BONEYARD #1-3

Goblins, Ghoulies and Guffaws, Oh My!

By Andy Hershberger     November 07, 2001

Poor Michael Paris. All he wanted to do in Raven's Hollow was sell the property he inherited from his grandfather, but as things are wont to become complicated, it's not as easy a task as he might have thought. As it turns out, this property is Raven's Hollow's Boneyard, or cemetery, and dang it if the place isn't filled up with wisecracking, colorful ghouls and ghastlies - not to mention the potential love interest/vampire Abbey. Now Michael, Paris as he likes to be called, has a dilemma - should he sell the property to the townspeople, who want to bulldoze the place to the ground, or should he keep the place, preserving the home of its tenants like his grandfather did before him? Pressure from both sides makes Paris's decision all the more difficult, but darn if he doesn't think that vampire woman is cute. Such is the set-up for the first three issues of Richard Moore's delightful new comic, BONEYARD.

Filling the pages with a large assortment of distinct creations, Moore's BONEYARD toys with the perceptions - is that which appears evil at first truly evil? For as Paris becomes more and more familiar with the boneyard's residents, he finds them to be of a kindred spirit. In contrast, the bloodthirsty town, run by the duplicitous Mayor Wormwood, seems possessed by a mob mentality that contrasts greatly with Paris's own. Therefore the natural course of things would seem to lead to - and for the first three issues at least, does - to Paris's bonding with the demonic tenets of his new "lowrise" block of crypts. As the inhabitants of the boneyard seem to belong to the category of ghouls that exist only to create their own internal community and not feed off the living, there is no real reason for the reader to think Paris is anything less then tip-top sane. Sure, one may question the growing attraction between Paris and Abbey, but since nothing in the comic indicates that she feeds off human victims, or anything for that matter, the inevitable consummation of their relationship can be viewed as a charming example of love having no age barrier, or at worst, lightweight necrophilia. Since it's established early that the creepy crawlies are "harmless," the reader need not look at them with apprehension and can therefore enjoy their "humorous" interactions and quips with little if no guilt (unless they're Catholic, in which case they're going to hell for even knowing of this title.) And these creatures are humorous, backstabbing, adulterous, depraved, and oh just so gosh darn loveable.

While zany antics and wacky creatures in comics more often then not result in stone-faced readers and trashcans full of product, Richard Moore's BONEYARD is different, in that Mr. Moore can create what many before him have failed at - genuine laughs and rapid page-turning. Although the premise and many of the laughs are on the level of sitcom, that's not really an issue considering that this would fall in the good programming category. Richard Moore's artwork in this series is particularly warm and will no doubt remind you of other illustrators you've seen in the past that have warm artwork.

BONEYARD is general audience fare, so adult fans of Moore's previous work such as FAR WEST or HORNY TALES may be stunned by the comic's lack of flesh. Still, you can take the boy out of the adult section, but you can't take the adult section out of the boy, as issue #2's cheesecake cover and Paris's tendency to be caught with his pants down, show. Nevertheless by removing the hard edges, Moore's skill as a writer shines all the brighter. You will not reach the heights of inspired brilliance in BONEYARD that you would in a Dan Clowes or Peter Bagge piece, but you'll be entertained and more often than not find a healthy smirk on your face.

BONEYARD

Grade: B+

Issue: No. 1-3

Author(s): Richard Moore

Publisher: NBM Publishing

Price: $2.95