Book 97
The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A personal disappointment for me was my comic book missed that I asked for this to be on my pull list and by the time I got there (I live fairly distant) I missed out on several issues so I'm VERY glad to see them put into trade paperback form fairly quickly. I've become a fan of Tynion's work more or less. This one was on the more side.
Walter is playing a long game. He's made friends throughout high school and college and into adult life with a handful of friends. He invites them to the titular lake house in Wisconsin (as a former resident of that state I love that his work keeps getting set there). They all have symbols as a place setting if you will, The Artist, The Doctor, The Pianist, The Writer etc. Most of them know each other either well or at least are acquainted except Ryan the artist (they all thought she should have been Reg who was Walter's artist friend for years).
They think they're there to relax in an idyllic setting only to find Walter circling back to a question he'd been asking them off and on over the years: how do they think the world will end. Guess what? The world ends except for them.
It's easy to see this is an experiment for Walter and his people. The lake house is literally one big lab and they're the rats in the cage waiting to be fed and have their other needs met. The group is a diverse mix of ethnic groups as well as het/gay/trans people.
Each chapter is from one characters' pov as they try to cope with the reality of Walter and what is happening in the world and how they can't get past the invisible barrier locking them into paradise. This is not that original of an idea but it is an interesting one. It's also easy to have this one go astray. I'm hoping this isn't planned as a long series as I think it would work better shorter (but feel free to prove me wrong). I like the gritty art. It works here. I'm looking forward to more
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