Picking Up The Pieces Of A Fractured Family In Bone Parish #6

With a renewed focus on the Ash business, the Winters family goes on the offensive to claw back every scrap of New Orleans territory that was taken from them.

In Bone Parish #6, the Winters are dealing with some stuff. Wade’s death is still fresh, driving a wedge between the remaining siblings, and driving Grace to make some pretty drastic decisions for the direction of the company. Attacks are coming from multiple fronts as an all-out gang war looms on the horizon. If the Winters don’t find a way to keep the brand fresh and keep the dogs at bay, they’re headed for some hurt.

So much has already happened in the first five chapters, it seems like we’ve been at this way longer than seven months. Cullen Bunn has taken a small, wholesome family business model and twisted it every way imaginable, and somehow he keeps pulling out new angles that add depth and build tension.

This chapter is a little light on the gore. I mean, there is that ONE thing, and it’s freaking horrifying, but Jonas Scharf and Alex Guimaraes get to focus more on the human aspects of this increasingly ominous gig, and they absolutely destroy it.

Bone Parish is killing it on multiple levels. It’s solidly established as an occult crime thriller, but what really sells this thing is the complex, realistic relationships between siblings who are really just trying to play the crap hand they’ve been dealt. At its core, it’s a story of pain and loss, personal growth, loyalty, and, you know, haunted drugs.

Bone Parish #6, BOOM! Studios, released 29 January 2019. Written by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Jonas Scharf, color by Alex Guimaraes, letters by Ed Dukeshire.