House of Whispers #2 Review

Written by: Nalo Hopkinson

Pencils by: Dominike “Domo” Stanton

Colored by: John Rauch

Published by: Vertigo Comics

New comic series’ have quite a few challenges that face them.

New comic series that start off in a beloved corner of a publishing company  and is set to be a pillar of said corner, they have quite an uphill battle.

That’s exactly what House of Whispers is facing as a new comic, using new characters, set in the Neil Gaiman’s wonderful Sandman Universe. The first issue gave the reader an introduction to Maîtresse Erzulie, Uncle Monday, as well as a family in New Orleans. It set the basis of what is to come and served very much as an introductory issue to the characters and the setting.

This second issue therefore, has the task of getting us invested in the story itself by not only having to set up the upcoming narrative, but to also make us care about the characters - or the very least, attempt to do so.

From my point of view, Hopkinson does a great job with the former and the latter is still a work in progress - understandably so. The big reveal at the end of the first issue, where we see the House of Whispers be dragged into the Dreaming by an unknown force gives a good level of intrigue - who did it? What will be the consequences to Maîtresse Erzulie and her ilk? What does this mean for the Dreaming and how is it tied to other events that are happening? These are all questions that can be asked and hopefully answered along the way.

Domo continues to shine in this second issue and you can see that their style is starting to take shape. Of note, I really enjoy the different paneling that is used throughout the issue. We get funkier, offbeat style paneling while in the Dreaming and more traditional in the real world scenes. Small, but awesome little touch.