The World Outside Your Window

Art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

The Question by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodríguez. Main cover by Rodríguez. Variant covers by (2) Jorge Jiménez, (3) Álvaro Martínez Bueno and (4) Mikel Janín. Out in June.

"And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… please put your hands together for Zatanna Zatara! The greatest entertainer in the crappiest hotel and casino of Las Vegas!

Not that the ritzier spots on the Strip haven’t come calling, of course. But since a devastating instance of magic gone wrong that forever changed the course of her childhood, Zatanna would much rather live out her days as a top-hat-and-fishnets-wearing sleight-of-hand stage act than bother with real magic. These days, she doesn’t think much of the past at all.

That is, until an interdimensional vortex cracks open during Zatanna’s act, and a terrifying demon crawls out to kill her. If she hopes to survive the horrors that follow it, she’ll need to take herself and her power seriously for the first time in a long time—and fast. Because when it comes to your past, you can run… but you can’t hide forever!"

Wonder Woman by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

The Nice House on the Lake Vol 1 #5 (Cover art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno)

Álvaro Martínez Bueno, Poison Ivy

“Kirby and me” by Álvaro Martínez Bueno (2017)

Nice House On The Lake Heads To The Sea This Summer From DC Comics: First Look

James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno are launching a sequel to Nice House on the Lake titled Nice House By The Sea. Get your first look here.

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Nice House On The Lake Heads To The Sea This Summer From DC Comics: First Look

James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno are launching a sequel to Nice House on the Lake titled Nice House By The Sea. Get your first look here.

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The Thing

Art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Batwoman by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Zatanna: Bring Down the House by Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodríguez. Variant covers by (1) Mikel Janín, (2) Jorge Jiménez and (3) Álvaro Martínez Bueno. Main cover (4) by Rodríguez. Internal artwork: images 5,6 & 7. Out in June.

(I've decided not to wait for the actual solicitations to come out to post this. But, that being the case, I should add that right now it's unclear if this is the first issue of a miniseries or a one-shot.)

"In this DC Black Label series (17+), Zatanna Zatara is the greatest entertainer in the worst hotel and casino off the Las Vegas strip. The ritzier hotels would love to have her as a headliner, but since a devastating instance of magic gone wrong changed the course of her childhood, Zatanna would much rather rock her trademark top hat and fishnets as a sleight-of-hand stage act than bother with real magic.

But Zatanna will have to take herself and her magical abilities seriously when an interdimensional vortex cracks open the very stage she performs on, releasing a terrifying demon bent on killing her. And if Zatanna hopes to escape with her life, she’ll have to face the even more terrifying consequences of her past.”

Wonder Woman by Álvaro Martínez Bueno

Comics Read 10/14-11/02/2023

I recently read the first two volumes of The Nice House on the Lake written by James Tyrion IV, with art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno and colors by Jordie Bellaire. I have been reading Tyrion for a while, and Bellaire’s colors are familiar, the work of Martínez Bueno is new to me. I decided to read it based on liking Tyrion’s other work, which was good decision!

The Nice House on the Lake is about a bunch of people who all share a friend in a guy named Walter. Only it turns out that Walter is an alien from a species that has decided to wipe out most of humanity, except for some segregated groups of ten, who will prove that they can live in harmony unlike the rest. Here it is important to note that we do not see any of the other groups of ten that other members of Walter’s species selected in this volume, and also there are more than ten in this group. Walter invited his hand selected favorite people to survive the destruction of the world in a cabin near Milwaukee. These friends are from various phases in life, high school, college, and just hanging around New York City. They don’t know each other well and between that and the shock of that’s happened they are doomed from the start. Helpfully, both volumes come with a not quite complete character guide in their back matter.

Each issue is introduced by one of the characters narrating directly to reader, some time after the main narrative, when the idyllic isolation of the house has ended and the apocalypse has become a regular part of their lives. The two volumes presented here do not bring us to that point yet, but I am interested in getting there. What I have read reminds me a  bit of Tyrion’s earlier comic book, The Woods, which I liked, and I am willing to say that this is better. Early on, it also reminded me of the Vertigo series Unfollowed, but considering what a misanthropic mess that turned into, it is probably for the best that I stoped being reminded of it. 

The speaker at the beginning of the issue also shares flashbacks illuminating their one-on-one personal relationships with Walter. These always involve multi-panel two page spreads. I bring this up because the multi-panel two page spreads in comics are pretty unusual. Having them become a regular part of this comic’s formula is destabilizing, like the characters existence.

Near the end of the first volume it’s revealed that Walter is capable of altering his friends’ memories, and has been doing so for a while. It turns out, some of them have had more to do with building this cabin and it’s rules than they are comfortable with consciously knowing. This leads to the second volume having something of a reset. The format is slightly tweaked and things rush toward a scenario where maybe the characters will have more control over their lives.

As I said earlier, I was unfamiliar with Martínez Bueno’s work coming into this, but now I can say that I am a fan. His work is sharp, but with a sense of wash giving an easy to read sense of movement. It could be water color, but in an almost impossibly controlled way. He designed  Walter to wears glasses that block the view of his eyes, even in his shifty alien form. However, there are other characters who also wear glasses where their eyes are clearly visible behind them. A great way to constantly remind the readers that he’s not quite who he says he is. My only complaint about the character design is that two of the female characters, Norah and Sarah, are a little too similar in appearance, a fact not helped by both characters being chain smokers.  But most importantly the house of the title really does look like it would be an awesome place. That is, If it weren’t for the circumstances surrounding everything.