The House's occupants have just started to settle in when Fig's long lost (and completely forgotten) brother shows up and starts rattling cages. It turns out that everything he's spouting is the truth, but he's a pretty twisted person so I'm happy to see him get murdered (ostensibly by Abel). Unfortunately, he'll be back before too long because the last scenes of the book show him meeting up with Fig's dad and grandfather (now a ghost) in the Land Inbetween. Between the three of them I highly do...

I think I continue to read this series because of the brief glimpses we get of characters seen in the Sandman series. The story itself is interesting enough, and I'll certainly keep reading it, but this is definitely not the best thing Vertigo has put out.However, I did find a quote in this volume that amused be quite a bit. "You people with your quests annoy the pants off me." - Cain

I miss Harry. Fig doesn't radiate the same clarity and coherence as he did and I do think this comic needs that.The various stories told by the bar patrons are okay. Some a bit gruesome, some trying a bit too hard to be funny, but all in all they're okay. The main story-line is wobbly and takes all kinds of turns and twists, but still keeps me reading.

I think I just need to hang up the towel and admit this series is not for me. It's gruesome and dark in a way that doesn't appeal to me. The characters are either sadistic or they fall prey to other sadistic characters. I wouldn't say I'm too squeamish to enjoy any horror, but this kind of horror I don't like. I was drawn in by the story within a story format and the idea of a house between dimensions. But those things don't overshadow the unappealing aspects for me. I feel the series really jum...

This was weird, but I liked it. I didn't realise it was the 5th volume; I haven't read any of the others, but based on this: I would.

4.5I loved, loved, loved this entry of the series. After the last volume's sort of lackluster everything, this was a burst of much needed awesomeness.I should say, though, that I can see why others might be a bit less enthused. Once again, the main story is sort of parsed out in drips and drabs throughout the book. Things and people are coming together in interesting ways, but I also found myself confused at much of what was going on because, frankly, I'd forgotten most of what happened in the l...

Having followed this series for 26 issues, I think I'll give up on it. I just don't seem to care what happens to the characters or how the background story develops. I guess the build-up is just too slow for me and I get impatient. After over two years worth of monthly issues I still don't know what the powers-that-be (i.e. The Conception) want nor what their actual powers are, nor where their alliances lie, nor who they actually are! There seems to be some underlying big-scale conflict between

I still enjoy the side-stories very much, but I've begun to lose interest in the main storyline. The addition of yet more (quite unlikable) characters and yet more plotlines and sub-plots took a way from the already established characters which I was already invested in. It's not a bad story or a boring story, but it felt a bit like it was a new story, slowly taking over from the one that had been set up - at least when it came to the characters.

This volume actually stands alone to a reasonable extent. As the title suggests, Cain and Fig have come to an agreement regarding the House. Sturges has a good handle on Cain's character and he often steals the scene without even trying. The back humor, which has always been present in the writing, comes more to the fore in this volume. Lots of fun stories. I particularly enjoyed the Sergio Aragones illustrated short. Good stuff!

Wasn't fond of the Strawberry storyline, but the rest was interesting.

One of the less interesting and substantial of the series, which overall I like, but no doubt the creators occasionally have fallow periods, but need to get something added. Hopefully the next one will be superior. It really didn't advance the main story, nor were the side stories all that wonderful. Nevertheless, I still like the concept and a few of the characters.

Grand Re-opening!As always, I'm enjoying the shorts. It's not always about the episodes, but it usually is. I can't quite decide whether I'm supposed to focus on the characters or the tales they tell, but one thing is certain. Cain is always a kick.

The House of Mystery is a tall tale for the 21st century. Within its pages are the syntheses of entirely new Grimm Bros slash Aesop's Fables tales. Grim and macabre moral stories pepper the main plot. (My favorite for this book is the meet cute).Speaking of the main plot, the book rides quite nicely to the last page the minds of several different authors. I don't know if Sturges commissioned this himself, or it was Vertigo who did, but it's a brilliant idea. Each author brings their talent to th...

*This review can also be found on my blog, The Never-Ending TBR Pile.Despair. Heartache. Change.The House of Mystery has a new location and new boundaries for the remaining 'residents' there. They can actually leave the house, but they can't leave the location. Any change is good, right? Not really.Some characters are gone. Some have been around in the background but are now getting more of the spotlight. And some characters are still the same, but have changed due to the sequence of events. And...

Found the Strawberry storyline to be a bit flat but certainly intriguing. Hopefully they follow up on it in later volumes. The anthology stories were all hits for me, art and story were both solid throughout.Loved the final issue, a great fun Sandman reunion story. Loved seeing my absolute favorite librarian, Lucien himself.

I like the stories, the artwork. I like it, but I don't. Perhaps it's because at this point, I just want to say "Get on with it!" I'm mainly reading because I just want to know, why....why is Fig so important, who is she really, what is so important about her. Even Fig, the main character, is as confused and wanting "the" answers as much as the readers. I felt the series was a bit of a drag or slow, I like it but I can't help but feel like they're sucking my money for nothing and I'd be sorely d...

For whatever reason I liked this one much more than I did the last volume, even though yeah, the story doesn't really move ahead by much. I think that's the thing though--I don't even really care all that much about the main plot line when the side stories entertain me, and I found there was a lot of interest in this particular collection, and I was reminded of why I liked this series so much when I first started reading it. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the final two volumes.

While the status quo for the House and Bar have changed a little bit, such as Cain has returned and others have been forced out, I enjoyed Fig's characterization here. True, we now have more questions about Fig's past, but in this installment she moves much more to fore, and takes more charge of her life. Unfortunately, this does shove some of the other characters way into the background.

Once again, this graphic novel series is entertaining, if not wildly creative.If you like pretty straightforward, short horror stories, this isn't a bad diversion.The ongoing characters are continuing to develop a bit, as we learn more about Cain and Abel in this volume and about Fig's deal with the Conception.I'll move on to volume 6.

Does a decent job of establishing the new status quo after the last collection ended the first arc by restoring Cain to the House of Mystery. I'm okay with how it worked out. Some of the better short stories so far are in this volume, I think. Doesn't do a whole lot to rev up new plotlines though...hence four out of five. Now where did I put volume six?