Advance Review — ‘Bone Orchard: Tenement’ #4 Is A Mystery Wrapped Inside A Conundrum
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
The masterful creative team behind the Bone Orchard Mythos is taking readers on a journey. Exactly what is happening and where we’re going is unknown – and ultimately not important because the journey itself is so methodical and well crafted.
Overall
9/10Every once in a while, a comic book comes along that is so intentionally confusing yet fascinating that you walk away wondering what you just read.
It’s not necessarily a bad feeling. If the story is done well and eventually has proper resolution, that disorientation can be an incredibly effective storytelling technique as the veil is lifted from readers’ eyes. That is the winding road that Bone Orchard: Tenement is walking down now. Exactly what is happening to the resident of the tenement is unclear. Have they been transported to another world? Is it some mass illusion? Is it just a figment of someone’s overactive imagination?
This much is clear: seven residents of the tenement have been exploring the building after it’s seemingly been transported somewhere else. The seven get separated, they get stalked by death traps straight out of Indiana Jones and they are stalked by seemingly familiar faces who turn out to be so-called masks. Guiding them is a young boy, Issac, who seems to have an inherent understanding of certain aspects of this world.
In the hands of a lesser creative team, this issue could easily feel like a mess. Being weird for weird’s sake won’t cut it for most readers. But writer Jeff Lemire knows where he’s going with this series and the larger Bone Orchard Mythos. And he and master artist Andrea Sorrentino are taking us on that journey at the pace that they set. Yet it doesn’t feel like there’s any bloat here. Just a well-crafted, methodically told story. We may not understand exactly what’s going on, but the journey is enjoyable and ultimately worth taking.
Sorrentino, in particular, has wowed in every issue. While he largely avoids his signature style of breaking through the confines of panels, he delivers several memorable pages. Colorist Dave Stewart helps certain images to pop in this largely grey story.
Being able to trust that in a creative team’s ability to tell an unconventional story is a treat. And there are few teams better than this one.
Bone Orchard: Tenement #4 will be available for purchase on September 20, 2023.
