Spotlight: Mr Jones's Smoking Bones
Seven Chapters Now Available
I met Iqbal Ali last year at the MCM Comic Con and featured him in the video below. Since then, I have had a refreshed look at the first chapter of his excellent series, Mr Jones's Smoking Bones.
London, 1867. A drug-addled Indian man with a deep-rooted dislike of the British Empire investigates a series of murders allegedly committed by a smoking skeleton.
Haunted by the ghost of a murdered friend and forced into this case unwillingly, he becomes embroiled in a plot involving secret societies and occult rituals.
Mr Jones’s Smoking Bones is an occult mystery set across London, India, and the dimensions beyond death.
This is an excellent story that combines the mystic with the shadier sides of British history. This first issue sets up the story's tone and what to expect as it develops.
First up are the mystical and horror aspects. The afterlife exists, and there are people and things there. Investigating this is obviously a dangerous and arduous task, where not only are there difficulties in getting there, but there is also what you find and how to get back!
For this, Barzakh has a device in a chair which allows him to crossover to the other side, although not without its cost, and he is now addicted to using drugs as well.
With some flashbacks to build on the overarching story, we travel from India to London, and some mysterious aspects are afoot. From raging fires to wandering flaming skeletons, there seems to be something wrong in the city - who or what is responsible?
We even get an excellent royal cameo, with Queen Victoria not only adding a degree of gravitas to the story but also driving it onwards and emphasising how important it is to be dealt with.
The artwork and cover are excellent, portraying the ‘normal’ and the supernatural in equal measure. I love the haunting aspect of this cover (and the other issues) and the scenes with the skeletons.
In addition to the fantastic story, there is a great section on history of the time along with backstory and details on the making of this story - well worth a read.
Chapter one is an excellent beginning, setting up characters and getting to know the area. There are questions to be answered, but we have a way forward.
