James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s ensemble horror series returns this week just as the plot really thickens. The Nice House by the Sea #2 revealed the cast of The Nice House by the Lake has entered the “sea” world, and now it’s time to share information. They killed the alien who put them at the lake, Walter, and now it’s time to see what to do next. The problem is that the “lake” people weren’t the best of the best, and that could be an issue, as is the “sea” people.
The Nice House by the Sea #3 opens with Sam in the red, dystopian, burning world of the future. He’s filling us in on Walter and how there was jealousy between the group. Was it love, and will that animosity continue in the group in the present?
From there, this issue delves into the meet-up between the “lake” people and Oliver. He’s the only one in the new sea location who knows about them. Tynion and Bueno continue to drop little details, sprinkling things like an entire city street for folks to shop in to create some normalcy. The driving element between the “sea” and “lake” people is made quite clear, which will likely create some rough tension as we advance.
The art continues to bleed into chaotic weirdness thanks to color choices and the insane coming apart of the alien in the sea location. Jordie Bellaire’s colors feel more chaotic than ever in this issue, possibly to convey the growing tension and imminent danger the characters are under. The rendering of these characters feels dark and macabre, juxtaposed well with photographs from before the world was destroyed.
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Outside of that meet-up, the mysterious dog continues to be listening in. This time, Sam is frustrated with the group and venting. The threat of the aliens looms as the “sea” alien doesn’t yet know about Walter’s death unless the dog is an alien of great importance.
An ongoing gripe is how tricky it is to remember all these characters’ names and backstories. There’s a handy guide at the back of the book, but with the monthly release schedule, I tend to go back and look at previous issues to remember the complex characters. Name tags every time a character first comes up would be helpful, though stylistically, I can see it as a drag.
While the tension continues to ramp up, this issue moves very slowly. The plot progression is maybe a couple of minutes, which feels too slow on some scale. At the same time, though, the future world on fire the characters keep talking from seems to be an inevitability, thanks to some hints here and there.
The Nice House by the Sea #3 is another disturbing issue in a great horror story. The weirdness ramps up quite a bit as an eventual conflict is bound to strike, leaving you wanting more.
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