Brief Mentions: House of Awesome!

House of Mystery #7
Written By: Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham
Art By: Luca Rossi & David Petersen

Each week, the ComicDorks have a very hard decision in front of them. They must pick only six books to talk about for the week’s show. Often many books fall victim to this number and do not make the cut. The “Brief Mentions” gives us the ability to give credit where it is due and not let amazing books go, unmentioned. For me this week, it was very awkward. I had a grand total of seven books. Seven. Do not ask me how this happened but it did… and every single one was amazing. Each issue could easily have ranged from pick of the week to a brief mention, but lo a decision had to be made and I chose to mention House of Mystery. Written by Matthew Sturges (Shadowpact, Jack of Fables) & Bill Willingham (Fables, Shadowpact) and art by Luca Rossi (Dampyr), House of Mystery is exactly that, a tale of mystery. I’ve been on this book since the get go and it has yet to disappoint. Sturges & Willingham are a great creative team, which rival such great teams as Rucka & Brubaker, and offer some of the best fantasy stories in the comic industry. Being a huge fan of Fables, there was no question that I would be picking up this title. With issue seven, we are and the second part of the “Love Stories for Dead People” story arc. The heroes have discovered a plan to escape the House of Mystery, once and for all. Perhaps the most intriguing part of this issue is the continuing relationship between Harry and Fig and what exactly their relationship is to the House of Mystery. This book also takes on a very innovative type of storytelling. Within the house, stories are a currency, so in every issue of House of Mystery you get two stories for the price of one. The story within this issue was entitled “The War” with art by David Petersen (Mouse Guard) and was a story of a continuous war between birds and cats. While on the outside seeming to make no sense, it comes off as extremely relevant and telling of a violent human society. For anyone who is a fan of fantasy, reaching back to J.R.R. Tolkien, House of Mystery is a great book and has a lot to offer. With great art and great storytelling, who knows where this story might take us.