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Bonerest #1 Book Released: 07 July 2005 Review posted: 31 July 2005 Writer: Matteo Cassali Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli Publisher: Image Comics  5.00 out of 5 Stars Reviewed by John L. Daniels Jr.

The cover, depicting a young man wearing a t-shirt that reads “Here Comes Trouble,” encompasses the whole attitude of Bonerest #1. Bone is the new young urban superhero with a blank face and bone-white skin. His costume is no more than an everyday t-shirt. Bonerest #1 is a great introduction to yet another youth-oriented, angst-ridden hero, given us by the creative team of Matteo Cassali and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, whose works include Vertigo’s Pop Bangkok series, Swamp Thing, and Hellblazer.

Adam Boon is given the name Bone by new acquaintances at a coffee shop, one of whom declares, “your ivory skin is amazing to say the least.” The name sticks and they all begin to refer to him as Bone. Mystery surrounds this person; they do not know where he comes from. The opening panels of Bonerest #1 show a man

In one panel we see graffiti where words scrawled on the wall say “off you go,” as if someone is pointing Bone in some sort of direction.

hanging mid-air from a noose then segue to panels having our featured character arriving through an emergency door exit. In one panel we see Bone walking down an alley full of graffiti where words scrawled on the wall say “off you go” as if someone or something is pointing Adam Boon in some sort of direction. The villain is a demonic deity named Mr. Vain. Mr Vain is the classic composite of the hero, but evil, with the power to make someone feel that life sucks… and then the victim commits suicide.

Camuncoli’s panels are distinctive and have that classy edge bordering stardom. This is a genuine and expressive effort by him. The artwork is clean with detailed pencils — even with no face Bone’s expressions are decisively portrayed. This is a truly exciting read. Cassali’s story is cleverly written with surprisingly strong and well-defined characters along with visually detailed dialogue.

Let’s face the reality: with the current surge of youth-oriented titles, comic book publishers have flooded the market with some exciting and some not-so-exciting titles. But this is the market to conquer. The adult market is already fixed with ye ole timers like Batman and Spider-man. Image Comics (as well as independents) are making a move towards youth-oriented stories with titles such as The Pact and Invincible. In this way Image is keeping up with the Big Two, with consistency and fresh titles such as Bonerest: A World’s End.