Boneyard, Volume 4

Boneyard #4

by Richard Moore

As Abbey the vampire recovers from her showdown with the much more powerful Lilith, Swamp girl Nessie starts taking the upper hand in her pursuit of Michael Paris. Meanwhile, Glump continues his farcical schemes to rule the world, launching the Doomsday Frog. However, all are quickly brought back together to face a new zombies sprouting up from the cemetery! Young Adult.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Humor, Vampires, Adult, Young Adult

104 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2005

About the author

Richard Moore (born Fredrick William Morehead) is an American writer and artist of comic books.
--from wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[MerryMeerkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boneyard Volume 4 3.5 Stars buy it/borrow it
 
This isn’t one of the better ones in the series unfortunately.  I find it  weird and all over the place. All the crap with Glump really annoyed me. And Nessie constantly fussing over Michael is seriously getting old.   However there are still puns and funny lines so its not terrible.  Also once the zombies come out it does get better.  We also learn more about Nessie’s past and so you don’t end up not hating her after all.  Definitely not the best volume but after a really rough start it definitely improves.

[Hal Astell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I understand it, there are a total of seven volumes to Richard Moore's 'Boneyard' graphic novel series, but I only have four, so this is my final review for now. I've enjoyed my time spent in Raven's Hollow, where Michael Paris inherits a cemetery from his grandfather that's populated by a weird array of what the locals would likely call monsters: vampires, demons, gargoyles, werewolves, you name it. Initially, our sympathies are entirely with the denizens of the cemetery, even Glump, who is professionally obnoxious and wants to take over the world. However, the townsfolk have settled down somewhat since being rabbleroused into a torches and pitchfork brigade by Satan himself, in disguise as their mayor.

The third volume was the weakest thus far, mostly because a good chunk of it was dedicated to the swimsuit edition that Glump put together in order to a) include subliminal messages to further his world domination plan; b) showcase female occupants of the cemetery such as vampire Abbey and Nessie, a creature from the black lagoon type, in as little clothing as humanly possible; and c) way down the list, earn enough money so Paris can pay off the cool half million dollars he owes the IRS, on account of his grandfather never paying his taxes.

Needless to say, only b) actually works and, while Moore has a particular style in drawing monster cheesecake photos, ably hinting at the fact that he also draws erotica comics, the concept gets old pretty quickly. Sure, I enjoyed them but I also enjoy story and it took a long while for book three to really get into high gear during its second half. This one gets going quicker, but it's rather all over the place, as if Moore isn't really sure what he wanted to do with it. Some of it works very well but other sections fall a little flat.

Initially, we return to Glump's plans to take over the world, which, following his failure to actually make his subliminal messages in the swimsuit edition subliminal, now involve creating Doomsday Frog. Now, Doomsday Frog is precisely what you might expect, with Glump as the mad scientist in classic mode, but rather inept, because he has absolutely no ability to control his creation, and so leading to shenanigans.

However, just as that subplot is getting under way, we shift back to Abbey, who's recovering after a boss battle at the end of book three. Paris is constantly by her side as she does so, because, in this mythology, she isn't one of those vampires who can heal any wound just like that. If we didn't like Abbey already, and she's easily the most sympathetic character in the series, we have to start this time out, because she takes care of Paris's IRS debt on the sly, selling her genuine Rembrandt that he painted of her. We can be absolutely sure that Abbey and Paris will end up together, as much as we know they won't manage it yet because that has to be something left for the end of the series.

And so Nessie takes advantage. When Paris asks questions to find out who cleared his debt, Nessie happily claims to be the one and that sneaks her ahead of her competition because Abbey refuses to take the credit fairly due to her. The negative side is that, as infuriatingly cute as Nessie is for a creature from the black lagoon, I've never really got onto her side. Fortunately, Moore takes the opportunity here to flesh out some of her back story and that allows us to finally garner sympathy for her, at least to a degree, on top of enjoying all the situation comedy.

And, just in case you're wondering which of these various subplots dominates the book and turns into the point of this volume, I'll point out instead that it turns into a zombie comic about halfway through. Why, I'm not entirely clear, but it does set up a particular moment that I presume will be important for volume five. But hey, maybe not. Moore has a habit of flouting our expectations by setting up the next big thing only to diminish it and move onto something else, like, for instance, the abiding mystery about how Paris is going to pay off the IRS, which was introduced in book two, only to be taken care of just-like-that here.

That makes this a frustrating series. My favourite angle is probably the humour, because Moore is agreeably wacky in the ways he sets up his supernatural sitcom. After that, it's probably the idea, which is a glorious one that offers a vast amount of potential for neverending storylines. Then it's the characters, who are all set up to have similar potential, only to then often be relegated to just a running gag or two. Way down at the bottom of the list is the storylines, which struggle to keep focus, especially when there are so many of them battling it out for dominance in this book.

At the end of the day, I'm happy I stuck it out to read all four volumes that I have on the shelf, and I'll keep my eyes open for the remaining three volumes, but I don't feel a burning desire to shell out the cash to buy them new. They're quirky and enjoyable books, but they're not as essential as I was hoping they would be, starting out.

Originally posted at the Nameless Zine in June 2024:
https://www.thenamelesszine.org/Illus...

Index of all my Nameless Zine reviews:
https://books.apocalypselaterempire.com/

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

So my Boneyard reading is as complete as the library will allow, having now read vol. 2, vol. 1 (in color) and vol. 4. As with vol. 2, this one ends on a cliffhanger that I may never see resolved, and the entertaining quality of the little demon bent on conquering the world with grandiose plans has
worn thin, but the main plot of vol. 4 is entertaining enough.

Moore, as I mentioned a while back, is from the Jeff Smith clean cartoony school of cartooning,
though he's not nearly as good a storyteller as Smith is. A few sequences are slightly confusing, but the character designs are great, the girls cute, and the character acting works very well. Most of the storytelling works as well; just a few sequences that clunk.

The dialogue is fun, and Moore has a good feel for each of his character's voices. It's not nearly as good as Bone, but if you like the early, funnier installments of that series and want to see the humor and drama transposed to a supernatural/horror setting, I'd recommend checking out
Boneyard.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Último tomo editado en castellano por Norma. Publicado como #75 de la Colecicón Made in Hell, en un formato más pequeño que los demás libros de la colección.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glump reanimates (wait for it) a frog. And gives it part of an enormous evil brain he’s been saving. Paris’ debt to the IRS is miraculously (and mysteriously) paid off by an unknown benefactor (Abbey, as it turns out). Nessie takes credit for the act and talks Paris into taking her and Brutus to dinner as a thank-you. Naturally, this provides the perfect opportunity for her seduction attempts when Nessie sends Brutus along to the restaurant ahead of them. But before anything can happen, ZOMBIES! It’s not clear where they’re coming from (or why). Abbey and Nessie have to put aside their spat over Paris and fight off the zombies. While they have a little down time, Nessie spins the tale of the abuse she suffered as a youth – taken and used by men and then kidnapped to perform in a freak show. As she wraps up her tale, she’s bitten by a zombie, which could be bad…can merwomen become zombies? The tension between Abbey and Paris remains high, and the humorous hijinks of the other characters keep the story flowing (and its readers coming back for more!).

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mad-scientist demons, zombies, vampires, sea monsters, oh my! This is a wacky comic book series with lots of appeal factors. Boneyard follows the adventures of Michael Paris (a human who happens to own a graveyard), Abbey the vampire, Nessie the swamp girl, and Glump the demon. In this volume, Glump is attempting to create a Doomsday Frog. Meanwhile, Abbey is healing from an attack, and Nessie is attempting to seduce Michael. The target audience for this comic is definitely adults, as there is some partial nudity. But the playful approachable style will aggressively appeal to high school audiences, especially those who may eschew a library’s other offerings.
I'm sure I'd like this even more if I'd started from the beginning, but without any character/relationship background, I was playing catchup. Also, there were a few typos in the text, which is always annoying. Fun pulpy offering, though.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Moore, Boneyard, vol. 4 (NBM, 2004)

Ah, Boneyard in color! What a wonderful thing it is. (I found out at the end of this one the first three volumes are also available in color. Wish I'd known that previous...) The big story arc takes a back seat to a more pressing problem—all the sudden the boneyard's dead are rising from their graves and heading into town to attack the locals. This, obviously, is not good, and Abbey has to figure out what the problem is before anyone gets seriously hurt. Could it be some sort of weird by-product of Glump's attempt to create a super-destructive demonic attack frog? You'll have to read it to find out—and you want to read it. Boneyard is great stuff. ****

[Readysetclick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually I stick to giving this comic a three but this one made me laugh a lot more. I really want to see it in color as I have only seen it in black and white. The characters are really starting to grow on me

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am working my way through these. they are fast and fun. i do want to recommend them to students but will probably stick to high school.

[Shannon Goudreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 4 volumes are entertaining. Interested to see where it goes next.