House of Mystery
Vertigo Comics has been releasing new House of Mystery comics based on the 1950s series for some time now, and I just haven't been up on it. But you can imagine my surprise when I grab my mail and find a horrifying mask on the comic's cover. This Halloween special contains a creative team of writers and artists working together on Halloween stories that center around evil masks of some sort, with a framing story that ties all the shorts together.
Each short is drawn and written by different writers and artists, and each showcase a series within the DC Comics line-up. There's a Merv Pumpkinhead story, a Madame Xanadu short, a Hellblazer vignette, and even a peek at a new comic coming out called I, Zombie.
The framing story reminds a lot of that old Goosebumps book The Haunted Mask, where a girl tries on a creepy mask and cannot get it off. It seems as though she is "seeing" the stories that we read, which does a great job in tying all of the shorts into a cohesive whole. It's also drawn in that recognizable '50s style, that works as a throwback and homage to the original House of Mystery.
The great part about the shorts is that they give you a concise story that begin and end quickly. There's no unnecessary exposition, no cliffhangers, just all-out Halloween action. This is what I look for in a Halloween special; it shouldn't be a long, tedious endeavor that requires background knowledge of the comic, but a quick and entertaining treat, which is what House of Mystery does throughout. Also, if you don't like a story, it's over in a few pages.
But I can't imagine anyone not enjoying these rich plots. I think the Merv Pumpkinhead tale is my favorite, a light-hearted look at the lives of monsters on Halloween, and the problems with drinking and haunting. But all of the stories have some great aspects: Hellblazer for its ghastly demon, I, Zombie for its snarky narrator, and Madame Xanadu's mind-bending twists.
House of Mystery does everything well - an anthology series with a main theme wrapping it all together, allusions to horror comics of old, and gory, frightful stories fit for the gloomiest of Halloweens. Package that up with a star-studded group of creative individuals and you have yourself a comic that knows what its fans want - plus that mask is wicked creepy!
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