The Nice House by the Sea #6 – James Tynion IV, Writer; Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Month in and month out, I continue to be stunned by just how good this complex sci-fi horror series is and how it manages to wring just as much tension out of relationships as it does out of the friggin’ apocalypse. This issue pulls back the curtain a lot more on Max, the mysterious second alien of Walter’s species who is becoming one of the main villains of the series. As her house of elites, power brokers, billionaires, and cruel geniuses plots an attack on the Lake House, we flash back to her initial role as a close friend and ex of Walter’s – and a significant other of Norah’s during her pre-transition days. Max came in and out of their lives, before eventually dumping Norah in an abrupt way and sending her on a years’ long spiral that eventually led to her realizing who she really was and transitioning. The letters depicting these years to use are some of the best breakup writing I’ve ever seen.
But of course, Max isn’t just a historical character – she’s all too present in their world, as the two houses come ever closer to conflict. Max has been lurking on the fringes, not engineering the conflict but not disrupting her little experiment either. There are plenty of subplots in this issue, as some people from the Lake House get closer to the core of the experiment and possibly a way out, but the heart of the issue is a showdown in the rain between Norah and Max, as the two ex-lovers reunite and hash out years and years of raw feelings. Norah has become the heart and soul of this series, with her character journey being fascinating and her larger role in Walter’s scheme bringing her closer than anyone else to the truth. And now we’re here – with her facing what might be the most critical choice of the entire series. If the first volume was any indication, there should be six more issues here – and they’re likely to be brilliant.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
