James Tynion IV’s career has been riding high over the last few years, and now he is set to bring a new creator-owned horror title to DC’s Black Label Imprint with The Nice House on the Lake. The project will reunite Tynion with artist Alvaro Martine Bueno, who he previously collaborated with on Justice League Dark.
Tynion entered the comics industry in the early 2010s, working on various direction for the Bat-franchise as a whole, He also debuted two creator-owned titles: Something is Killing the Children and The Department of Truth, a mystery comic delving into the world of conspiracy theories. Tynion has been on fire for the past two years and now is set for another triumph with The Nice House on the Lake.
In a first look provided to The Hollywood Reporter, Tynion reveals his motivations for creating the series: friends; but more specifically, making and losing them. The plot kicks off when a mysterious man named Walter invites some of his friends to a posh lake house for a getaway. The group soon finds themselves isolated when a “terrifying chaos” falls upon the world before discovering there is more to Walter than meets the eye. In the preview, Tynion says that the transition from close friend groups in one's 20s to a more individual state in their 30s - and the resulting longing for close interactions - drives the book.
"There is a moment in all of our lives, I think, when we start to move away from interconnected friend groups and evolving into more individual states. You still have friends and you still see your friends, but they are not such a huge part of your life as they are in your 20s. There is a loss when you enter your 30s there that you know you will never get back even though you long for it."
The preview goes on to say that while the COVID-19 pandemic is not directly acknowledged in the series, concerns over social isolation and outside horror are key themes in The Nice House on the Lake as well.
The preview pages provided showcase Bueno’s artwork, as well as some of the house. Both Bueno and Tynion spent extra time on the building’s design, using real-life mansions and lake houses as inspiration. While the scene being set seems casual and mundane enough, there is still a hint of something horrifying lurking just off-page.
James Tynion IV has been on a roll over the last few years, with two hit creator-owned books and shepherding the Batman franchise for DC, and now one of his most personal projects, The Nice House on the Lake, is set to continue the streak. The book will be available in stores and on digital comics platforms this June.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
