Review: HOUSE OF WHISPERS #12
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers:Â Nalo Hopkinson and Dan Watters
Artist: Dominike “DOMO” Stanton
Colors:Â Zac Atkinson
Letters:Â AndWorld Design
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
Honestly, the best way to summarize this issue of House of Whispers, is to let writers Nalo Hopkinson and Dan Watters do it.
Once upon a time there was a Goddess called Erzulie Freda. The master of the House of Whispers. She died at the maxillae of Ananse the spider trying to save her husband, Agwe, from dissolving into an enchanted wood and varnish of her ship. Consumed with grief, one of her most devout followers sough to return her to life. Zie succeeded…after a fashion. And now the thing that stalks Erzulie’s boy, raised by the worship of anguish, leads an army to war.
Any questions?
Meanwhile, in NOLA, Lumi and Bibi are cornered by a hell hound. Toya shows up and well, that whole thing gets totally bonkers. I don’t want to spoil too much but suffice to say knives are thrown. Bags of knives and sharp objects, because…well, because Deus Ex-Machina.
Positives
After an intro like that, what can follow it up? How about a splash page from Domo? Feast. Your. Eyes.
Seriously, House of Whispers has always hung it’s strange hat on Domo’s head and this month, that is still the case. Even when the story goes off the rails, he holds the reader in place, turning pages and being captivated. It is a good thing too.
Negatives
After last month’s stellar outing, this one falls apart a bit. The thing I don’t want to spoil up there in the summary is super problematic. I understand that House of Whispers is about magic and the Dreaming and all of that, but that does not mean you can just throw in some random nonsense explanation to how to win a war. It really falls apart and seems almost silly. I wish it were not so.
Also, no Maggie when on earth is always a problem. She is the best human in the book. I like Bibi and Lumi just fine, but Maggie has been the moral compass and when a book loses it’s moral compass, it gets lost.
Verdict
I am not a comic writer, nor do I play one on TV and it is easy for me to throw barbs from over here, but honestly, I just don’t get why this is so uneven. It should be good. It has proven it can be good. This issue, just was not. It cut too many corners and it didn’t need to. This is the “end” of the Ananse story and so it had to end on issue 12, but that seems like a bad idea. It does look like the Corinthian will play a part in what comes next, so that is something to look forward to.
