Advance Review: Bone Orchard Tenement #1 (of 10)

I once thought that horror was hard to do in comic books, yet with a plethora of different textures of horror I may have been wrong; I very rarely say that so I hope Mrs H doesn’t read this! In my head, there are a couple of ways that horror manifests itself; firstly the monster in the shadows that seeks out its victims, or a shared experience that pervades the lives of those that are involved.

Seven people, who live in the aforementioned tenement, all have their issues or problems. A husband struggling to pay the cost of his wife’s care, Felix who sees all, the rock star, the drug dealer and the single parent with an awkward child, who maybe sees more than he needs to are all thrown into the mix with a building which includes deep dark secrets which will impact each and everyone of them.

Jeff Lemire is a writing savant; on one hand old school superheroes with Black Hammer on the other Gideon Falls and more recently, the interesting Phantom Road. Here Lemire mines the second trope I mentioned above; the haunted house that affects, well, everyone. Lemire’s approach to the writing of this book is somewhat unique. The monologue of sorts, seeks to establish situations if not motive, dialogue that seeks to inform at this stage, prior to moving things forward, all wrapped up in a bow of darkness. This extra-sized first issue does its job well; we understand who is who with tropes used to great effect for sure. Hopefully later issues will further cement the characters in each others lives. For a longer issue, it is certainly a pacy read, with Lemire utilising the art of Andrea Sorrentino to show not tell.

Andrea Sorrentino’s art combines photo manipulation with a touch of facial realism in a kind of mix between Mike Deodato Jr. and Michael Gaydos with creepy assed trees thrown in for good measure. The darkness seeps through each panel with Sorrentino choosing the best of the tropes in play to get the message across. It will be interesting to see how that develops as the darkness starts to encroach on each character. Part of the charm, if that is the right word for a horror comic, of the book has to be the outstanding colors of Dave Stewart who has a wealth of horror books experience thanks to his time on the Mignola-verse. Finally, whilst there is a dearth of dialogue, Steve Wands delivers a solid font along with a nearly name tag style of monologue.

By now, anyone who reads my reviews or listens to the Outside the Panels podcast, should know that I am not a huge horror fan. However some creators mange to subvert that dislike into something that is a really enjoyable experience. Jeff Lemire is one such creator!

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Written by; Jeff Lemire
Art by; Andrea Sorrentino
Colors by; Dave Stewart
Letters & Design by; Steve Wands
Published by; Image Comics

Bone Orchard Tenement #1 is due in shop Jun 21, 2023; Daimond Order Code APR230068

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network