House of Mystery #1 - Vertigo

I did something with this issue that I've never done before . . . I bought the variant cover . . the one at the right by Berni Wrightson . . and did not buy the regular cover. For me . . that's a big leap. I've enjoyed all the various variant covers that have been offered over the last few months, but . . when I saw that this one was by Berni . . I had to have it. So much so, that I didn't even really care if I got the regular one. I know . . I saved $3 by spending $10. But hey . . you gotta' do what you gotta' do. Know what I mean? Anyways, I thought this issue was interesting. It's brought to us by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham, the same writers that bring us Jack of Fables. But there wasn't any of the over-the-top humor in this book, as there is in the other. This book started out, as they used to in the past, with a little respite with the hosts, Cain and Able. There's actually 2 good artist this issue. The first story is illustrated by Luca Rossi. I liked the style. It was perfect for this book. Then, in the middle, one of the characters of the first story decide to tell their own story. It's illustrated by Ross Campbell. I actually liked this art better than the first. It was a little gruesome though. This particular issue stayed very true to the original title . . you know, from the 70's. It was told much in the same manner, with the usual ironic twist at the end. I'm not sure how long I'll stick with this title, but it was nice seeing it back on the shelves again. And it was good to see it as a Vertigo title, so they don't have to worry about the content as much. Cool stuff!