House of Mystery v2 1-13 Ongoing (update)

is an occult and horror-themed ongoing comic book anthology series based on the classic series that ran from 1951 to 1983. It is written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges. It debuted in July 2008, published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. It features a different story each issue, told by people trapped in a "purgatory-like" House of Mystery. They are gathered in the house bar where everyone must pay for their drinks with stories, and no one can leave without being picked up by the house's mysterious coachman. None of the house's occupants are sure why some people might get to leave and others not, so each person's stay is at least ostensibly eternal until the coachman inexplicably turns up to take them away. This doesn't stop some of the inhabitants from trying to get out. One of the characters in the series, Cain (of Cain and Abel), continually attempts to return to the House of Mystery, his home in the Dreaming (a fictional place; a comic book location in the DC Comics Universe; the domain of Dream of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman).

House of Mystery set the bar high for itself right from the get-go, mixing an overarching plot about lost souls swapping stories with smaller vignettes from a superb collection of writers and artists. Tempering eerie suspense with hardcore scares, writer Matthew Sturges has the best on tap to keep you coming back. --

This is in tribute and appreciation to long-time Avaxhome publisher/contributor ekenciz whose huge May 6, 2006 post of the classic House of Mystery series brought my search at the time to a most satisfying conclusion.



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