The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1
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- Create Date：2022-02-12 07:52:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Tynion IV
- ISBN：1779514344
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
With Something Is Killing the Children and The Department of Truth， James Tynion IV has changed the face of horror in modern comics—now get ready for his most ambitious story yet， alongside his Detective Comics partner Álvaro Martínez Bueno！
Everyone who was invited to the house knows Walter—well， they know him a little， anyway。 Some met him in childhood; some met him months ago。 And Walter’s always been a little…off。
But after the hardest year of their lives， nobody was going to turn down Walter’s invitation to an astonishingly beautiful house in the woods， overlooking an enormous sylvan lake。 It’s beautiful， it’s opulent， it’s private—so a week of putting up with Walter’s weird little schemes and nicknames in exchange for the vacation of a lifetime？ Why not？
All of them were at that moment in their lives when they could feel themselves pulling away from their other friends; wouldn’t a chance to reconnect be…nice？ In The Nice House on the Lake， the overriding anxieties of the 21st century get a terrifying new face—and it might just be the face of the person you once trusted most。
Collects The Nice House on the Lake #1-6。
Everyone who was invited to the house knows Walter—well， they know him a little， anyway。 Some met him in childhood; some met him months ago。 And Walter’s always been a little…off。
But after the hardest year of their lives， nobody was going to turn down Walter’s invitation to an astonishingly beautiful house in the woods， overlooking an enormous sylvan lake。 It’s beautiful， it’s opulent， it’s private—so a week of putting up with Walter’s weird little schemes and nicknames in exchange for the vacation of a lifetime？ Why not？
All of them were at that moment in their lives when they could feel themselves pulling away from their other friends; wouldn’t a chance to reconnect be…nice？ In The Nice House on the Lake， the overriding anxieties of the 21st century get a terrifying new face—and it might just be the face of the person you once trusted most。
Collects The Nice House on the Lake #1-6。
Reviews
slashyrogue
，
I'll start this off by saying the art is gorgeous。 Some of the best art I've seen in a long time in a comic， though I have to say the ebook format did this no good。 It was hard to read at times - though I did read it- and I think zooming in on dialogue made it even less the way it should have been。 But the story。 Oh the story。 Random group of people， some friends and some strangers， gets asked to go to a fancy lake house by a weird friend and it turns out it's the end of the world？ Count me in。 I'll start this off by saying the art is gorgeous。 Some of the best art I've seen in a long time in a comic， though I have to say the ebook format did this no good。 It was hard to read at times - though I did read it- and I think zooming in on dialogue made it even less the way it should have been。 But the story。 Oh the story。 Random group of people， some friends and some strangers， gets asked to go to a fancy lake house by a weird friend and it turns out it's the end of the world？ Count me in。 This would make a FANTASTIC movie idea， I feel， and would've been much better suited for that because at certain points I had trouble differentiating between past and present， the ending of this volume especially。 I really did enjoy it， less than I probably would've reading a physical copy， but overall I'd recommend。 I'm interested in what happens next for sure！ Thanks to DC Entertainment and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Rachel
，
I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review！I want to preface this review by saying that I had some formatting issues on my end and every couple of pages had a very difficult time reading the dialogue and seeing the artwork。 I think that if I had read a physical copy or a larger format of this book it could have gotten up to 4 stars， but since I had a challenging time following the storyline I settled for 3 stars。 I really enjoyed the premise of this comic。 I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review！I want to preface this review by saying that I had some formatting issues on my end and every couple of pages had a very difficult time reading the dialogue and seeing the artwork。 I think that if I had read a physical copy or a larger format of this book it could have gotten up to 4 stars， but since I had a challenging time following the storyline I settled for 3 stars。 I really enjoyed the premise of this comic。 The idyllic， almost feels too good to be true house on the lake set aside from the rest of the world during an apocalypse was a great setting。 They juxtaposition between the two scenarios made the picture perfect house seem creepy and more like a mausoleum than a vacation house。 The large cast of characters felt a little unwieldy at first and I had a hard time keeping everyone straight。 Again， I think the small， distorted version I was reading contributed somewhat to this。 As the story progressed I got a better handle on who everyone was。 The artwork was very unique。 I overall enjoyed it but again， I feel like I didn't get the best look at it and might have enjoyed it even more with a different version of the comic。 The reason I requested this book was because I really liked "Someone is Killing the Children" and thought that， based off the author and the cover， I would really enjoy this。 Instead I just felt a little ambivalent toward it all。 Since it has amazing reviews everywhere I'm thinking it is more of a me/technology issue。 I may end up giving it another read once I can get my hands on a physical copy instead of digital and might bump up my rating after then。 。。。more
Jennifer
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So I love horror graphic novels， but this one was weird。 I feel there’s so much not explained。 The artwork was just ok。 I would not purchase this for myself。 I will not continue this series but based on the number of good reviews the problem must be with me！**thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc I received**
StrawberryShojo
，
Nice House on the Lake is an absolutely astounding piece of fiction。 If you’re a fan of thrillers， horror， mystery， or even a bit of 80’s pastiche， Nice House on the Lake has it all。 While there are many similar works you could compare this series to， this story raises the stakes and puts all the others to shame。Honestly， often when I read comics I usually end up feeling bad for the artists because so much of the time the story/writing really wasn’t worth all the trouble。 That’s not the case her Nice House on the Lake is an absolutely astounding piece of fiction。 If you’re a fan of thrillers， horror， mystery， or even a bit of 80’s pastiche， Nice House on the Lake has it all。 While there are many similar works you could compare this series to， this story raises the stakes and puts all the others to shame。Honestly， often when I read comics I usually end up feeling bad for the artists because so much of the time the story/writing really wasn’t worth all the trouble。 That’s not the case here。 The art and writing in Nice House on the Lake go hand-in-hand。 They work masterfully together; to the point where I feel that I have very little to criticize it on。 At first， I had trouble figuring out all the characters because there is a somewhat large cast。 However， you quickly get used to each of the character’s different voices and you can figure out who is talking solely by the text。 I’m impressed that the writer was able to create so many distinct voices; that’s not an easy thing to do。 Overall， I loved this story。 I’m immediately buying any new issues as they release。 。。。more
Dustin Moon
，
Loved this！ Tynion is officially on my “have to read” graphic novel list。
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher DC Entertainment for an advanced copy of this horror/ current events graphic novel。Everybody has that friend that makes you feel that you are important， that the two of you are the only people in the world， even when that person is with other people they call friends。 A friend that you can jokingly plan on how to kill everyone in the whole wide world。 A friend who invites you and those other people， those friends to a secluded mansion on in the woods， whe My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher DC Entertainment for an advanced copy of this horror/ current events graphic novel。Everybody has that friend that makes you feel that you are important， that the two of you are the only people in the world， even when that person is with other people they call friends。 A friend that you can jokingly plan on how to kill everyone in the whole wide world。 A friend who invites you and those other people， those friends to a secluded mansion on in the woods， where as the world burns and dies， you continue to live in comfort and style， knowing your best friend is looking out for you， while looking at you too。 In The Nice House on the Lake Volume 1， writer James Tynion IV， with artist Álvaro Martinez Bueno and colorist Jordie Bellaire turn an idyllic getaway into a last humans， possibly， on Earth story。 A group of people friends of a man named Walter find themselves， trapped in a magical house that never lacks food， movies， books， amenities and even has overnight deliveries， while the world burns on Twitter， outside of the force field that contains them。 Mysteries abound， symbols take on meanings， and Walter turns out to be more than human。 From here it gets weirder。 The story is very good。 Spooky， and with a strong COVID influence， and characters that stay with the reader。 Mr。 Tynion is a very good writer and is able to convey quite alot in just simple dialogue， much better than most comic writers。 The story， no matter how strange just seems to work， due to the strong cast， the writing and the art that can go from normal， to crazy and back again， without being distracting or losing the reader。 The characters seem to actually have relationships with each other， and the art conveys that well。 Another art team I think would have been a detriment to the story。 Having a cover from artist Bill Sienkiewicz， who is obvious influence is just more icing for this cake。A very good story that I hope continues to stay strong。 The plot is interesting， there is a sense that the story could go anywhere， and at this point I am not sure where it is going。 The characters are all interesting and clear individuals， and the art is really gorgeous and scary all on the same page。 Fans of Mr。 Tynion will enjoy this， as will fans of spooky stories and great comic art。 。。。more
April Taylor
，
Unlike Something is Killing the Children， this horror series starts off on a slow note。 Although the basic storyline is revealed almost immediately， it takes a while before the reader starts to care about what going on。 Fortunately， by the time the last issue in this collection ends， you should be very interested indeed。 I can't really say too much without giving away spoilers。 But what would you think if an old friend asked you to take a week's vacation in a beautiful house？ Sign me up， right？ Unlike Something is Killing the Children， this horror series starts off on a slow note。 Although the basic storyline is revealed almost immediately， it takes a while before the reader starts to care about what going on。 Fortunately， by the time the last issue in this collection ends， you should be very interested indeed。 I can't really say too much without giving away spoilers。 But what would you think if an old friend asked you to take a week's vacation in a beautiful house？ Sign me up， right？ Your initial instinct may be what keeps you alive， but it may also be what kills your soul。 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC。 This review contains my honest， unbiased opinion。 。。。more
Vicente Salazar
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So many mysteries， secrets， intrigues， with nothing clear and with more doubts than answers， it is really a very good horror comic and art only increases that atmosphere。
Rob
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Of all the recent James Tynion books I’ve been reading， this limited series is the one I’ve enjoyed the most。 Great panels， great concept， great execution
Shannon
，
Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6Total review score: 3。542 Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6Total review score: 3。542 。。。more
daniel
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read by single issues
Popcar2
，
How do you think the world will end？The first issue gives the impression that this might be ye olde horror story with its cliche "this is how it all started" intro and a massive exposition dump to introduce the large amount of characters， but man did this turn out to be GOOD。 The story constantly subverts expectations， and the art is fantastic。 It switches from a scribbly art style to a highly detailed painted art style in more intense scenes。 It's just really unsettling and well executed。I can' How do you think the world will end？The first issue gives the impression that this might be ye olde horror story with its cliche "this is how it all started" intro and a massive exposition dump to introduce the large amount of characters， but man did this turn out to be GOOD。 The story constantly subverts expectations， and the art is fantastic。 It switches from a scribbly art style to a highly detailed painted art style in more intense scenes。 It's just really unsettling and well executed。I can't say much about the story without spoiling anything， and this graphic novel is best experienced going in blind， so if you're interested you should definitely just go buy this volume。 Though the writing isn't perfect， it's definitely one of the most entertaining reads this year。 。。。more
OmniBen
，
（Zero spoiler review）Snowflakes， avert your eyes， for you may not appreciate my opinions on this book。 First of all， I don't get what all the fuss is about James Tynion， and no， I won't give him his pretentious numbered title。 Something is Killing the Children was one of the most average books I've read all year。 How this thing got hyped to hell and back， I'll never know。 Except maybe for the fact that its 2021 and barely better than average is now excellent， given so much of the steaming shit w （Zero spoiler review）Snowflakes， avert your eyes， for you may not appreciate my opinions on this book。 First of all， I don't get what all the fuss is about James Tynion， and no， I won't give him his pretentious numbered title。 Something is Killing the Children was one of the most average books I've read all year。 How this thing got hyped to hell and back， I'll never know。 Except maybe for the fact that its 2021 and barely better than average is now excellent， given so much of the steaming shit we are forced to subsist on。 Given this fact， and Tynion's other notable 'tropes'， I wasn't exactly going in to this one with a glass half full mentality， but the art and the initial dialogue had me turning my pessimism into optimism pretty dang quick。 That is of course， until not even halfway through the first issue， Jamesy boy had me perilously， PERILOUSLY close to scrunching this up and throwing it away， which would have been no mean feat， given I was reading it digitally。 And an even greater feat， given at a quarter of the way in， I was fast getting on board with it all。 But then， you go and have characters wearing face masks and getting temperature checked to enter private residences （which has NO bearing on anything thereafter and was clearly only put in to signal the virtue）。 Not to mention overtly gay men and trans man characters quickly filling up the roster。 But hey， Tynion gonna Tynion。 It is only because of the amazing art and admittedly interesting premise that I stuck with it， but hot damn， was I ready to walk。 Having not walked， I must admit， for the majority of this story， I was pretty glad I didn't。 I love the premise， and still do。 The initial issues with its little character moments， details and worldbuilding is great。 The artistic license taken and the thought put into the different narrative structure was interesting， and it even laid off the '2021-ness' after a little while， so I could actually invest in the story， rather than feel as though I'm reading a political manifesto of some kind。 Now， stories where mystery continues to build eventually get to the point where things need to start to contract， rather than expand。 Where answers need to start coming in for all the questions the reader is asking。 And it is usually at this point that stories like these start to shit the bed。 With whatever awesomeness is being played out， or invented within the readers head， rarely matching the reality of the answers we get on the page。 Sadly， TNHOTL is no exception。 With the first big reveal we get， being not only an excuse to go and drag all of that 2021 back into the story， but the contraction of the story didn't match the expectations of whatever I had jangling around inside my twisted little mind。 The contraction has begun， and I'm not entirely happy about it。 Issue 2-4 or 5 were really good， and I could have gladly spent three times as long following the characters around the house， doing charactery things。 But alas， unless Tynion is going already trying to find ways to expand this due to its popularity （which wouldn't surprise me）， we aren't getting anymore slow paced build up， but rather the inevitable slow descent towards a disappointing conclusion。 I hope to be proven wrong， but frankly， I don't think I will be， personally。 But even franklier， the fact that I made it past issue one is something in itself。 Big time props again though to Alvaro Martinez for the art and Jordy Bellaire for the colours。 3/5OmniBen。 。。。more
Sara
，
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library。A group loose associates find themselves in a large， extravagant house on a beautiful lake， seemingly without other people or houses around them。 They all discover they know Walter - some grew up with him， some crossed paths with him only a few months ago - but he was always heavily invested in them， someone who was right there at the right time and maybe faded away since。 Then， Walter appears in the house and explains his intentions。 He r Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library。A group loose associates find themselves in a large， extravagant house on a beautiful lake， seemingly without other people or houses around them。 They all discover they know Walter - some grew up with him， some crossed paths with him only a few months ago - but he was always heavily invested in them， someone who was right there at the right time and maybe faded away since。 Then， Walter appears in the house and explains his intentions。 He reveals he is part of an alien race， and his people intend to destroy the Earth， but he was tasked with picking the best of humanity to be saved。 They will all be safe from the coming apocalypse in this lake house， where they will also have all their needs provided for， but everyone else they know and love will be horrifically killed。 And they’re supposed to be thankful。 But not all of them can sit idly by and enjoy the bounty of their sanctuary。 Some of them start exploring their idilic prison and discover what was probably meant to be hidden from them forever。This volume was pretty intense， especially with the Earth being destroyed so quickly in the first chapter。 After the first one， each chapter focuses on a different person。 It might helpful for readers to keep tabs somehow on who everyone is as they’re introduced in issue one with their titles， because the little extras， like transcripts of scenes we don’t see， refer to them as their titles instead of their names。 Their symbols appear on the front cover and aren’t really explained until the sixth chapter。 Aside from these things that make the plot a little hard to follow， this is a great thriller with some pretty big twists and turns。 Tynion is also a master at crafting characters and making sure they are different people。 The structure of each chapter is the same， but it doesn't feel like one narrative voice is speaking throughout the entire volume。Bueno's illustration are colored beautifully by the skillful Bellaire， and there are several panels and pages full of gorgeous detail。 There were many times where I paused to take in a full page of illustrations because there was so much to look at。 The people are a little less detailed， especially Walter， which gives him an otherworldly presence on the page。 Sara's Rating: 9/10Suitability Level: Adult 。。。more
Jamie
，
This was great！ The art is incredible and the story is genuinely surprising。 I have no idea where this is going， but I can’t wait to find out！
Glenn
，
This series is just great。 Tynion is killing it this year。
John Funderburg
，
One of the most compelling books that came out this year。
Sevia
，
Možná až trochu moc přechválené， ale určitě se těším na pokračování a Tynion má můj obdiv za práci s postavami i za příběh。 Je vidět， jak má všechno do detailu promyšlené。
Devann
，
When I first read this I gave it 4 stars but after thinking about it for a few weeks I think I'm going to bump it up to five because it really is a very unique and interesting concept， it's just not what I was expecting from the description and therefore made me feel kind of disappointed in the moment。 The description makes it seem like it will be a fairly classic group of friends at a lake house slasher type horror story but it's WAY more sci-fi than horror and while I think that definitely mak When I first read this I gave it 4 stars but after thinking about it for a few weeks I think I'm going to bump it up to five because it really is a very unique and interesting concept， it's just not what I was expecting from the description and therefore made me feel kind of disappointed in the moment。 The description makes it seem like it will be a fairly classic group of friends at a lake house slasher type horror story but it's WAY more sci-fi than horror and while I think that definitely makes it stand out more， if you're going into this wanting something more simple and to the point you're going to understandably feel a bit off about it。 I'll definitely be continuing with the series because it really picked up towards the end especially but just be aware going into it that it's a genre mash-up and definitely not what you're expecting。 。。。more
Kurt Lorenz
，
As long as the next volume sticks the landing， this could become one of those series that I recommend to everyone forever。
Matty Dub
，
Tynion cements himself as one of the most original and imaginative creators with this bit of awesomeness。A top 5 book for me this year and probably his best arc written to date。The visuals provided by Alvaro Martinez Bueno and Jordie Bellaire perfectly complement the tale。
SuperSillySerra
，
One of the best series I have read all year。It's the end of the world and Walter just wants to keep his friends safe。 Why not all stay together at the nice house on the lake？ I like Tynion， but he isn't one of my favorites。 For whatever reason， I have always taken his stuff lightly。 Not that any of it is bad， just not for me。 This series has me second guessing myself。 There are so many great qualities; the story， the art， the character designs。 Even the page layouts and how they present informat One of the best series I have read all year。It's the end of the world and Walter just wants to keep his friends safe。 Why not all stay together at the nice house on the lake？ I like Tynion， but he isn't one of my favorites。 For whatever reason， I have always taken his stuff lightly。 Not that any of it is bad， just not for me。 This series has me second guessing myself。 There are so many great qualities; the story， the art， the character designs。 Even the page layouts and how they present information is mind blowing！ Could definitely see COVID\Cabin Fever being an inspiration。 I think this one is going to win a few awards。 。。。more
Travis
，
So far have yet to read anything by James Tynion that I didn't love and this is no exception。 So far have yet to read anything by James Tynion that I didn't love and this is no exception。 。。。more
Mike Hughes
，
We're definitely in the middle of an apocalyptic lit trend， which isn't surprising as it's hard to check the damn weather without considering the world ending in my daughter's life time。 In the last year alone， I've read a couple of new books that explore apocalypse through upperclass neoliberal perspectives （A Children's Bible， Leave the World Behind）。 I appreciate the shared themes of exploring the world we already live in （disparity， lack of fairness， need to downplay personal culpability， cr We're definitely in the middle of an apocalyptic lit trend， which isn't surprising as it's hard to check the damn weather without considering the world ending in my daughter's life time。 In the last year alone， I've read a couple of new books that explore apocalypse through upperclass neoliberal perspectives （A Children's Bible， Leave the World Behind）。 I appreciate the shared themes of exploring the world we already live in （disparity， lack of fairness， need to downplay personal culpability， crumbling capitalism， climate doom， lack of control） through apocalyptic storytelling， I just don't understand why these stories seem to be so embarrassed of the fact that they're speculative fiction- relegating anything fantastic or mysterious to cleanly edited sentences there at the end of chapters to simply move the plot along （of course， that’s a lie- any genre fiction fan understands the bias against genre fiction， the relegation to “lowbrow”- this embarrassment by those considered “legitimate” artists is nothing new）。 Thank god for comics， an art form that’s rarely given the option to fall into pretense。 Tynion surprised me here by making another one of these stories not just bearable， but impulsively readable。 It's full on sci-fi- stuffed with mysteries， puzzles， and melting faces， but this playfulness creates so much room for thematic storytelling。 The questioning of culpability， reliability of memory and narrative， and fishbowl look at survivors in the midst of the unspeakable all have deep resonance here， and are all the stronger because of the fantasy elements， told with incredible balance and pacing。 Tyrion just keeps getting better; he's becoming one of my favorite active creators- having this and Dept of Truth hit shelves at the same time is really impressive。 。。。more
Bobzen
，