The exceptions have been enough that I want to keep giving Tynion the benefit of the doubt when a new series of his comes along.  Which is why you’re reading my review of “The Nice House on the Lake” right now.

Said house isn’t owned by Walter, it actually belongs to a friend of his mother’s who said he could use it for a week.  Sensing an opportunity, the man decides to call up a bunch of his friends – some from high school, some from college, some from New York – to spend the week with him there.  They are Ryan (The Artist), Norah (The Writer), David (The Comedian), Molly (The Accountant), Veronica (The Scientist), Sam (The Reporter), Arturo (The Acupuncturist), Sarah (The Consultant), Naya (The Doctor), and Rick (The Pianist).  All of them are here to have a good time and reconnect with Walter and each other.  If only it weren’t for the fact that someone has killed their host and assumed his identity and is using this gathering as his final test before he completely takes over his life.  If anyone sees through his ruse, well, you can probably guess what’s going to happen to them.

Actually, no.  That’s not the premise for the story at all.  So what is “The Nice House on the Lake” about?  That’s for you to find out.  This is a very rare case where the premise of the story constitutes a spoiler and I think everyone who’s interested in reading it would be best served by going in knowing as little as possible about it.  In that regard I’m grateful for how vague the solicitations were for the individual series this volume collects.  When I got to the point where the premise for the series was fully revealed, I was genuinely surprised.  I had some expectations going by the title and setup and they were fully upended by what Tynion and artist Alvaro Martinez Bueno had in store for me.  This is, of course, a very good thing.

However, what’s good for me may not be for the general public.  The actual premise of the series represents a very big swing by the creators, and it’s something that everyone may not be on board with.  That there’s something of a full on switch in genres, depending on your perspective, may also be a dealbreaker for some as well.  Some may also see it as hitting too close to home given the events of recent years, but that’s the case only in spirit rather than actuality.

What will likely keep readers involved through these things is Tynion’s character-driven approach.  After we get a general introduction to everyone in the first issue, he spends each subsequent one drilling down into a specific character.  While I had trouble remembering who was who amongst its large cast, their faces and personalities eventually managed to click with me (and if anyone else needs any help, there’s a character guide on the very last page of the volume).  The good news is that they’re all an interesting bunch who are dealing with the new status quo presented to them in the series in their own unique ways.  

It’s also interesting to see them pick at the story’s logic as well, though that’s almost certainly by design.  Between this series and “The Department of Truth” I’m beginning to see that Tynion’s main appeal as a writer is in how he’s able to make esoteric setups work via his straightforward approach.  While he’s never been less than a competent writer, that’s only really an asset when you’re dealing with a big galaxy-brain setup that most people would have trouble wrapping their heads around.  Which is exactly what we have here.

Bueno is also an asset to this story as well.  His work here isn’t exactly flashy or stylish, but he’s good at distinguishing between the characters in his painterly style and the story flows well under his direction.  It also helps that he’s one of those artists who can draw just about anything.  While talking about what “anything” entails in this series would almost certainly count as a spoiler, you’ll just have to take my word that he’s good with the weird, gory, and potentially nightmarish surprises this series has in store.

“The Nice House on the Lake” wasn’t what I was expecting, and I appreciated it all the more for it.  It’s entirely possible that Tynion and Bueno could flub the landing if this out-there premise becomes too ordinary, or complicated by the creators taking an even bigger swing along the way.  What’s important is that they managed to get my attention with this setup and sustain it through the first half of the series.  I want to see what other secrets this series holds all the way through its end (in the next volume) after what I’ve read here.