BONE ORCHARD: TENEMENT #1 BY JEFF LEMIRE, ANDREA SORRENTINO (Image Comics) review

Welcome to an all-new edition of Parlay Points, the comic book review blog for the ODPH Podcast.

For this edition, we are checking out the debut issue from a well known horror universe from Image Comics that has an extremely popular creative team welcoming readers back. Whenever fans see JEFF LEMIRE and ANDREA SORRENTINO paired up on a book, they know they are in for something special. With a resume touting Green Arrow, Old Man Logan and Gideon Falls to name a few, a new title involving those two is going to create some excitement.

BONE ORCHARD: TENEMENT #1 is the latest tale from THE BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS, which has already gifted fans with another incredible story: BONE ORCHARD: TEN THOUSAND BLACK FEATHERS. What are Lemire, Sorrentino and Dave Stewart planning for this new saga? Let’s take a closer look and see what’s happening here.

***BONE ORCHARD: TENEMENT #1*** BY ***JEFF LEMIRE, ANDREA SORRENTINO AND DAVE STEWART*** (Credit: Image Comics)

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

This issue begins with an ominous voice mentioning seven people who seem intertwined together by fate. Readers meet Issac, his mother Amamda, Justin, Felix, Tanya, Bob and Gary. All have a different story to tell. With a haunting narration, the story focuses on Issac, a young boy staring into a horrifying image. With bodies hanging from a tree bathed in a red sky, Issac stands frozen looking into a faceless stranger.

Before he can say anything, Issac is snapped back to reality. The sky changes back to a normal color. The tree he stared at has no bodies around it. The faceless stranger has turned into Justin, who’s trying to enjoy his cigarette in peace. Their common bond is revealed to be a Tenement. But as readers soon find out, this place has more than one sees on the outside.

The story shifts thru various interactions of the tenants of the building. Each one has an issue they deal with. Each relationship varies from pleasant to confrontational with all signs leading back to Issac. After the young boy has a conversation with another resident, what seems like a meaningless talk looks to bring something sinister in its wake. As Issac stares out into the sky, a book is nearby that is all too familiar readers of the Bone Orchard.

What could be transpiring in this building? Things begin to ramp up in the late hours of the night with a few restless neighbors. In an instant, an event happens that proves to be the match to the emotional timebomb ready to explode. The repercussions of this are felt with each tenant but one now appears to be heading towards a dark path with the closing image feeding readers worst suspicions. Get ready for something wicked on the horizon.

BREAKDOWN: Lemire gives readers a wide range of characters bound together with a sinister mystery looming. Each tenant of the building has their own tales but Issac quietly became the lead of this story. Lemire writes him as a normal child troubled by disturbing visions. His interactions with the other residents seems normal at first but one seems to know what Issac is truly capable of and ushers him in that path of destiny. Even with Issac getting a good majority of panel time, pacing allowed fair time for readers to meet the group involved with this series. The other neighbors each have problems they’re dealing with but none seem to know what is next. The book’s tone is troubling and grounded. The character’s own dramas might be blinding them but their roads seem to cross together with the event of the final act. Where things lead now is unknown but rest assured, there is much to be invested with this series.

Sorrentino and Stewart capture the grittiness of daily life with a supernatural shadow on the horizon. The initial introduction brings readers in with giving each major character a three panel mini story to clarify a piece of their daily activities. This method varies later int he book but smaller panel usage give a more personal feel to each sub-plot. When the first supernatural visual hits, it’s a direct, blunt two page spread filled with the brooding sky and mysterious figure Issac is looking at. The intensity of this is mimicked later in the book as the late night hours portion builds readers’ anxiousness up to a big payoff. The full-page lightbulb panel kicks off the final act with some emotional outbursts leading to a calmer stage sending this book into its’ next chapter.

FINAL POINT: 9 OUT OF 10

The Bone Orchard universe crashes back into comic shops with a defiant new story that readers won’t be able to escape. Lemire and Sorrentino orchestrate a brooding tale with superb writing and haunting art, reflecting the danger slowly revealing itself to readers with every page. You won’t want to miss this issue on New Comic Book day!

Hit me up on ODPH social media and let me know what you thought of BONE ORCHARD: TENEMENT #1. Thanks for reading.