Reading: BONE PARISH VOL. 1 (DISCOVER NOW EDITION) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Jonas Scharf (illustrator), Lee Garbett (contributing artist)

Compiling together the first four issues of the Bone Parish comic, this page-turner of a graphic novel, set in New Orleans, follows the Winters - a criminal family led by matriarch Grace - in charge of making and distributing the hottest new drug in the city, as they rise quickly to the top of the local underworld thanks to this new drug infused with (wait for it) the ashes of dead people. Far from just being a new high in highs, what the Winters family sells seems to put you in personal contact with the dead, their memories or personality traits, intelligence or emotions (Grace herself uses the drug to keep her dead husband Andre around, from whom she seeks counseling on day-to-day business operations). It's all harvested locally thanks to grave robbings, and with the drug getting more and more in demand other gangs and criminal organizations want in. Even with her strong and strong-willed sons and daughter (the latter of whom is the only person who knows how to actually make the drug), even Grace recognizes that demand and risks might be growing too big for them to handle - and when a smooth-talking player from the coast wants to buy out the family, while a local mob boss wants to eradicate the Winters altogether, it's up to Grace to prove her family has the cajones to grow, rise, and stay in the game ... no matter what the cost. I can't remember the last time I devoured a graphic novel as I did Bone Parish Vol. 1, which grabbed me by the throat from page one and never let go. The artwork is dark, creepy and gothic - fitting for New Orleans - and writer Cullen Bunn has created, in the Winters, an "Empire"-like family (only without the music) you are always rooting for, no matter how over-the-top they go, because essentially they are just trying to keep what's already theirs ... theirs. Suspenseful, darkly comic at times, original and invigorating, Bone Parish is a comic/graphic novel series not to be missed. Already irritated at the cliffhanger I was left with that left me craving Volume 2!  5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.