Advance Review: ‘Bone Orchard – Tenement’ #1 Shakes Up Comic Book Monotony
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
The Eisner Award-winning creative team is back with a new story in the Bone Orchard Mythos. This first chapter in the 10-part series defies expectations by spending most of its time introducing readers to its many main characters. It’s a curious choice, but one that is sure to keep readers coming back for more.
Overall
9.5/10Leave it to master storytellers Jeff Lemire and Andrew Sorrentino to defy conventional comic book wisdom while enticing readers to come back next month for more.
In their latest limited series set in the Bone Orchard Mythos universe, writer Lemire and artist Sorrentino deliver an introduction that shakes up the monotony of a premiere issue, from the perspective of both the script as well as the visuals.
Instead of focusing on a few characters to get started, Lemire makes the bold choice to introduce us immediately to seven residents of a tenement building. We meet druggie band member Tanya; the mysterious Felix, young boy Isaac, parking lot attendant Gary and three others.
Even with an oversized issue, Lemire doesn’t have enough time to flesh out every character. But he does give us more than enough to whet our appetites for what’s to come. That is a fairly astonishing feat given that not much happens in this issue. Lemire spends his time introducing characters and a bit of the mystery that will eventually be explored. But it’s just hints…and just enough to get readers hooked.
Young Isaac seems to be the key to the story (there’s a pun there that can’t be explained without minor spoilers). He seems to have some supernatural perception (Lemire is channeling The Shining in this issue) and will likely unlock the next step in these characters’ journey.
It may seem obvious to point out that Sorrentino also defies conventional comic book wisdom with his artwork. He loves to play with page layouts. It’s common for him to place panels on only part of a page and leave a drawing underneath them, just barely peeking out. He is also known for skewing his panels so they aren’t perpendicular to the page. It’s a disorienting – and effective – technique, particularly for a horror book. David Stewart’s dark and shadow-filled colors perfectly complement the mood.
It’s wonderful to see a creative team firing on all cylinders – and it’s even better to read the fruits of their labor. With this strong start, Bone Orchard: Tenement has the potential to be one of the best stories of the year.
Bone Orchard: Tenement #1 will be available for purchase on June 21, 2023.
