Boneyard was an American quarterly comic book series created by Richard Moore, published by NBM Publishing, which ran 28 issues from 2001 to 2009. It is currently on hiatus.
Contents
Publication history
There are currently 28 issues of Boneyard which have been published as a quarterly comic book title. In addition an un-numbered Swimsuit Special was released between issues 9 and 10. Every four issues are then collected into a trade paperback which are expected to remain in print for the foreseeable future. Currently all issues are available in seven black and white collections. Color reprints are also available for the first four collections, and have been announced for the entire run of trade paperbacks and will replace the current black and white pressings when the print run is sold. Issue 28 of the series, scheduled to be the last before a hiatus, was delayed "...[d]ue to personal reasons" and finally shipped in May 2009.
A new installment had begun in 2013 with "The Biggening".
Plot
A horror/comedy comic, the series begins with Michael Paris, an ordinary young man who has inherited a large plot of land upon his grandfather's death. The land is located in a town called "Raven's Hollow", and while Michael, or Paris as he prefers to be called, thinks he's just going to pick up the check for the land, he finds that the land is actually the town graveyard, called "The Boneyard". It's also not empty of active occupants, as a number of mythological creatures inhabit it.
Cast
Boneyard residents
Michael Paris - An ordinary young man who has just been on the bad end of a break up, he didn't know what he was getting into when he received the Boneyard as an inheritance. He has seemed to take it more or less in stride, and as a result, he has been accepted by the other things living there. He has a tendency to try to save the day - which often fails miserably - and he often needs to be pulled out of the fire by more capable people, typically Abbey. This turned around on Paris and the Boneyard crew in one story when the mystical graveyard denizens were under siege by a powerful nightmare spirit and only Paris' normality was able to evade the nightmare's clutches. Paris rose to the challenge and fought a pitched battle that required all his wits and ferocity to survive and save his friends.
Abbey - Made a vampire two thousand years ago, Abbey is the oldest and probably most powerful resident of the Boneyard. She mostly hides this side of herself, and typically comes off as a witty, normal girl. She is romantically interested in Paris, as judged from her reactions to Nessie trying to flirt with him; but she cares about everyone at the Boneyard a great deal. Considering it animalistic and barbarous, Abbey is embarrassed by her vampiric side, to the point that she will put herself in considerable danger to avoid using it. When she is forced to go all-out, her countenance becomes considerably more fearsome, with glowing red eyes and large fangs. Abbey also possesses the traditional vampire powers - some degree of shape-changing, superhuman strength and durability, and an astonishing regenerative ability. She also has the traditional vulnerabilities, but age has given her some resistance to holy symbols, and the Boneyard's nearly perpetual black cloud keeps the sun from being a problem. For events such as a trip to the beach, she resorts to very powerful sunscreen.
Nessie - An amphibious, oversexed being similar in shape to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, she is very flirtatious, and has no problem using her D-cup breasts to get what she wants. She is much more wild than Abbey, which causes a great deal of strife between the two. She is married to Brutus, and cheats on him. It has been revealed that Nessie's flirtatious ways have their roots in traumatic and sexually abusive experiences she suffered when she was captured and placed in a freak show when she was younger.
Brutus - Nessie's husband, Brutus is the silent member of the Boneyard, never saying anything more than grunts and growls. Nessie refers to him as mute at one point. He is similar in appearance to Frankenstein's monster, with stitch-lines and bolts in his neck. Due to his silence, Brutus is largely an unknown quantity for now except to say that he is not terribly bright, not terribly small, and not terribly weak.
Villains
Mayor Wormwood - The Mayor attempts to woo Paris into signing away his ownership of The Boneyard upon his arrival in Raven's Hollow, but Paris feels pangs of regret seeing that those living (and not living) on the property would be displaced and have nowhere else to go in a world that fears them. When Paris refuses to sell the place, Wormwood reveals his true aspect as Beelzebub, the Lord of Lies and attempts to terrify Paris into relinquishing the deed to the land. Ultimately this fails and Beelzebub retires to Hell to plot his next moves. It remains unrevealed as to why Beelzebub so desires the ownership of the Boneyard.
Roxanne - A wealthy investor who arrives in town and becomes friendly with Paris despite Abbey's misgivings. She also fails to woo the deed away and reveals herself not only as the Arch-fiend Lillith, but as the centuries-old demon that gave Abbey her vampiric life. Abbey is nearly killed in the confrontation and it is only the intervention of her friends (and Paris' car) that keeps Abbey from being destroyed.
The Doomsday frog - One of Glump's mad attempts at world domination. It remains unclear what the Doomsday frog was capable of, aside from giving its creator a hard time, but Glump created a "Doomsday Fly" to defeat it.
Jack -The Jack O'Lantern-headed nightmare sent by Lillith to destroy the Boneyard residents. Jack has the ability to force his victim's worst fears out and trap them within their own nightmares. Only Paris, with many strong cups of coffee inside him, is able to withstand his dark power and prove how dangerous a fighter he can be when provoked.
The I.R.S. - After Beelzebub leaves Raven's Hollow to plot his next attack, the Internal Revenue Service levies Paris with property taxes of over $500,000 - far more money than he can anticipate ever having. Several ill-fated schemes are hatched to raise the money for Paris in an attempt to keep the Boneyard's residents from losing their home. In reality, the Internal Revenue Service generally does not collect property taxes, just the federal portion of income, business and excise taxes; property taxes are generally charged and collected by the local municipalities.
The Slasher - A broad spoof of monster movie icon Jason Voorhees, although he also used a chainsaw à la Leatherface. This nameless killer haunted Camp Waterlake till Abbey destroyed him. It was revealed that he was a supernatural puppet created by Lillith.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a number of trade paperbacks:
Volume 1 (July 2005, B&W ISBN 1561634271)
Volume 2 (December 2006, B&W ISBN 1561633690)
Volume 3 (2004, B&W ISBN 1561634050/color ISBN 978-1-56163-515-3)
Volume 4 (June 2008, B&W ISBN 1561634247/color ISBN 978-1-56163-528-3)
Volume 5 (x 200x, B&W ISBN 1-56163-479-4)
Volume 6 (November 2007, ISBN 1-56163-510-3)
Volume 7 (July 2010, ISBN 1-56163-583-9)
Awards
Book of the Year 2005 Gold Medal in Graphic Novels from ForeWord magazine.