Volume 40: House of M

House of M

Author: Brian Michael Bendis  |  Illustrator: Olivier Coipel

"What would you have me do?"

If you read the books in numerical order (as printed on the spine, not the sticker on the front of each issue) then you'll be aware of what happened in Volume 34: Avengers: Disassembled and of what was left unresolved. House of M addresses that particular situation.

The opening four pages are top class stuff, setting the stage for what follows. The location is far from grand; the state of the buildings echo feelings felt not just by the heroes but also the antagonists of the piece, a post-traumatic landscape of loss and decay. The remainder of the story isn't perfect, but it has more highs than lows, and often with Marvel crossovers that's the best you can hope for.

The pre-battle gathering of heroes is the kind of thing that usually makes me cringe, but the weight that assails each one on a personal level gives it an edge that's often lacking. They aren't debating how best to take down a megalomaniacal supervillain in need of reeducation. They're seeking comfort, assurances, wondering if what they need to do can even be done, and if not by them, then by who?

That 'edge' is the product of a feeling that extends beyond the page. Without going into spoiler territory, the situation, as wildly fantastical as it is, has at its core a fragility that every person who reads it will be able to relate to. Everyone wants to be happy in their own way, but dig beneath the surface and you'll discover a wealth of clauses and provisos that must also be met lest the happiness be in name only.

The end might leave you with more questions than when you started, and Marvel retconned some stuff at a later date, but as a book in its own right House of M goes to some remarkably fragile places.

The book collects together House of M #1-8.

Verdict: