Eisner Award for Best Writer for "The Department of Truth", "The Nice House on the Lake", "Something is Killing the Children", "Wynd"

Pieced together over the six issues, these stories paint a complicated portrait of Walter; a being of immense power conflicted with his own role in the imminent culling of humanity. He admits at one point that he did not think that he would come to like, let alone love, so many of the people he crossed paths with during his time on Earth. Beneath his cool and aloof exterior, there appears to be a war raging inside of Walter; a growing sympathy and compassion for humanity pitted against the ruthless machinations of his unseen superiors.

Couch, Aaron (2022-11-14). "James Tynion IV Launches Dark Horse Comic Book Line (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2022-11-14. Too many characters. I kept confusing them til the very end. Oh no, something happened to one of the characters, which one was that again, etc. Worst thing is probably that it doesn't matter that much which character is which. And that is only a basic outline of the otherwise character-driven series. What makes Nice House such an essential story is not its science-fiction-tinged horror plot—Martinez Bueno's body horror is strangely gorgeous and unparalleled—but rather its unflinching look at complicated human relationships. As the characters' relationships to each other and to their old friend Walter unfurl over the course of the series, readers come to understand that the horror doesn't arise from the aliens and the apocalypse. The horror is Walter's betrayal of their trust—and so their betrayal of Walter in return.

The end of the first arc. It's pretty satisfying conclusion, and unless I hear great things about the second, I'm fine to get off the ride here. The explanation for what is happening is.. unexciting..? I believe the ending of this volume is supposed to be a kind of twist, and it's more of a sigh, really. All of the characters are a little hard to keep apart from one another, which is the main reason I'm only giving this 4 stars: I think a cast of characters this large doesn't work well in a graphic novel unless the art style lends well to telling everyone apart, and that isn't the case here. (They're also mostly obnoxious and fairly unlikable people, which is something I weirdly enjoy in stories, but if you don't, YMMV on the overall storytelling.) Tynion IV and Blanco Expose the Internet's Secrets in New Image Series (Exclusive Preview)". CBR. 2023-03-17 . Retrieved 2023-07-05.This is, admittedly, a fun story that has a lot of heart to it. Walter is an interesting character and we really feel his struggle, though still empathize more with the others who we unfortunately only really know in their context to Walter and never quite get to know as themselves much. I do enjoy how much this series is sort of a critique on millennial friend groups and culture, with some wry and subtle digs that amuse me, and the group dynamic really works though sometimes it’s tough to know who is who. Overall I wanted to like this more than I did and despite some pretty mind blowing ideas and explanations, I think this is where I’ll drop out of the series while still very eager to read his other works, particularly continuing Something is Killing the Children. Not a bad series, but the cumbersome and clunky aspects can drag the otherwise imaginative and creepy fun. Batman Gambit: It's revealed in the final issue of Cycle One that the plan to make the housemates ultimately accept their situation in the house isn't Walter's at all; it's Norah's, and she devised it based on her ability to predict how the group would react to the situation, and what scenarios would lead them to a path of ultimate acceptance. Walter is initially hesitant to use her plan, but after his own attempts to get them on board utterly fail (which Norah also predicted), he agrees to try it her way. And it works. But I did enjoy the various aspects of the story like the weird sculptures scattered around the compound, and the questions arising from the reveals: why is there a symbol for each person, why can no-one remember travelling to the house, how is the world ending and why, and, of course, Walter himself. I wonder if the name is derived from Walter Tevis, the author of, among others, The Man Who Fell to Earth? Walter gives off a vibe similar to Newton from that novel. After they arrive, however, they soon realize the horrible truth: Walter is not human; this trip was the culmination of a decades-spanning plot to eradicate the human race; and everyone they have ever known and loved – save for each other – is dead. Confronted with such an enormous and intimate act of betrayal, each of the ten guests are faced with a defining question: Will they lash out against their benevolent alien jailer in a bid to escape, or make peace with the unforgivable? And then there was the explanations of all the machinations behind the scenes. To be honest, I actually feel like I would have enjoyed this more if Tynion and company had actually left this part unexplained and let the readers create their own theories as to what was going on.

Coming out in 2021, it was interesting to see the pandemic briefly alluded to, though reading it in 2023 it was difficult to not compare the opening of the book to the film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery as both have an extremely similar, mysterious set-up (and oddly both have someone working on a Democratic Party campaign). There are A LOT of characters, but this guide came in handy: Adams, Tim (2018-03-24). "Two Justice League Series Announced from Tynion, Martinez, Williamson & Sejic". CBR . Retrieved 2022-07-13. Truitt, Brian. "Batman springs 'Eternal' in 2014 with new weekly series". USA TODAY . Retrieved 2022-07-13. the intersections of structure, the intersections of body and mind and time and place and space both outer and inner... they trap these guests in this nice house on the lake. will there be an escape possible, in the secret places in this superstructure, in its shadowy spaces, its angles and substructures? they can only hope, these permanent residents of this nice house on the lake. This was interesting to read directly after plowing through three volumes of Something is Killing… in a weekend. The two are quite different in tone, while both being horror, and this one is less fun and boisterous but more atmospheric and tense. While the art is fantastic in both, I prefer his art style in Something and this one can sometimes be hard to tell characters apart but also things being fairly obscured is part of the intent. Walter is very similar to the boy in the first arc of Something, and not just that both are drawn fairly similar with their big glasses you never see through but both have an element where in high school they were encouraged to ask their best friend to be their boyfriend, were rejected, and still maintain a friendship that is making them awkward. Comparatively though, this one felt a big of a slog, starting strong and ending strong, but sort of languishing in the middle (though Dave being goofy is pretty charming). Each issue being told in what appears to be a present set decently into the future where they all seem like battle hardened dystopia vets leads me to think this is only going to get epic.Not as good as the first volume. Still a crazy good storyline though. Probably should have reread the first volume as a refresh. Hidden Depths: As Walter points out, David can be "pretty stupid" a lot of the time, but he is a remarkably perceptive individual who understands people. David is the first to realise that the guests can't remember how they arrived at the Nice House, and that they can't die. He also gives Molly an empathic speech about her suicidal tendencies. Ryan Cane is a 26-year-old artist living in New York City alongside her circle of friends. One summer, she is invited by a friend named Walter to stay with ten of their other friends at a nice house on the lake. This reads like it's supposed to be a character piece, but we only get to see the characters in reference to Walter. I know almost nothing about the characters. Andreeva, Nellie (2016-12-02). " 'The Woods' TV Series Based On Boom! Comic In Works At Syfy With Brad Peyton". Deadline . Retrieved 2022-07-13.