I hadn't read the third volume so I was a little "What on Earth is going on?" I still had some blanks when I finished the volume, but oh, well. We have some kind of resolution. It was fun reading the stories about the author stuck in a castle with the wolves/dogs outside the gates holding them captive and the Thralls. The actual story about the characters centered in the House of Mystery was a little meh. I don't know if it would make a difference if I had read the intervening volume.

House of Mystery was different. Not being clearly labeled, I did not realize this was the 4th volume. Still as this is a pastiche of short stories inside the arc of a larger plot (not bad-rather clever in fact) it didn't seem to make much difference.The overall plot of the people trapped in a different plane of existence I didn't really care for. But some of the short stories are really different. In a good way. The Hounds of Titus Roan was very good. A truly dark and twisted tale. The Mise-en-S...

Still not in love with this series. I think I will continue to read it, but it might be too dark and twisted and it's definitely somewhat incomprehensible to me. I really like the idea of stories within stories, which is a prominent feature of this book. I just wasn't that fond of the stories, except I did kind of like the one written by Bill Willingham about a man trapped in a castle with the last surviving servant and the creatures who are stalking them. I despise cockroaches and I found the t...

I really like the blend of horror and suspense.

The concluding annual features a Hellblazer short, which makes me realise how much I miss John Constantine. I know there are a comic and a TV show about someone with the same name but pronounced wrong, who looks a bit similar, but the nasty, grubby, real Constantine...comics aren't the same without him. The framing story continues to be a competent enough slice of the old Vertigo universe, with the scene of Cain as a therapist one of its highlights ("Did you ever consider that the cause of your

*This review can also be found on my blog, The Never-Ending TBR Pile.Decay. Betrayal. Loss.House of Mystery keeps ramping up as more revelations take place and relationships are tested. Not everyone makes it in this volume and others end up in places they would have never thought possible. The artwork is spot on, as always, portraying events and emotions and concepts utilizing diverse styles that fit with the stories.This particular volume also included a bonus Halloween section that was brillia...

I wasn't aware that this was part of a series, so I'm coming into this in the middle. It was good, enjoyable stories that tie into the larger overall story. I think I would have gotten more out of it had I read it from the beginning though.

In volume 4, the House of Mystery has been transported to to the ruins of the city of dimensional travelers, both the residents and the bar's patrons--and Fig's father--are worried that they may be trapped there, and the bad guys are on their way. We learn a lot more about the race of people that can travel between worlds, we finally learn the backstory and the name of the final inhabitant of the House, and we see some action as enemies converge upon our heroes. At the end of the volume in the f...

I've never been the biggest fan of this series. I try to check out at least the first trade/story arc of most Vertigo titles. In this case, after reading the first trade, I didn't have much intention in continuing House of Mystery. However, out of lack of reading anything else I decided to grab the second volume, and then later the third, enjoying each consecutive volume more than the last. This volume, despite being somewhat of a climax for the first couple years of the series, is where the qua...

Things come to a grinding and convoluted halt with "The Beauty of Decay," the fourth volume in the HOUSE OF MYSTERY's latest mythology. To write the very least, the resolution of the end game...that is, everything that's happened up to this point in order to reach this particular end...made relatively perfect sense until now. With this particular volume...the most important part of which is the title that shares the volume's name...things change dramatically for our cast and the stage is set for...

This volume had a lovely Halloween special to start with but was all down hill from there. Honestly worth reading just for that issue and the anthology story "Spellbound" in issue 20.

It's really between a 2 and a half or so. It could've been because I read Vol. 4 as oppose to reading the series from the beginning, but I don't think that's it. The narration I liked and some of the illustrations I liked a lot. But there were some things that felt unnecessary. For example to sexual references or the vulgar language, I mean I'm not against any of that when it's called for in the story but there is a big difference between depiction moments of intimacy or being vulgar in relation...

My favorite graphic novel is the macabre, creepy graphic novel. I was turned onto this series loosely based on the old House of Mystery comic books of the past. This is the fourth in the series! There is one story encompassing the whole series, that of the people populating a bar in the House of Mystery, but those bar patrons need to tell stories to get drinks so there is plenty of short treasures in the pages as well. The art is great and diverse!

This book finally brings to a close a major arc that has been slowly building since Volume one. In it we lose some characters that I was really wanting to learn more about, which is sadness. However, some new plot threads are woven and have me really intrigued as to what is going to happen next.Also, we are treated to a tragic love story between two cockroaches, written by none other than the magnificent, Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) himself.I'd have to say, for me, that this has been the weakest v...

3.5The story progressed in odd and interesting ways, with people dropping all over the place. But the bulk of this volume was the interludes, which were ok, but not great.It was good to see more of Cain, though, and I wonder what will become of Fig & Harry, since I imagine there will be more to it.The Halloween story at the end with the glimpses into other series was amusing. Always nice to pass a nod to Constantine as things go by.

Aaaannnddd... Everything changes. I think that's a positive development. :)The stories are getting better and better, but I'll tell you true, I like the one about Thralls best. For any book lover, I think that one speaks very well to any of us. We all want to be enthralled by a good tale, after all.I thought it got much better once they were no longer feeling so claustrophobic in the house, but all the types of alchemy that occurred truly made the story a very nice dream.(OR, if I'm not mis-imag...

This continues to be a solid series. I didn't love this volume as much as the first 3 but the short side story about The Thralls was terrific. I'm excited to see where the story arcs are going.

Fantasy author Matthew Sturges (with some occasional help from author writers) has made this into a nice little anthology series. with some resolution as to Fig and her father's story, with a dangling plot thread promising something unpleasant for Fig's. The short storylines woven into the TPB's overall story are very good.

About half of this book followed the continung story line and was good, but the other half was standalone stories with seemingly no connection to the plot. Or maybe I just missed something.

Annnnnd I'm done. I realized I was completely through with this series after I put it down for a couple of days and then picked it up again only to find I couldn't remember anything that had happened in it. That's a pretty solid mark of an empty story, and this one is the emptiest. Having now refreshed my memory of what happened, I can attest that everything I said about volume 3 is even more true of volume 4.There is no rhyme or reason to any plot developments. Sturges has not been gradually hi...