12 February 2014

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part XI: House of Mystery: The Space Between

Comic trade paperback, 121 pages
Published 2010 (contents: 2009)
Borrowed from the library
Read December 2013
House of Mystery: The Space Between

Writer: Matthew Sturges
Artists: Luca Rossi, José Marzán, Jr.
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Todd Klein
Short Story Writers: Bill Willingham, Chris Roberson
Short Story Artists: Jim Fern, Grazia Lobaccaro, Stefano Landini, Ralph Reese, Sergio Aragonés, Eric Powell, Neal Adams, Josh Adams, Gilbert Hernandez, David Hahn

In this volume, the House of Mystery ends up in the Space Between, and there's a dragon, and... well... I'm not really sure. Everyone talks a lot, but did the plot even advance? Only if adding more (meaningless) mysteries counts as advancement. The frame story grows a little frustrating in this volume, especially when characters in the bar pop up out of nowhere. (Maybe they were there before, but Sturges and Rossi didn't make them noticeable if so.) I do continue to like Rossi's art a lot-- simple lines, but very expressive, I think.

The best part of The Space Between is that it collects House of Mystery #13, containing three stories based on the number 13, spooky standalones with twist endings-- very much in the vein of the old House of Mystery comics of the 1960s and '70s. There's even a maze drawn by good old Sergio Aragonés!

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