Warning: Spoilers for The Nice House by the Sea #1
Summary
After only a short wait for the surprise sequel to the critically acclaimed horror hit, the preview forThe Nice House by the Seadropped, and fans can expect another excellent existential scare.The Nice House on the Lakeswept the Eisner Awards in 2022-2023, receiving awards for Best Writer and Best New Series. FromDC Comics’Black Label imprint, the powerhouse team of James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno introduced a slow-burn horror like no other with a startling apocalyptic tale, and now its sequel has finally arrived.
The Nice House by the Sea#1by Tynion and Martínez Bueno opens just like its predecessor, following the exact sequence of storytelling and buckling up for the familiar ride. Beginning with a fourth-wall-breaking testimonial, the atmosphere is morosely tense. The speaker opens up about the end of the world and shows a flashback where he warns somebody of this coming end.
Whereas the firstNice Housestarted with the world in flames, there is something calmly unsettling about this opening, with a man in his swim trunks on the beach -it’s only when the panels zoom out to show all the skeletons that the horror begins.
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Tynion and Martínez Bueno’s Nice House Gets a Beach Theme
Image from the Cover ofThe Nice House on the Lake#1
The Nice House on the Lakebegan witha classic horror plot that quickly subverted clichés.Ten people arrive at an idyllic lake house, only to discover something amiss about their host, and their entire world devolves.Nice Housediffers from traditional apocalyptic genre tropes, however, when it shifts into sci-fi territory, revealing that the host, Walter, is an alien, and he has chosen and gathered specific humans together to study them. The plot is suddenly twisted unexpectedly, which is what gave the originalNice Housesuch a good reception - and it looks like its sequel is on the same track.
For fans of James Tynion IV, check out his other celebrated horror comic with artist Werther Dell’Edera,Something is Killing the Children, available now in collected edition from BOOM! Studios.
The Nice House By the Seais already playing against expectations with subtle twists right from the very beginning. In its predecessor, the characters and tenants of the house didn’t know the premise or even the looming condition of the world.By the Seaimmediately reverses its own established tropesby giving its characters the knowledge that the world is going to end - and soon.Not only is this an exciting twist for a character in an apocalyptic story, but to repeat the same method for a sequel would leave the story tired and stale.It seems that Tynionand Martínez Bueno are sticking with what works - mainly, surprises all the way.
A Nice House at the End of the World (For the Second Time)
Walter, the Original Antagonist, by Martínez Bueno
Seeing how Walter, the original series' non-traditional “antagonist”, was a black sheep of his own alien kind, the question is left wide open as to justwhat makesBy the Sea’snew antagonist, Max, and this pocket universe worth investigating. In any case, fans can expect not only surprises but the return of the beloved aspects of the firstNice House, which has been teased since its arc ended. From the realistic dialogue to the dreamy art, DC is truly utilizing its Black Label for good storytelling outside capes and crises.
It seems as though, at least in this case, a sequel is finally going to live up to the original. It isn’t a good horror comic unless something jumps out and scares you, and inThe Nice HouseBythe Sea,it’s those trusted expectations that are going to giveDC Comicsfans the world-ending scare they really want. Just be sure to read this one with the lights on.
The Nice House By the Sea #1is available July 24th from DC Comics!
