Get An Indescribable High With Insane Repercussions In Bone Parish #1

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.

In Bone Parish #1, Cullen Bunn has taken all the appeal and obstacles of running a successful illicit drug operation and thrown in a brilliant supernatural twist. This new drug Ash offers the ultimate experience in escapism. What better way to dissociate from unpleasant, boring, arduous, scary, and banal aspects of daily life than to actually step into the memories and experiences of another person? Someone bolder. More successful. Richer. Better looking. Someone who actually lived, but is no longer among the upright and breathing.

The exclusive proprietary method for producing this particular stimulant requires human corpses. Not just any corpses, either. They have to be bodies of folks whose stories junkies want to relive. Musicians, poets, porn stars, that kind of thing. The higher profile the grave that’s being robbed, the more attention it’ll attract from local and national law enforcement and press. And of course, the major crime syndicates will want a piece of the action. There might also be a few horrifying side effects. It can’t be perfect, can it?

Bone Parish’s artwork is fantastic. Jonas Scharf and Alex Guimaraes deliver an aesthetic that flips easily from gritty, dull reality to hyper saturated fantasy. The scenery screams Big Easy, from the streets and alleys to the historic graveyards and plantations. Characters are distinct and unique, with great use of expression and ambulation. You’ll want to punch that first mobster right in the face before he even speaks.

This is an impressive opening salvo. Bone Parish has elements of horror and occult noir, blended expertly with crime drama and mafia tropes. It’s beautiful and intriguing, while maintaining a gritty, dangerous edge.

Bone Parish, published by Boom! Studios, released 25 July 2018. Written and created by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Jonas Scharf, colors by Alex Guimaraes, letters by Ed Dukeshire, cover by Lee Garbett, variant cover by Rod Reis, unlocked retailer variant cover by Tyler Crook.