Review: House of Whispers #15

STORY

Being a fan of the golden oldies from DC, House of Mysteries and House of Secrets I was intrigued by this title when it showed up in my review folder. Right off the bat this series is very different from the House Of books from back in the day. Those books were anthologies hosted by characters Cain and Able (yes that Cain and Able). The House of Whispers, however, is not a hosted anthology but instead is a series deeply tied into the mythology of Sandman established by Neil Gaimen. So prepare yourself for the weird, metaphysical and the existential in abundance.

I don’t know it this was ever established before in the DC continuity but the series offers up the origins of the Houses of Mysteries and Secrets as the creation of Dream while the Houses of Whispers and Watchers were created by his sister Despair. In this issue we learn a more involved origin for the House of Whispers but the particular focus of this issue is on the House of Watchers, its history, overseeerer and a favorite Sandman regular who covets it for his own evil purposes, the Corinthian, a living nightmare thar feeds on fear and misery. One should be careful for what one wishes for however, as things might not go the way one wishes.

The titular House of Whispers is not free of strife and upheaval of its own as the goddess charged with overseeing this house must deal with a mutiny of her multiple of deity husbands. This like the Corinthian’s gambit will lead to consequences and events that spill over into the mortal world. The story moves at a good pace and sets up the next issue as a must read with a cliffhanger ending for this issue. Fans of the Sandman mythos should not be disappointed.

ART

The art however is where this comic falls short for me. While the story telling is pretty much there this comic is very lacking in quality when I compare it to the days when I read Sandman, Hellblazer and Swamp Thing, the progenitor of the whole Vertigo line. It’s really quite disappointing to me. Now I don’t expect Jim Lee on this sort of title. The Vertigo-esque title have a certain sort aesthetic to them that is often grittier and more realistic than the common superhero comic. The art here though feels very indie and not in a good way, its rough, unpolished and comes across as not at all ready for prime time I’m sorry to say. It was bad enough that I couldn’t recognize Constantine by sight in his cameo.

It’s not all gloom and dowm, the colors are the saving grace of the art in this issue. The colors are bright and bold for the more fantastic elements and suitable moody or grounded for the more muntain moments in the issue.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While the story is pretty intriguing and I’m curious enough for more the art it a bit of a slog to get through.

SCORE: 3 out of 5

HOUSE OF WHISPERS #15
Writer:Â Nalo Hopkinson and Dan Watters
Art:Â Dominike Stanton
Colors:Â Zak Atkinson