Shawn Granger, writer and publisher of the comic book series 'Family Bones', sent me a copy of that series that was compiled into a trade paperback / graphic novel format recently.

I had not read this story when it was first published in comic book format.  So I was wondering what this book was about after first thumbing through  it, deciding on which publication to read next.  I  had opened up the mailing package that contained this and another one of Shawn's works that I had also not seen before. 

What I found was that this is a 'trade paper back / graphic novel' printed format of the collected FAMILY BONES comic book issues 1-5 that were previously published by King Tractor Press.

Also I found the following press release for the series:

FAMILY BONES is based on the TRUE STORY of the oldest married couple on Missouri's death row, as experienced one summer by their unwitting nephew. The writer, Shawn Granger, is a close relative to Ray & Faye and based the story on his experiences as well as those told to him by other family members.

Additionally here is more info:

FAMILY BONES is based on the TRUE STORY of the oldest couple of serial killers, as experienced one summer by their unwitting nephew.

This first volume collects issues 1 – 5 of the popular comic book series based on the lives of serial killers Ray and Faye Copeland.  They were the kind, elderly grandparents who murders farm hands at their home.

Sean is trapped on the Copeland farm, a slave for his uncle.  The heat simmers his skin to a full boil until the neighbor's beautiful daughter appears.  Wendy quickly becomes his hope, desire, and fear; not to mention his one trusted friend.  Together they discover each other and some very bloody family secrets.

The following are the credits and details for this compilation:

Written by:  Shawn Granger

Art by Orlando Baez, Kenneth Landgraf, Benito Olea Bellido, Mannie Abeleda, Pablo Agustin Lordi

ISBN 978-0-9787486-0-9
Publisher Shawn Granger
Copyright ©2007 Standard Copyright License
Language English
Country United States
Publication Date April 9, 2007
   
Page Count 176 pages
Size (Was a Comic Book printed format originally but reduced in size for book)
Binding Perfect Bound
Interior Color: Black And White

Okay... this is not the usual fare that I read.  However, after thumbing through the black and white art interior pages, I saw enough that made me want to read it first. Please note: I am not into the current vogue of TV shows that are in the CSI vein, nor shows like 'Medium', 'Ghost Whisperer', etc.  My personal tastes for murder mysteries is more like 'Castle', 'Monk', etc., with some 'Fringe' type of shows thrown in.

However, this story, although bizarre, was undeniably compelling to keep me coming back for the next chapter.  I'm glad that this series was printed in this format, as if were only left in series of single issue 'floppy' comic books format published once a month, I don't think I would have continued to pick this series up each month.  So this published format to read all of it, chapter by chapter in a book style is probably the better way to read this series for persons like me.

Also, even though this storyline is one that I wouldn't normally pick up, I can see it being a good introduction to graphic novels for those readers that enjoy this genre of story, but wouldn't read a 'comic book'. Because it is in sequential art format, it would be a good way of introducing those that don't normally read 'graphic novels', but instead read text / prose story books of the same genre.

So what about the artwork?  Well, I'm glad to see this series published in black and white format.  Black and white would have been my choice for this series also.  The different artists in the series have different styles, yet black and white 'blends' them together in a compilation much better than color would have.  The difference in art styles would have been a lot more noticeable in color, even possibly glaring.  Yet in black and white format the art flows well with the storyline and when breaking the reading time into chapters, it really isn't that 'different' from each artist that contributed.

The lettering by Richard Nelson was a consistent factor in the series, and worked well.

The color covers used for the front covers of the comic book series were well drawn and colored.  Each cover used was a good point-of-purchase display cover, and would have caused me to at least pick it up at my LCBS.

In summary, this story is a compelling read, and the artwork flows with chapter breaks for the reader to stop and then pick it up again to continue reading. A good introduction to those that have not read King Tractor Press publications before...

The following link is where You can see where to purchase this trade paper back / graphic novel: 

http://www.kingtractorpress.com/

Thanks to Shawn for sending me this and his other graphic novel to me for possible review!

AND... Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films as they are shown!