The wait is finally over. The Nice House on the Lake makes its grand return after a four-month hiatus, and I’ve got to say, it was worth it. I was worried too much time off between issues would interrupt what made the first six issues so great. I did need to re-read the previous issue as a refresher, but that in no way took away from my enjoyment from what has been and — after reading #7 — what continues to be a fantastic series.
DC Black Label
Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez Bueno
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Andworld Design
What made the first six issues of The Nice House on The Lake so good was its build up. Each issue brought a new level of suspense and mystery that constantly left the reader with more questions than answers. With The Nice House on The Lake #6 seemingly giving the story a bit of a reset, James Tynion IV seems to have decided to take The Nice House on The Lake on a new, tortuous path. I, for one, can’t wait to see where it goes.
Tynion has a way with suspense stories, the way he builds and then delivers the knockout punch — simply put, his pacing is always perfect. However, what else he does very well is character work. There are few in this industry that understand the human condition and have the ability to put it to paper better than Tynion. It is clear after reading The Nice House on The Lake #7, that we are in for an emotional gut punch that will take this wild story to a whole new level.
“Pain” is the word I say best describes The Nice House on The Lake #7. The antagonist, at his core, thinks he is caring and compassionate, doing what he believes to be right. Yet for all his supposed good, nothing but pain and hurt has come from his actions. This pain is on full display in The Nice House on The Lake #7, with one of our main characters bearing out their soul in what was the issue’s gut-wrenching emotional center. It was these moments that made The Nice House on The Lake #7 easily one of the best so far in the series.
“Tynion has a way with suspense stories, the way he builds and then delivers the knockout punch”
As always, Alvaro Martinez Bueno and Jordie Bellaire shine. I will never be able to fully express just how perfectly these two have been together in this book. Bueno’s ability to capture the perfect facial expression with Bellaire’s use of warm and cool colors to further accentuate the mood brilliantly. However, it was their ability to be in perfect sync with Tynion to convey the anger and pain expressed in this issue that made The Nice House on The Lake #7 stand out above the rest.
While I may have felt the previous issue would have been better suited as the return from Tynion’s hiatus, I must fully admit I was dead wrong. It set up what is going to be a wild second arc to an already wild story. Where The Nice House on The Lake goes from here is still anybody’s guess, but man, is the ride going to be fun.
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