Review - Boneyard Volume 1 by Richard Moore

Synopsis
Michael Paris has inherited a plot in the remote town of Raven Hollow. As he arrives, he gets to find out what a doozie that is. He’s basically inherited a cemetery that the villagers want razed! Why? It’s haunted with apparently frightening creatures putting a curse on the whole town! But when Paris actually gets to meet some of the denizens of his inherited headache, it turns out that they ain’t all that bad (the vamp, in fact, is quite cute) and maybe the evil is not where it may seem… Spoofs all the clichés of the horror genre!

 

My Thoughts
Boneyard Volume 1 is another graphic novel I picked up while at the library. Knowing nothing about this comic beforehand, it took nothing more than a brief glance through the pages for me to know I would love this.

The basic premise is simple enough looking at first, but within this first volume there are many clues that make me think this story line will develop into a very strong plot. Michael Paris does indeed inherit a graveyard from a grandfather he never got to know. And this particular cemetery has a whole crowd of interesting, albeit strange, characters. Abbey, the vampire lady, is a wonderful leading lady. She’s classy, smart and obviously in charge. Another chick living in this boneyard is Nessie, an incorrigible flirt, despite the fact that her husband Brutus is always watching silently. There is also a group of poker-playing, alcohol-swilling guys who take Michael Paris out for a night on the town (Undead Nudie Bar included). There’s many other characters running around, but along with Abbey, my favourite had to be Edgar, the talking, snobbish and quite hilarious raven.

This first volume in the series did a bang-up job of introducing the citizens and setting of Raven Hollow. It set in motion some sub-plots that I hope to learn more about in future issues, such as; how Paris’s grandfather came to be the caretaker, a possible romantic angle and the threats facing the boneyard itself. Also intriguing is the mystery surrounding how the graveyard came to be the home of these paranormal beings.

 
Along with a solid storyline, great characters, witty dialogue and lots of humour is the gorgeous artwork. I loved that these illustrations are lighter in tone than most graphic novels. They have a cartoonish feeling to them that blends well with the more mature tone of the writing. A good example would be Abbey, she is a vampire that manages to come across as sexy, but innocent – not the typical femme fatale. Ralph, a werewolf, who wears a leather jacket and studded dog collar looks like a big puppy dog playing ‘the bad boy’, but when he gets mad his wolfish side is clearly evident. With wonderful details and a warm palette of colours this is a real treat.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and will definitely be picking up the next ones.

Check out more about Richard Moore and the Boneyard series here.
Published by Nantier - Beall - Minoustchine Publishing

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