House of Mystery (Vertigo)

House of Mystery is an American occult and horror-themed comic book anthology series, based on the House of Mystery series that ran from 1951 to 1983. The writers, Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges (credited as "Matthew Sturges"),[2][3][4] debuted the series in July 2008 under the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics.[5][6]

This article is about the second volume of the horror comic book series. For the first volume, see House of Mystery.
House of Mystery
Cover of House of Mystery #1 (July 2008).
Art by Sam Weber.
Publication information
PublisherVertigo
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication dateJuly 2008 - October 2011[1]
No. of issues42 + 2 Halloween Specials
Creative team
Written byLilah Sturges (credited as "Matthew Sturges")
Bill Willingham
Artist(s)Luca Rossi
Letterer(s)Todd Klein
Colorist(s)Lee Loughridge
Editor(s)Shelly Bond
Angela Rufino

Plot

Cain (of Cain and Abel) attempts to return to the House of Mystery, his home in the Dreaming, and finds that it has disappeared. Seven years later, in Texas, a former architecture student named Bethany "Fig" Keele flees her burning house, saving only a handful of sketches she once made of a house from her dreams. Keele is pursued by a "Pair of the Conception", agents of an entity known as the "Omneity"; they are two people, a male and a female, always holding hands. If they let go of one another, they will disappear. The pair chases her through a door and unwittingly into the House of Mystery, where she meets the inhabitants of the house bar and discovers the terms of what is apparently her imprisonment. Everyone must pay for their drinks with stories, and no one can leave without being picked up by the house's mysterious coachman. None of the house's occupants are sure why some people might get to leave and others not, so each person's stay is at least ostensibly eternal until the coachman inexplicably turns up to take them away. This doesn't stop some of the inhabitants from trying to get out, nor does it stop Cain from attempting to get back in.[5]

Collected editions

The series is being collected into trade paperback:

  • Room and Boredom (collects House of Mystery #1–5, 128 pages, January 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2079-2)[7]
  • Love Stories for Dead People (collects House of Mystery #6–10, 128 pages, June 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2276-5)[8]
  • The Space Between (collects House of Mystery #11–15, 128 pages, January 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2581-0)[9]
  • The Beauty of Decay (collects House of Mystery #16–20 & Halloween Special 2009, 160 pages, released July 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2756-2)[10]
  • Under New Management (collects House of Mystery #21–25, 128 pages, released January 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-2981-8)[11]
  • Safe As Houses (collects House of Mystery #26–30, 144 pages, released May 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3154-5)[12]
  • Conception (collects House of Mystery #31–35 & Halloween Special 2010, 160 pages, released December 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3264-1)[13]
  • Desolation (collects House of Mystery #36–42, 160 pages, released August 2012, ISBN 978-1-4012-3495-9)[14]

References
  1. "Vertigo Comics House of Mystery #42". DC Comics. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  2. Sturges & Willingham on the New House of Mystery Archived 2009-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, Newsarama, February 20, 2008
  3. Sturges is Big Brother of Vertigo’s "House of Mystery", Comic Book Resources, May 6, 2008
  4. House Showing: Matt Sturges on House of Mystery, Newsarama, February 17, 2009
  5. Irvine, Alex (2008), "House of Mystery", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The Vertigo Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 88, ISBN 0-7566-4122-5, OCLC 213309015
  6. NYCC: Vertigo - Welcome to the Edge, Comic Book Resources, April 19, 2008
  7. Room and Boredom details at DC
  8. Love Stories for Dead People details at DC
  9. The Space Between details at DC
  10. The Beauty of Decay details at DC
  11. Under New Management details at DC
  12. Safe As Houses details at DC
  13. Conception details at DC
  14. Desolation details at DC
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