House of Whispers #1
Publisher: Vertigo
Story: Nalo Hopkinson
Pencils: Dominike “Domo” Stanton
Inks: Dominike “Domo” Stanton
Colors: John Rauch
Letters: Deron Bennett
Cover: Sean Andrew Muray (variant cover by Bill Sienkeiwicz)
The second of four planned series launched from the four-part Sandman Universe last month, House of Whispers is poised to be the most original and unique of the four titles, for a number of reasons: the setting, the introduction of a new “house” to the Dreaming, and perhaps most notably, the diversity of the characters.
Long-time DC and Vertigo readers will know of the existence of two different “houses,” the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets, which are mainstays of the DC universe. The House of Whispers of the Sandman Universe introduces the idea of a captivating new house and its occupants, who live in the Dreaming in a perpetual Mardi Gras-like state, surrounded by a Louisiana bayou. The setting is a fun new addition to the typically more Victorian and Gothic depictions of the houses in the Dreaming; within the first few pages of House of Whispers, the party is on full display, with scantily clad dancers and servers, music, food and drink, and of course, the mistress of the house, Erzulie, and her sinister guest, Uncle Monday.
Erzulie and Uncle Monday were introduced in the Sandman Universe special, as were four other characters featured in this issue, Latoya, her two younger sisters Lumi and Habibi, and her partner, Maggie. These four characters figure prominently in this issue, and their actions as they stumble across a physical copy of one of the unwritten books from Dream’s library (itself an intriguing mystery of how it ended up in the real world) and reading it puts much of the rest of the story into motion.
Although it didn’t jump out to me at first, a second reading revealed the nature of the characters in the story and the diversity they represent. Firstly, all the characters, both “real” and “god-like” are black. There are several same-sex relationships presented, starting with Latoya and Maggie, as well as Lumi’s and Habibi’s dad, who was mentioned in Sandman Universe to be gay. There are also a variety of different body types on display in the story, with Erzulie in particular being depicted mainly as a very full-figured woman, but whose shape changes throughout the story to suit the situation. It’s a nice touch to not have a female main character be a thin, grossly disproportionate Barbie-doll type figure. Another background character, seen a few times throughout the story, attends the festivities at the House of Whispers in a wheelchair. The interesting thing to me as a reader was that I never even noticed these upon my first reading; I was engaged in the story and the characters, but without analyzing them.
Dominike Stanton’s designs are perfect for the story; the very first splash-page, on pages 2 and 3, depict the party underway at the House of Whispers, and in addition to the New Orleans style architecture, the variety of different character types on display is staggering. John Rauch complements the designs by using a very limited color palette of browns, yellows, and blacks for almost the entire scene, but then punctuating certain areas with color, particularly around Mistress Erzulie and the array of flowers and other offerings laid at the foot of her seashell-like throne. This coloring style is relatively consistent in the scenes that take place inside the House of Whispers, and are broken up during visits to the waking world with Latoya, Maggie, and the girls, where a more natural coloring style takes over, but with an otherworldly bluish glow caused by an unwelcome visitor to their world.
House of Whispers #1 is a great addition to the Sandman Universe, with a unique setting, compelling characters, and the exciting addition of a new house to the mythos of the Dreaming.
Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net
