House of Mystery (2008 Series) #4
August 9, 2008
House of Mystery #4 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi, Steve Rolston & Sam Weber
Fig is having a hard time accepting that she’s trapped in the House of Mystery, but none of her efforts to escape have proven productive. Cress, meanwhile, thinks she has her all figured out. The rest of the people stuck in the house have found a rather therapeutic way to deal with their imprisonment, but when Fig tries it out, she takes it a little too far. The main story here is gaining traction — we’re figuring out more about our characters, and I find myself hoping we find out more about their respective pasts through the story-in-a-story device. Speaking of which, this issue may be my favorite story-in-a-story yet. “Familiar” tells us of a fairy tale princess exiled to Earth to escape a war. Her guardian takes a liking to our world, though, and may stand in the way of her rightful return. I really like the format of this series, and how the middle tale has so many possibilities. This is a series that could really support virtually every kind of story. I’ve got my fingers crossed that Sturges will take advantage of that format and really go wild in the months to come.
Rating: 8/10
