One More Time For Old Time's Sake

Boneyard: The Biggening
Antarctic Press
Richard Moore, writer and artist
********** Mature Content Warning ************

My prayers have been answered! Boneyard is back!!

Unfortunately, it's only a one-shot so far, but one can hope for more, right?

Boneyard was the creation of Richard Moore and ran for 29 quarterly issues from NBM Publishing from 2001-2009. Moore is perhaps best known for his adult pin-ups and comics such as Far West and Fire & Brimstone. There is a lot of innuendo in Boneyard, but none of the more risque bits found in Moore's other works. And most of what I have seen from Moore to date always mixes humor with the horror.

In the Boneyard series, we are introduced to Michael Paris, Paris to his friends, a regular guy who has just learned his eccentric grandfather has passed away and bequeathed him a plot of land. Paris drives to the town of Raven's Hollow expecting to sign some papers selling the land and pick up a check he desperately needs. Once he arrives in Raven's Hollow, however, Paris finds the town very odd; everyone seems to know who he is and treats him almost like royalty. The strange behavior makes Paris uneasy, and he decides to inspect the property before signing it away. What he finds is the town cemetery, the Boneyard, of which he is now the sole owner; but the Boneyard is full of more than just remains. It is also home to a collection of "monsters" the townspeople are anxious to get rid of.

Abbey, an attractive 2,000-year-old vampire and obvious spokesperson for the Boneyard's inhabitants, encourages Paris to get to know them before signing any papers, and despite his fear at meeting a "living" vampire, Paris is intrigued. Abbey shows him around, and Paris meets a number of the other Boneyard crew: Nessie, a flirtatious (and willing to back those flirtations up) Creature from the Black Lagoon type; her husband, Brutus, a mute and not terribly bright Frankenstein's monster type; Sid, a living skeleton; Ralph, a werewolf; Edgar, a wise-cracking raven; Glump, a lesser demon banished to earth for a bit of kindness; and Leon and Boris, the stone gargoyles posted on either side of the front gate of the Boneyard; among others. Paris, and the readers, quickly learn that the townsfolk have nothing to fear from the motley Boneyard crew, all of whom just want to peacefully co-exist. At that point, it becomes obvious that a single entity is behind the attempts to close down the Boneyard and has been stirring up the city to achieve that end. Once that threat is exposed and eliminated, however, other beings -- both supernatural and governmental -- show up to bedevil Paris, Abbey and the rest.

And it all added up to a wonderful, funny, entertaining black-and-white series that ended much too soon. If I recall correctly, I read at the time that Moore had experienced a couple personal tragedies including a house fire. He found himself needing some quick cash and his more adult projects had always sold better than the lesser-known Boneyard. So he put the series on indefinite hiatus to concentrate on some of those more lucrative projects.

This Boneyard one-shot was announced this past summer as the first of a series of one-shots, now being published by Antarctic Press, and it is every bit as good as the original and a happy reunion with old friends. In this story, Paris and Abbey are in the relationship that was beginning in the main series, but Paris is feeling a bit inadequate when compared with some of Abbey's past lovers. Again, she's been around for 2,000 years, so she's had a few beaus in her time, and many of them are warlocks, demons, wizards, elf princes or other beings of power and wealth. Paris seeks advice from Glump -- never a good idea -- and Abbey must help him deal with the disastrous results of Glump's "help." Along the way, readers get brief glimpses of several other familiar characters, and a June interview with Moore by Comic Book Resources indicated that future one-shots were planned to catch fans up with all of the Boneyard denizens.

Alas, it now seems that those future one-shots may never materialize. I've noticed that I have yet to see another Boneyard book advance solicited. Same goes for Moore's new Antarctic Press anthology, Macabre. Between reading Boneyard: The Biggening and getting this post posted, I came across the sad, sad news that Moore has announced he is leaving the comics field for other pursuits. In his own words, "I’m no longer in the comics business. Twenty years of putting everything I had into the worst-paying job I’ve ever had was enough. Sincerity and hard work mean nothing when you can’t get publishers to give a damn. I hope people enjoyed my modest contribution to the field."

Moore plans to do some work in the realm of children's books, an interest he says he's had for a long time. I wish him well with whatever he pursues, and I will very much miss his Boneyard cast unless or until they return in some fashion in the future.

###############

Now for some happier news: TJ Burns of Kentucky, also known as American Hawkman, won the free comics I promised for helping me to understand Arion's characterization from Kurt Busiek's run on Superman a few years ago. See, folks, it sometimes pays to post a comment!

Anyway, I hadn't specified what was to be given away, so TJ chose to receive the four-issue 1985 Red Tornado series from DC Comics. Those books are on the way to him right now! Hopefully he enjoys them when he's not writing his own fan fiction for Faux DC. Thanks again for the assistance, TJ!