Tag Archives: the nice house on the lake

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Artie and the Wolf Man

Wednesdays (and now Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this week.

Artie and the Wolf Moon (Graphic Universe) – Artie sneaks out at night to discover their mother is a werewolf!

Avengers Tech-On #2 (Marvel) – The first issue was a lot of fun as a powered up Red Skull strips the world’s heroes of their powers.

Bad Sister (First Second Books) – A middle grade graphic memoir following a young girl who undergoes a crisis of conscience, realizing that she is a “bad sister.”

Batman #112 (DC Comics) – “Fear State” kicks off as the Scarecrow’s plan for Gotham unfolds.

Bountiful Garden #1 (Mad Cave Studios) – In the year 2200, a team of teenage scientists are sent on a terraforming mission to a distant planet. When they are awakened abruptly, ten years early, halted above a strange planet, the teens are tasked with trying to figure out why they’re stalled – or what stalled them.

Deadbox #1 (Vault Comics) – We have an early review and praise this debut.

Glamorella’s Daughter #2 (Literati Press) – The debut issue was fantastic introducing us to a new hero and her daughter who’d rather read books than punch bad guys.

Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land #1 (Marvel) – Ka-Zar is back! We always want to see what’s done with this character that never quite catches on.

Last Flight Out #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – Humanity has chosen to evacuate Earth as a father attempts to make amends with his daughter during the end of the world.

Mazebook #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – Jeff Lemire. Nuff said.

The Nice House on the Lake #4 (DC Comics/DC Black Label) – This series has been amazing with a great mix of horror, mystery, and a focus on the characters. This one delivers some twists that have a major impact.

Nine Stones #1 (Behemoth Comics) – Disturbing dreams shake Alistair “Allie” Jacobi’s nights. But his daytime life is not much better.

Not All Robots #2 (AWA Studios) – In the year of 2056, robots have replaced human beings in the workforce. Mark Russell and Mike Deodato deliver more brilliant commentary.

Savage Circus #6 (Heavy Metal Entertainment) – Strange creators on the loose and a group of thieves. The series has been a lot of fund mashing up genres.

Search for Hu #1 (AfterShock) – A son must protect his parents who a feud breaks out between the two sides of his family.

Snelson #2 (AHOY Comics) – The first issue was interesting looking at “cancel culture”. It didn’t quite deliver the commentary we hoped for but it was enough that we want to see what the second issue has to say.

Star Trek: Mirror War #0 (IDW Publishing) – Star Trek and the Mirror Universe are two things together that always have us interested.

Whistle: A New Gotham Hero (DC Comics) – When Willow discovers that her “uncle” Edward and his friends are actually some of Gotham’s most corrupt criminals, she must make a choice: remain loyal to the man who kept her family together, or use her new powers to be a voice for her community.

Review: The Nice House on the Lake #3

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The Nice House on the Lake #3 continues the impressive run for the series which delivers an amazing mystery, so solid tense moments, and lots of emotion.

Story: James Tynion IV
Art: Álvaro Martínez Bueno
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Andworld Design

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

comiXology
Amazon
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Preview: The Nice House on the Lake #4

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The Nice House on the Lake #4

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez

A terrifying truth about the house is revealed! David wants nothing more than to make his fellow residents of the House laugh. He’s the Comedian, right? That’s what he does. But if no one’s in the mood to laugh, then perhaps it’s time for him to perform the other function of comedy: to tell his audience an unbelievable truth…

The Nice House on the Lake #4

Preview: The Nice House on the Lake #3

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The Nice House on the Lake #3

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez Bueno

Walter’s “rules” for their getaway strongly suggested the residents not leave the property lines of the House…but how far do they go? It’s not like Sam, the Reporter, to leave a question like that unanswered…but what he finds when he walks the perimeter of the lake might turn out to be the story of his lifetime-however much longer it lasts!

The Nice House on the Lake #3

Review: The Nice House on the Lake #3

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The Nice House on the Lake #3

James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno try to tame the urgencies of the end of the world in The Nice House on the Lake #3 to look at a specific character and how everything affects just one person in a group that’s stuck together. While the tension’s still running on high, this character-centric issue is one that nonetheless helps deepen the mystery behind the apocalypse and the role Walter, the person responsible for the house on the lake, plays as one of its agents.

Issue #3 centers on Sam, a queer character that reveals Walter was the first person he came out to and how he felt a kind of unstable duty to please this friend that only appeared at certain moments throughout his life. As the group tries to create some kind of routine or distraction to deal with the situation at the house, Sam decides it’s too early to settle and accept the new normal. Instead, he goes out to explore the limits of the land surrounding the house.

This part of the story finds great success in holding the idea of post-apocalyptic life over the group’s collective thought. While some might be more inclined to try and find comfort in distraction, others will find there’s no hope of acceptance when so many questions are yet to be answered. Tynion and Martínez Bueno latch on to this dynamic to great effect to set up what will eventually lead to rifts within the group.

The Nice House on the Lake #3

Martínez Bueno finally has the opportunity to let loose with the overall weirdness found on the land surrounding the house, especially with the strange geometry of the sculptures lying around. As Sam explores further, we get to see strange things hiding beyond the house and they do a great job of turning an already terrifying situation into a more disturbing one. I can’t wait to see what other hidden horrors await in the coming issues, and how Martínez Bueno will bring them to life.

Tynion’s focus on Sam shows that each character in Nice House has a continent’s worth of story in them. Not only should we expect more of these single-character studies in the future, but they might also become the some of the best parts of the whole series. It’s getting harder and harder to wait for the next installment of The Nice House on the Lake and it’s looking like it has no intention of letting up on that.

Story: James Tynion IV, Art: Álvaro Martínez Bueno
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10
Recommendation: Buy and remember to bring your own snacks to the end of the world

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Snelson #1

Wednesdays (and now Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this week.

First Degree: A Crime Anthology (Humanoids) – Over a dozen tales of crime fiction.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Liberation #1 (Titan Comics) – The series based on the popular video game is back for a second arc!

Lucky Devil #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – Cullen Bunn’s new series featuring art by Fran Galan. A new horror series by Bunn? Yes please!

Me You Love in the Dark #1 (Image Comics) – Skottie Young and Jorge Corona’s new series about an artist who leaves the grind of the city and moves into an old house in a small town.

The Nice House on the Lake #3 (DC Comics/DC Black Label) – The first two issues blew us away and this is a series we have no idea where it’s going but are all in to see.

Not All Robots #1 (AWA Studios) – In the year 2056 robots have replaced people in the worforce and an uneasy co-existence develops. Every family has a robot that they rely upon. What can go wrong? Read our early review.

Re: Constitutions (First Second) – Part of the World Citizen Comics line, this book explains the role constitutions play in government and some of the issues due to that.

Run Book 1 (Abrams Comicarts) – The second series telling the amazing life of Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis. It’s the next chapter in the history of civil rights.

Skybound X #5 (Image Comics/Skybound) -Each issue has featured debuts and shown off what makes Skybound great. Check out this finale which promises to be a big one!

Snelson #1 (AHOY Comics) – A 90s edgy comic is desperate for a comeback and goes on tour with a group of sociall conscious comedians.

Transformers: King Grimlock #1 (IDW Publishing) – Steve Orlando and Agustin Padilla take on the Transformers powerhouse in a new limited series that has him transported to a savage world where the strong rule.

X-Men #2 (Marvel) – We’re a bit mixed on the debut issue but we’re intrigued with all of the groundwork that was laid down. So, we’re coming back to see where all of that goes.

Preview: The Nice House on the Lake #3

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The Nice House on the Lake #3

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez Bueno

Walter’s “rules” for their getaway strongly suggested the residents not leave the property lines of the House…but how far do they go? It’s not like Sam, the Reporter, to leave a question like that unanswered…but what he finds when he walks the perimeter of the lake might turn out to be the story of his lifetime-however much longer it lasts!

The Nice House on the Lake #3

Review: The Nice House on the Lake #2

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Impressively, The Nice House on the Lake #2 is as good as the debut with an amazing focus on the characters and intensity of the situation.

Story: James Tynion IV
Art: Álvaro Martínez Bueno
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Andworld Design

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

comiXology
Amazon
Kindle
Zeus Comics
TFAW

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Review: The Nice House on the Lake #2

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The Nice House on the Lake #2
The Nice House on the Lake #2

The first issue of James Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s The Nice House on the Lake set up an end of the world scenario with a huge cast and a mysterious host at the center of it, all of them weathering the apocalypse inside a well-stocked house. The people who were spared the final moments of human existence are all in shock come issue #2 of the series, and they’re in a mad scramble for answers.

Us readers can only be certain of one thing once the second part of the story has reached its final page: Tynion and Martínez Bueno are still on their way to give us one of the best new comic series of the year.

The Nice House on the Lake #2 puts its cast of characters through the wringer as they try to make some sense of how the world just decided to self-combust and melt almost everyone not on the house with them. Emotions run high and there’s a sense of disconnection among the guests. Reality as they knew it just stopped and anything that comes after the event is now going to be post-apocalyptic. Not an easy realization to come to.

Tynion and Martínez Bueno employ a few different techniques to the storytelling here to shake things up while also building the world their characters inhabit. For instance, the comic contains several pages that unravel as an official log of things said during certain moments immediately after the world seemingly ended. This presents the possibility some kind of secret group or organization is behind it all, perhaps torturing or experimenting with the people at the house for reasons unknown.

This is one of the series’ strong suits, guiding readers to make dark assumptions on what’s actually happening. In a sense, the horror on display in the comic is being driven by elements more commonly found in the Mystery genre. There’s a bit of a “whodunnit” at play here and it helps make the comic an even richer and more complex mystery box in the process.

Martínez Bueno’s art continues to impress in issue #2, presenting everything and everyone in a kind of haze that just deepens the horror being experienced by everyone in the house. It helps that Martínez Bueno also proves to have complete control over the characters’ body language. It’s theatrical, to a point, in terms of making the reader take everything into account to get a better sense of the story.

The Nice House on the Lake #2
The Nice House on the Lake #2

The Nice House on the Lake is an intoxicating read, period. It’s hard to stop pouring over each panel, each line of dialogue trying to figure everything out. Issue #2 gives readers enough story to keep them hooked while also teasing so much more horror to come. The monthly wait is starting to get difficult, and I can only see it getting harder to hold out till the next chapter.

Story: James Tynion, Art: Álvaro Martínez Bueno, Colors: Jordie Bellaire Publisher: DC Black Label
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy, read, read it again, come up with multiple theories, repeat

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Skybound X #1

Wednesdays (and now Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this week.

Black’s Myth #1 (AHOY Comics) – Meet Janie “Strummer” Jones, just an ordinary werewolf PI, trying to make it on the mean streets of LA. Yeah, we’re sold just on that.

Clans of Belari #1 (AfterShock) – On the far side of the galaxy, an isolated branch of humanity is trapped in a feudal dystopia. Order is maintained by a system of oppression until an orphaned girl and her incorrigible adoptive father sow the seeds of a revolution and unite the clans against a fearsome alien threat. The sci-fi epic story we’re fans of.

Extreme Carnage: Alpha #1 (Marvel) – Post King in Black we get to see what the new status quo is for the various symbiotes.

Fight Girls #1 (AWA Studios) – Ten hard-as-nails women face off in an ancient contest of champions where the winner truly takes all: the title of “Queen of the Galaxy.” The series has been a long time coming so we’re interested in seeing what it’s all about.

The Good Asian #3 (Image Comics) – This series has been an amazing exploration of the real-life history of racism in America mixed with a fantastic noir story.

Hellboy & the BPRD: Secret of Chesbro House #1 (Dark Horse) – Hellboy works with a psychic to clear a haunted mansion for auction. But the ghosts in residence aren’t quite ready to go gentle into that good night. Sounds fun to us!

Justice League Infinity #1 (DC Comics) – The popular animated series continues in comics!

Life is Strange: Coming Home #1 (Titan Comics) – The popular video game returns to comics just before the remastered original is released.

Mamo #1 (BOOM! Studios) – Can Orla O’Reilly embrace her destiny in order to bridge the divide between humanity and the faerie world? Sounds great.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation #1 (Dark Horse) – The highly anticipated Netflix series gets a comic tie-in.

The Nice House on the Lake #2 (DC Comics/DC Black Label) – The first issue caught us completely off guard and the series seems to be taking us on a hell of a horror journey.

Nocterra #5 (Image Comics) – The previous issue delivered a glimmer of light and hope in a world of darkness. We’re sucked in and want to see where this series goes. The story has been solid and its visuals fantastic.

Ordinary Gods #1 (Image Comics) – Five gods are trapped in an endless cycle of human death and reincarnation.

Rabid World #2 (Scout Comics) – We were hooked by the first issue which had a nice mix of zombie-ish tropes and “ripped from the headlines” vibe as a virus spreads across the world causing a rabies like reaction in people.

Skybound X #1 (Image Comics/Skybound) – Get this just for the collector aspect of it. The series is spotlighting a lot of Skybound’s series and comics to come with quite a few major debuts.

Tales Told in Technihorror #1 (Scout Comics/Black Caravan) – A biennial horror series that brings together the best in horror sub genres with five short stories.

The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees (Etch/HMH Books For Young Readers) – Don Brown depicts moments of both heartbreaking horror and hope in the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

WWE The New Day: Power of Positivity #1 (BOOM! Studios) – The popular WWE wrestlers get a comic spotlighting their positivity!

X-Men #1 (Marvel) – The first volume of the new direction for the X-Men is over and the heroes are now back saving all of humanity and not just mutants.

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