House of Mystery #9

Written by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham
Art by Lucca Rossi, Jose Marzan Jr., and Bernie Wrightson

I still can't make up my mind about this title. I was about ready to drop it, but then realized that this issue was going to feature art by Bernie Wrightson. It's really good art too. The sequence that he did with Willingham is by far the best part of the book. And I think that's the problem with this title. The main conceit of having a story within each issue's story was an attractive one - especially when you look at the list of talent they've tapped to produce them, but I think it is confining the main story into too small a box, making it difficult to attach oneself to the characters or their situation.

Honestly, I don't think I care about what's happening in the House. I liked the idea of it all in the first arc, but now that there are people wandering around a giant basement fighting giant monsters, I've lost interest. The appearance of Fig's father isn't adding to the story for me - I find it annoying.

But then, the stories told in the book are really, really good......