The names of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino on a comic book is an instant sell for me. While I have not the other comic books in The Bone Orchard Mythos the fact that this franchise is a series of self-contained stories made it an easy choice to jump into with The Tenement. Given that The Bone Orchard Mythos Universe is tapping into the horror genre I’m not sure if it’ll be for me. The horror genre is not something I normally consume content on. But given Lemire and Sorrentino’s talent as a creative team they may provide an exception. Being given the chance to check out a copy of the first issue ahead of release I got a chance to see if that is the case. Find out how it turns out with this advance review of The Bone Orchard Mythos: Tenement #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Creators: Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Colorist: David Stewart
Letterer: Steve Wands
SOLICITATION
“In this extra-length first issue JEFF LEMIRE & ANDREA SORRENTINO bring you the story of seven residents in a building and the dark secrets that bind them together…beginning with a death that feels much more sinister than natural.” – Image Comics
REVIEW
For the first issue the dark horror elements are kept to a minimum by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino for The Bone Orchard Mythos: Tenement. The story in Tenement #1 is largely focused on getting to know what the circumstances for the seven residents in the apartment complex are the focus of the series. That focus makes the moments in Tenement #1 when we do get the horror elements pop up stand out as visually striking.
The framing Lemire and Sorrentino give us in the opening pages is a great tone setter. This is not a slice-of-life comic book. While the focus is on seven characters there is a whole vibe that tells you they are connected to something bigger. The second page gives a unique framing structure by Sorrentino that gets you into wanting to learn who the seven lead characters are about. That is all done with none of the characters speaking a word until the fourth page. Lemire keeping the narration to a minimum in the first seven pages makes the way Sorrentino, along with David Stewart’s coloring, introduces stand out as they live independent lives.
Providing this type of introduction to the characters allow the reader to get settled into this world. From there Lemire writes each character to have their own, distinct way of talking. As we saw in the opening, each character has their own lives and way of conducting themselves. Some of that may be due their circumstances or just their personality types. This all makes you get invested in what is the thing that connects these people as part of the narrative for Tenement.
All of that character work leads back into the fantastic way Sorrentino and Stewart frame the story in the artwork. The horror elements start to come into play when Sorrentino and Stewart suddenly change the way pages are framed from the way comics are traditionally framed. Its those moments and the incredible splash pages that help build the investment into finding out what direction this story will go following the big development towards the end of Tenement #1.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino deliver an incredible start to the latest entry in The Bone Orchard Mythos. You are immediately invested in the seven leads in Tenement #1 with how Jeff Lemire develops each of them through the writing. Then there is the incredible artwork by Sorrentino and colorist David Stewart that gets over the vibe of the story with great use of page space. It all comes togethers for a can’t miss comic book.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10