Review by Ian Keogh

Walter is a man seemingly thriving on mystery, getting to know people for a bit, sparking unusual conversations, then dropping out of their lives. He had Ryan Kane speculate about the end of the world for a couple of weeks, and she’s surprised to hear from him a few years later, invited as part of a group to a getaway in a luxurious lakeside house. It’s all rather mysterious, but then James Tynion IV drops the killer bomb: the world has ended. Only the house on the lake and its surrounding woods remain. No-one can leave, but they’ll live in comfort as the only surviving humans.

Ten people have been invited, each with a particular talent or career, and with each new chapter the opening narrative voice switches. The present day is after everyone else has died. People have changed from the way they were when they arrived at the house, and definitely from the way they were in flashbacks showing how they knew Walter at earlier points in their lives. Those flashbacks build a picture of a person who’s lived a life and meant something to those he knew.

A dozen people with different looks over a period of years is a lot to keep straight despite artist Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s best attempts to ensure they can be distinguished. That’s on top of a dense script that refers to them by career-based nicknames and which can segue into transcript pages. Take it slowly is the best advice as everyone eventually drops into place.

Spanish artist Bueno has previously been seen in American comics, just credited as Álvaro Martínez, but it was on and off, and The Nice House on the Lake is the full showcase of his virtuosity. An example is just the technical care that’s taken. The house itself is the principal location, and Bueno knows that house inside and out, ensuring the views are always consistent. The people eventually become recognisable and the themed sculptures integral to the story are attractively designed as talking pieces.

The Big Brother TV show was surely a partial touchstone for Tynion in bouncing different people off one another within an enclosed environment, but there’s the added necessity of genuine survival, at first at least. Tynion’s thought through the emotional progressions different people would take, and the way in which relationships would disintegrate and form among a bunch of people all connected by the person who’s absent, and small pieces of information are gradually released. It’s all immensely involving, especially when people begin comparing notes.

Arriving at the final chapter here, the halfway point of the series, matters begin to accelerate and some explanations are disclosed, yet Tynion subverts that brilliantly, at least as far as the cast are concerned. Readers now know more, and tension has been set by the glimpses into the future. Part horror story, part character study, you’ll be so well and truly hooked Volume Two will be essential. Of course, there is now a Deluxe Edition…