A special preview for the new DC Black Label horror title Nice House on the Lake asks “how do you think the world will end?” This question serves as the starting point for the twelve-issue “first season” of the title, written by James Tynion IV, with art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno, colors by Jordie Bellaire and letters by AndWorld Design. The first issue will be in stores and digital on June 1.
Tynion currently writes Batman for DC, and masterminds the franchise as a whole; in addition to his superhero work, he has established himself as one of comics’ premiere horror writers, with such works as The Woods, the Eisner Award-nominated Something is Killing the Children, as well as the conspiracy thriller title Department of Truth. Now Tynion is set to deliver another masterpiece in Nice House on the Lake.
A special preview, provided to AIPT, reveals both a plot summary for the book as well as preview pages showcasing Martinez Bueno’s pencils. A mysterious man named Walter has invited a group of his friends, old and new, to a weekend getaway at his lake house. The preview pages quickly clue readers in that this will be much more; an unnamed protagonist sits at the base of a large staircase surrounded by odd sculptures. Recounting the events that led her to this point, she flashes back to a conversation she had with Walter years before, who asked her “how do you think the world will end?” And it is this question that starts not only the book’s plot, but the themes it will explore as well.
In explaining his approach, Tynion hopes to touch a “deeper nerve” than standard superhero fare. He explained that he takes the things he is afraid of and turns them into monsters for his characters to fight; in a superhero comic, those monsters can be “punched” away, but in horror comics like the Conjuring and Nice House on the Lake, that is not the case, and instead, it becomes about sitting “with the horror rather than turning away.” Calling the story “character-driven” he promises it will explore cognitive dissonance, and the idea that the society is collapsing around you, as well as theme of friendship and how it can change over time.
The themes Tynion and Martinez Bueno will explore are ones on the minds of many today. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced isolation on people and made it difficult for them to connect. This, coupled with rapidly increasing income inequality and continuing racial strife, can lead to a sense of impending doom, making Walter’s question a timely one indeed.
Nice House on the Lake continues James Tynion IV’s winning streak in the horror genre, and it starts with a simple question: “how do you think the world will end?”
Source: AIPT