Bone Parish #1 by Cullen Bunn, Jonas Scharf, Alex Guimaraes, Lee Garbett

Cullen Bunn (Empty Man, The Unsound) returns to BOOM! Studios with a chilling necromantic horror story. A new drug is sweeping through the streets of New Orleans—one made from the ashes of the dead. Wars are being fought over who will control the supply, while the demand only rises. While the crime families wage war, users begin to experience terrifying visions of the dead coming back to life—through them.

Format: ebook
Narrator: n/a
Performance: n/a
Story: 🌑🌑🌑🌑🌓

WOW! This was super intense!

Right from the start I was hooked on the story of the Winters, a family of drug dealers from New Orleans. They peddle ash, a substance that causes hallucinations and other interesting side effects. It is made from the remains of dead people. The Winters matriarch Grace is addicted to the ash, the only thing that keeps her husband by her side. Grace has three sons, Brae, Leon and Wade who were in charge of the operations and her daughter, Brigitte, the only one who knows the secrets of ash. I liked how these characters were flawed but also deep and strong. The backstories were very  intriguing.

Bone Parish is part family drama, part mob politics, part supernatural horror. The Winters have conflicting opinions on the future of the business but as long as Grace is alive, what she says goes. There were other gangs who were very determined to buy them out but Grace is holding on to the reins even as her supply of ash and her hold on her husband dwindles. Meanwhile, the brothers continue robbing graves to supply the demand but they were ambushed by a rival gang with tragic consequences.

There were graphic scenes of violence, drug use, etc. That is to be expected given the premise of the comics. However, the artists avoided being gratuitous without sacrificing the visceral impact of the scenes. I've read some reviews saying that the pacing is jumpy but for me, I had no problems with the flow and I was able to follow the story without any difficulties.

This is my first Cullen Bunn comic. So far, I'm pretty impressed. And I have questions. What happens if they ran out of graves to rob? Do they start killing people just to keep up with the demand? Can Brigitte keep all her secrets? Would Leon make a move? Who else is after the family business? And how long would Grace be in control? 

Volume 2 please! 

P.S.

I received a copy of Bone Parish  from Boom! Studios via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

SOUNDTRACK

The Nerve
Mutemath
Armistice

Can you believe this world's got the nerve to insist they won't trade for a better one? 
Can you believe this world's yellin' out in the dark it wants to be left alone? 
Can you believe this world never woulda had the chance without us giving it blood? 
Can you believe this world lacks the common courtesy to thank us all for the love? 

[Chorus:]
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! [x3]

Can you believe this world's like a glassy eyed swiller caught sippin' another one? 
Can you believe this world's like a tyrant taking over anything that it wants? 
Can you believe this world's like a wounded martyr worried if his commitment is gone? 
Can you believe this world's like a vagrant in the gutter talkin' nothing is wrong? 

[Chorus:]
Set it on fire 
Set it on fire 
Set it on fire 
Set it on fire 
Set it on fire [x3]

Can you believe this world's just a double dealin' joker, gonna stick to his guns? 
Can you believe this world's just a television blaring, a million devils at once? 
Can you believe this world's just a charmer in disguise with a lavender soul? 
Can you believe this world's just exactly as we built it, runnin' out of control? 

[Chorus:]
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! 
Set it on fire! [x3]