“The Ash”, which lets you connect to the memories of the dead, is the drug du jour in New Orleans. That’s good news for the Winters family, the only ones who know how to produce it, except that it puts them in the crosshairs of much more dangerous criminal syndicates. Under siege by rivals on all sides and the dark secrets of The Ash itself, can the Winters family survive? And what does survival mean when resurrection is only a hit away? The complete run of Eisner Award-nominated writer Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, The Empty Man) and illustrator Jonas Scarf (Basilisk, Dark X-Men)’s critically-acclaimed series blends horror, crime, and family drama, collected in a single volume for the first time! Collects Bone Parish #1-12.
Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Very interesting concept, a new drug his the street of New Orleans, with Ash users can re-live the experiences of the deceased. This novel drug is the secret of a small family business, but it's caught the attention of some bigger players in the drug game, namely New York (Russian mob?) and a Mexican Cartel.
What follows is not only a battle for control of the drug, but also a battle within the Winters family for how to move forward from the small time to big.
The family dynamic really hooked me in my reading of this book. We've all seen and read stories about gangs and cartels fighting over turf, but this look into this small crime family trying to hold on from bigger outside forces was great. The twist of the dad's situation at the end of the first volume pulled me in and made me want to see where this went. Also the daughter's role as the chemist and how she got her knowledge for making Ash was fascinating.
Overall a really good crime story with a supernatural element, fast paced with action and drama.
Despite the somewhat supernatural premise, it mostly plays out like a "standard" family crime drama. I was kind of disappointed that Ash didn't play a more prominent role, instead of being a somewhat more defined macguffin.
I loved this so much. Think I read the whole collection in a week. Omg. It was like a movie or a tv show. I love how it switches between scenes and characters. This was great. Wish it was longer!
Really enjoyed this! New Orleans family pushes drugs called Ash that let you truly live an experience from the dead. Nice crime, characters, and fun twists and turns.