James Tynion IV Returns to ‘Nice House on the Lake’ for Sequel

Comic miniseries from Jab comics writer James Tynian IV Nice house on the lake The first hit stores, it was 2021 and the coronavirus pandemic was in full force. Loneliness and alienation were felt by many, as was the fear of a world burning just outside their door.

This was one of the reasons why the comic became the biggest title for DC over the years, outselling even its superhero fare. The story centered on 10 people who bond over a slightly eccentric friend named Walter, who invites them to a house in the woods – and who turn out to be unreal strangers.

Now, Tynion is returning to that world with a sequel title. Nice house by the sea. Once again, he is collaborating with artist Alvaro Martínez Bueno. And while he hopes to attract many readers with this miniseries, he’s focused on an audience of one.

“My job is to scare my therapist with this book,” he explains. The Hollywood Reporter.

The new comic is described as a “second cycle” that, like the first story, will have 12 issues with a break in between. This brings the 10 people together again, although this time they are all true strangers and, in a twist, they are at home by choice. This group, which includes doctors, writers, historians, actors, painters, priests, scientists, singers, politicians and mathematicians, is set to be the last man. Or so they believe.

And once again, a stranger is bringing the group together, this time a woman named Max, under the roof of a luxurious villa along the Mediterranean Sea.

Nice house by the lake Too personal for Tynion, it allowed him to revisit his adult friendship and come to grips with the fact that he might have been like the real-life Walter, certainly the head that had changed.

This new book explores a question many people may have about themselves. “It’s the stress of trying to have a good life and a comfortable life, and knowing that people around us are suffering,” Tynen says. “These are the ways in which you want to ignore the world outside of you just to protect yourself and how much you participate in what’s going on.”

And since horror is so personal to Tynian, what is Tynian involved in?

“I’ve been involved in trying to be my version of my friends at the wrong time and it’s gotten me into trouble with them,” he offers. “It’s a story that allows me to explore my ugliest moments.”

He then adds, “When you’re writing horror, you can’t be afraid to tease directly the things you don’t like about yourself.”

Tynion’s horror stories have always felt personal, filled with small, intimate moments between flawed people, even as death and destruction lurk around the corner. DC executive editor Chris Conroy says it hasn’t been Tynion’s secret weapon.

“James is absolutely unafraid to write from his own perspective, and he trusts the audience to understand and value his experience of the way he sees the world,” notes Conroy. “It’s always been one of those paradoxes of storytelling — the more personal you get, the more universal you get. James’ horror stories are so personal, so deeply informed by his own fears, And it makes them so intimate and involved.

One of the first highlights nice house Cycle was a multi-panel double-page spread produced by Buono. Not only did he get the distinct look of the characters, but he also did what can only be described as “housepoor,” with detailed renderings of the first story’s mid-century house and setting.

This hallmark returns with the second cycle, which allows Buono to cut loose with the story’s coastal setting. Initially, Tynion had his eye on a Caribbean setting, but once Bueno started sharing photos from the real estate site Zillow, it sparked a new visual language for the author. He remains grateful that Buono jumped back. nice house The world, despite being so laborious and lacking in large panel proceedings.

“There’s not a lot of artists who jump into doing a comic that’s a complex setting and it’s a bunch of acting,” Tynian notes. “My favorite days are when I get his new art. It reminds me why I got into comic books.

Many will have their eyes on the new sequel, not just because of Tynion’s name but because the first one was so well received by the art and literary world. On top of Eisner, the comic was named Best Series at Angoulême, becoming the first DC comic to win anything at a European comic festival since the 1980s miniseries. security guard.

“We don’t feel the pressure to top up a bottle moment within that kind of electricity, that would be greedy,” says Conroy. “I’ve never felt like this. [James’] The compass was spinning creatively in response to any kind of external pressure. Both she and Alvaro know what’s powerful about this story, and they know where it’s going, and they’re in a state of complete flow. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just my job and DC’s job to help keep that machine humming. There is no pressure other than to tell the most compelling, inspiring story we possibly can. If this book scares the crap out of someone, or makes them cry, that’s an award for me.

DC’s adult readers Black Label will present the miniseries with the first issue coming out on July 24. Tynian is the only comic to have a creator-owned book published by DC, something the company has largely shied away from since its closure. His Vertigo imprint in 2020.

Conroy says the company has never abandoned its desire for creator-owned content. “The door has never been closed on this model,” says the editor. “It’s about the right project with the right people at the right time.”

Tynion believes his success could open the door to creator ownership opportunities for others. “More readers return as a series nice housethe more it allows DC to become creator-owned.

See the title page and first four pages below, minus the dialogue captions.