Broken Frontier

I’m at a disadvantage with the seventh (and from what I’ve read, final) volume of Boneyard, NBM Publishing’s popular title from creator Richard Moore. I’ve heard of the series in passing, but I’ve never read any of the books prior to this volume, rendering the continuity and characters confusing for all outsiders not in the loop.

Volume seven of Boneyard tells the story of Michael Paris (the owner of an enchanted graveyard that’s considered home by many supernatural creatures) and his fairy-friend from childhood, Princess Lita. The princess is betrothed to a mongrel creature of fey origins, and she can’t bear the thought of marrying him. Rather, she’s attracted to the flesh-and-blood mortal that is Paris.

The problem is that Paris’ vampire gal-pal, Abby, is also attracted to him, creating a witty love triangle of the supernatural. But everything is put on hold when Lita’s royal guard appears in the Boneyard to take the girl back to her marriage ceremony. Paris goes after her, much to the chagrin of Abby and the other monsters of the yard. The kid is something of a klutz, so Abby leads her ghoulish troupe to rescue him.

Boneyard as a series is describes as a subgenre of horror and comedy, and that’s an accurate classification. I fully admit that I didn’t understand what was going on for the most part: some of that was due to my own unfamiliarly with the series, while some of it was also the fault of creator Moore, who fills the story arc with unclear plot points.

This is supposed to be a final volume, but the one element the book is missing is actual finality. It depicts a wayward adventure with a (supposed-to-be) romantic ending, but that’s it. I don’t have to be an insider to recognize that Moore is simply calling it quits, whether or not he’s addressing any kind of broad story arc that addresses the totality of the series.

This volume is a cute jaunt instead of a cerebral journey, I understand that, but my instinct tells me that it’s going to leave fans not just wanting more, but sorely disappointed at how everything wraps up. I like the light-hearted imagination and whimsical art of Boneyard. I can see why it’s developed the following it has, but I predict that longtime fans will be saddened by this lackluster closing.