DC Comics
Netflix get a sorry knock these daytime , and some of it is justified . The Reed Hastings - led company assist usher in the Steaming Age that , for better and worse , has totally transformed the amusement industry . sure-enough metrics of achiever , like making money at the box bureau , do n’t necessarily apply anymore . Now , it ’s also all about grabbing as many orb as possible and let an algorithm dictate almost every creative determination .
The unfavorable judgment about Netflix is justified , but the streamer has also done in effect thing . ( I swear ! ) It ’s given base to odd , idiosyncratic works likeThe Power of the Dog , Martin Scorsese ’s epic dramaThe Irishman , and Sam Esmail ’s apocalyptic remainder - of - the - worldly concern ( or is it ? ) filmLeave the World Behind . It has particularly excelled at clear and propagate olympian music genre shows like the great League of Legends cyberpunk showArcane , the superb German prison term - travel seriesDark , and any one of Mike Flanagan ’s deep emotional , and intensely chilling , horror programs .
DC Comics
That ’s why it ’s surprising that Netflix , or anyone else for that matter , has n’t already scooped up and adaptedThe Nice House on the Lakeas its next big genre bang . The 12 - issue special mirthful Bible series , which ran from 2021 to 2022 , received mint of decisive acclaim when it was released , including winning the Eisner Award ( the Oscars for laughable books ) for Best New Series . More importantly , its story , about a group of friends who meet at a , well , decent business firm on the lake underverymysterious luck , is perfect for Netflix ’s binge - economic consumption model . This is a tarradiddle that demands to be order across six , eight , or 10 episode , to have a big enough budget to to the full substantiate its beautiful , apocalyptical sight , and to be seen by as many people as possible .
It’s the end of the world (and they are about to know it)
Everything seems to be too good to be true at first , of course . Ten friends from various backgrounds , sexes , and beliefs are amass by their mutual admirer Walter to ride out at a nice house on a lake in Wisconsin . Once there , they have everything they want : all the gourmet nutrient to run through ; almost every record they could ever desire to take ; every picture and telly show available to download and binge ; and so forth . But there ’s something vaguely sinister about why they are all assemble and why none of them can recollect how they got there in the first position .
By the conclusion of result No . 1 , the accuracy is revealed : Their holiday house turns out to be a asylum from a global Revelation that has consumed the world in a matter of days . They are seemingly the last survivor on Earth , and Walter was the one to save up them . But why ? How did Walter have a go at it the humanity was going to finish ? And can they even swear the images showcasing all of their friend , families , and hometown were all destroy ? Why are they the only 1 spared ? And what , and where , is the theater on the lake ?
A binge-worthy series, in more ways than one
These are all a lot of interrogative sentence , and they are mostly reply throughout the comic ’s 12 issues . The Nice House on the Lakeproved to be so habit-forming that I wipe out it in one sitting on one long November 24-hour interval . It’sthatgood , and all the credit should be given to writer James Tynion and artist Álvaro Martínez Bueno for create an immersive serial publication that put you into a far - out scenario and asks bass , philosophic questions while also building serious-minded characters you want to support ( or , in some instances , Bronx cheer ) .
This is a serial that has an unstoppable narrative drive , and just as it answers one doubtfulness , it generates two more secret for you to resolve . The key shape to the series is Walter , who is , of course , is n’t who he seems . And Tynion and Bueno do a great job of both letting you bang him enough to sympathize with him and keep him weird enough to not completely trust him . The look of Walter , particularly his dependable nature , is owing , and it ’s a visual that could well interpret to the modest screen with all of its unsettling oddness intact .
Friends to the end
Walter is n’t the only character inThe House on the Lake . The risible series has a cast of characters of over a twelve role , and while Tynion does a near job of giving most of them classifiable personality , a Netflix show could flesh them out and bring them to life more fully . The 10 principals are assembled by the talents they possess as teenagers and bookman and the careers they ’ve take as young adult . Ryan and Reginald are the Artists , Norah is the Writer , the comic David is the Actor , accountant Molly is the Mathematician , stargazer Veronica is the Scientist , reporter Sam is the Historian , acupuncturist Arturo is the Person of Faith , Sarah is the Politician , Naya is the Doctor , and piano player Rick is the Musician .
Walter befriended them because they represented the best of humans , but it ’s their flaws that make them the most interesting . My favorites are Reginald , the additional member of the lucky 10 who knows more than the others , and Norah , the trans woman who is the only one who can confront Walter and challenge him .
It ’s easy to see these character and Walter freestanding from the others as the three clear leads in a Netflix series , and for such rising stars likeDoctor Who‘s Ncuti Gatwa as Reg , Baby Reindeer‘s Navi Mau as Norah , orThe Crow‘s Bill Skarsgård as Walter to body forth these role with all their considerable talents . But the series does n’t demand stars to study . The concepts sells itself , and the slaying , if done right , can make it a Netflix series that could stand next to the streamer ’s democratic musical style hitsStranger ThingsandThe Sandman .
Ditch the spandex and embrace the weird
comical script fatigue is substantial , but it ’s real only for quotidian superhero moving-picture show and idiot box show that do n’t take anything new to the table . How many fourth dimension can we see Thor salve the universe before it gets slow ? ( The damaging reception toThor : Love and Thunderhas already answered that question.)The Nice House on the Lakedoesn’t mickle with superhero heroes , but it ’s not your received end - of - the - world story either . It splices together sci - fi , mystery , and intimate character dramatic event , and have them all into a genre blender , creating a very unique story that is terrifying , unsettling , and oddly cathartic all at once .
It ’s been a minute since I ’ve been so enthusiastic over a potential adaptation of a comic book I ’ve just read . The Nice House on the Lakeis perfectly fine as it is , a 12 - issue limited series that has already breed a successful sequel , The Nice House by the Sea , but it have so much potential that it beg to be adjust into another mass medium . A teem serial publication is that medium , and Netflix is the ideal home for such a uncanny , idiosyncratic story to be seen by millions of people who have ventured into the Upside Down so willingly over the last decade .
