House of Whispers #3 – Nalo Hopkinson, Writer; Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Artist; John Rauch, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The residents of the House of Whispers have found themselves stranded in the Dreaming in House of Whispers #3, and to say the transition is going to be bumpy is putting it lightly
This third issue is easily the most violent and disturbing of the series yet, and as such, it was my least favorite, but there’s clearly a lot of mythology left to unravel here. As Mistress Erzulie, injured in last issue’s crash, is tended to by Cain as the pirate Turtle smokes, Erzulie is introduced to residents of the Dreaming, and she’s not in the mood, especially once Merv Pumpkinhead starts opining about his view of outsiders.
She eventually explodes in a fit of violence, gets pushed into the river by Turtle – where she has a strange, transformative journey that includes becoming a mermaid, encountering Uncle Monday again, and coming out fully healed. The visuals of this segment are great, although it’s definitely a bit too full of mythology.
Once Erzulie is restored – healed but still without her powers, she has to deal with her tricky nephew Shakpana, who is quickly taking on the role of a Loki in this series. It’s clear he’s going to be a major thorn in her side as the series goes on.
The second major storyline of the arc has nothing to do with the House of Whispers, though – it’s a plot dealing with the young couple that set up the series. When we last left off, one of them – Latoya, who slipped into a coma – had become convinced that she had died. After Maggie’s attempts to snap her out of her fun fail, they go for a walk – only for Latoya to discover that she has the ability to transfer her affliction to other people, making them believe themselves dead as well. It’s an intriguingly dark twist to the series. Much like its sister titles in the Sandman Universe, there’s a lot of mythology at work here – maybe too much, but I definitely appreciate the ambition.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
