Mr. Vertigo

The Nice House by the Sea Vol. 1
James Tynion IV. writer; Alvaro Martinez Bueno, artist; Jordie Bellaire, colorist
Vertigo Comics, 2025

Initially, this sequel to The Nice House on the Lake seems to have no connection to the earlier maxiseries. This new house is run by Max, who has hand-picked her invitees. They’re all humanity’s best and brightest: masters of their fields and major award winners, with Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes; Hugo and Nebula Awards; Tony, Emmy and Grammy Awards;  and a MacArthur Fellowship all represented.

As a group they seem well chosen to carry on the torch of civilization after the world ends. But unlike the earlier house these house guests don’t know Max, nor do they know each other, which creates a whole different set of tensions as they try to learn to live with each other. Unlike Walter (the master of the lake house) from the beginning Max has let them all in on the secret that they are living through the end of the world and openly uses her powers to create objects and distort space. She also allows them to make body alterations and control the weather.

There is more than one connection between the houses. Oliver (the person filling the aspect of The Actor at the sea house) was a high school friend of Walter’s, like most of the lake house residents. Apparently he was a great disappointment to Walter, as we learn when he meets Walter and two other lake residents and the scene shifts back to the lake house. We eventually get that history, and also discover that Walter is not dead after all: he took the form of the dog that appeared at the end of the previous series. It turns out that Walter and Max knew each other before as well, but had a falling out.

Under duress, Oliver reveals that he knows there are multiple houses, not just the two we have seen. So the sea house residents start thinking about how to win the war for survival. And the lake house residents figure out that Walter left the door between the two houses open so they could save Oliver. But the surprising conclusion finds Max offering Norah (the transgender lake house character) a deal: if Norah helps her end “Walter’s little experiment” Max will give her the forever she deserves.

The collection concludes with a cover gallery, development art, and character guides to both series. I am delighted to resume the Vertigo Miniseries Tour with the resurection of the imprint.