Boneyard

Boneyard collects the first four issues of Richard Moore’s horror humor series. A young man has inherited a remote small-town property from his grandfather. He only wants to sell it and leave the area, until he finds out that the property is a graveyard with an odd group of inhabitants. Although they’re monsters, they’re more welcoming to him than the townsfolk.

The art is confident and cinematic. Mr. Moore’s work has the entertainment and simple lines of a cartoon, drawn with a skilled, light touch. The characters are a mixed group of comedy types: smart-aleck gargoyles, a seductive lizard-woman, a tough-guy werewolf with a heart of gold, and a vampire with girl-next-door sex appeal. It’s often reminiscent of a farce, especially when characters are caught with their pants down.

The setting is atmospheric, which contrasts nicely with the realistic portrayal of a normal guy in a situation where he has no idea what’s going on and is working as fast as he can to catch up. Good-hearted characters make for an enjoyable read, and the gags work more often than not. The book ends with some sketches and enlightening artist’s notes.

Although this first collection blends sex and slapstick in frothy fun, future volumes tilt much more towards “look! boobies!”, so I lost interest in the series. More information is available at the publisher’s website.