How much more can one family both endure and continue to heap upon others? In Bone Parish Chapter Seven: The Pains of Rebirth, the Winters family is back in the driver’s seat in The Ash empire, even if they might be usurped at any moment.

SPOILERS BELOW (for Issues #1-6)

At the end of Issue #6, a new detective started her investigation into the Winters, but at the beginning of Issue #7, Detective Fiona Herron is already discovering just how dangerous that role can be for both her and her loved ones. It doesn’t deter her, however, from her job, which could send a lot more problems her way. Still, it gives the readers a hero, someone on the right side of the law to root for – even if it’s been fun seeing which bad guy is gonna come out on top.

The Winters clan stays busy trying to solve the mystery of who is unsuccessfully reverse engineering The Ash, the drug that made them famous. The knock-off version of their hallucinogenic created from the ashes of dead people, however, has some seriously terrible side effects. In Issue #6, the reader saw the creepiest Ash trip to date courtesy of this reverse-engineered version of the drug, with a creature somewhat reminiscent of G-virus-style William Birkin of Resident Evil 2 fame (my favorite The Ash incarnation so far!), but this issue of Bone Parish gives us a whole new reason to fear the reaper. As if things needed to get any worse . . .

Writer Cullen Bunn continues to hold his own as the king of comic book horror with this series. As with every issue, the tale swirls the depths of depravity, making it a nail-biting and sickly fun read with that all-consuming question of “What’s next?” While this issue doesn’t have as much out and out gruesomeness, there is a particular scene with Detective Herron that will catch many readers off-balance in how psychologically distressing it is. Jonas Scharf once again delivers on the art, bringing both The Ash and the seedy underbelly of the crime world to life. The juxtaposition of, for instance, a brighter scene with Detective Herron, the darker scenes with Brae, and disturbing scenes involving The Ash conveys the mood of the writing and story perfectly.

Only five issues left of Bone Parish’s 12-issue run, and there is still a whole lot of ground to cover before we find out who ends up left with The Ash kingdom – should it survive at all. There are sure to be some crazy shifts in the storyline along with plenty of surprises. If you haven’t started your journey yet, there’s no time like now.

Creative Team: Writer – Cullen Bunn; Artist – Jonas Scharf; Colors – Alex Guimãraes; Letters – Ed Dukeshire; Cover – Rod Reis; Unlocked Retailer Variant Cover – Jakub Rebelka
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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