House of Mystery #5 (Vertigo – Sturges / Rossi / Murphy)
Part 5 of “Room and Boredom.” In the extremely destructive conclusion to the first story arc, Fig Keele has literally brought down the House, but couldn’t she have waited until everyone got out alive first? Plus: Sean Murphy illustrates “Jordan’s Tale,” in which the world’s worst storyteller relates an anecdote involving vampire cats.
Matthew Sturges, the brilliant mind behind Jack of Fables and Salvation Run, doesn’t quite follow-through in this finale to his opening arc in this series. House of Mystery continues to taunt and pull along the readers in the overall sense, but very little conclusion is given to the big picture here.
We do get a back story on Fig Keele and her relationship to the House. The House is twisted inside, emotionally, and Fig is the only on that understands and can help. Fig, a college drop-out dreamer who fantasizes about architecture is connected to the creation of the house and she talks to it (as it turns out she can talk to most houses), and she counsels the House much like a disgruntled teenager, into righting itself and not self-destructing.
But do we found out the connection to Cain and Able? How about the spooky shrouded gliding couple? How about who is behind what happens here at the House? There is a resounding silence in this ambiguous closing as it relates to the history of the House, which Fig claims to have designed (or were the designs placed in her mind?) Hopefully the next arc “Love Stories for Dead People” can help us out as we delve deeper into the regulars in the bar. The story within a story of this issue “Jordan’s Tale” is uneventful but visually fun.
Well written, but frustrating for the reader.
Issue Grade: B-
