The award-winning Bone series is now accessible in this one complete edition, having won an astonishing 36 awards such as the 2003 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist. It has been endorsed by library and trade magazines as an essential item.
Fleeing a riot caused by one of Phoney Bone's ill-fated money-making plans, three cousins – Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Happy Bone – become separated while crossing a mountain range into an unknown land. This new place is filled with peasants, princesses, talking animals, dragons, and other mythical creatures, which is unlike anything they have ever seen before. Meanwhile, their own world, which is only talked about but never seen, consists of nuclear waste, organic gardens, venture capitalists, and Fourth of July parades. Fone Bone falls in love with Thorn, a warrior princess, and with the assistance of her powerful grandmother and a Red Dragon, they are able to triumph over a great evil. Throughout this journey, Phoney Bone spends a great deal of his time arguing with his cousins and trying to protect them. In the end, the three of them make their way back to Boneville, their home.
For it's time, Bone artistically gave fans something different. Smith's original black-and-white, pen-and-ink comics, similar to that of Saul Steinberg and George Booth, used size, shape, and spacing of lines to create characters and narrative elements. His work along with Frank Miller's incorporation of negative space and slow motion was revolutionary. Smith used two distinct graphic styles to illustrate the rift between Bone and his cousins and the other inhabitants of the valley, differing from Miller's single style. This difference was fundamental to the entire narrative, where visual styles dictated physical laws and the Bones experienced different gravitational effect.
If you're fan of the comics medium, then this book is for you.
Reviews for Bone
Time Magazine
“BONE combines the humor and look of early Disney movies with the scope of the Lord of the Rings cycle. While children will read BONE for its breathless adventure and sight gags, older kids and adults will appreciate the themes of blind fanaticism and corrupting power.”
Entertainment Weekly
“BONE is storytelling at its best, full of endearing, flawed characters whose adventures run the gamut from hilarious whimsy to thrilling drama. Along the way, Smith’s musings… take on a greater relevance than you’d ever expect. Grade: A.”
Publisher's Weekly
"Charming, character-driven fantasy with an elegant design and masterful story-telling in the tradition of Walt Kelly, Charles Schulz and Carl Barks." (starred review)
ALA Booklist
"Like Pogo, BONE has a whimsy best appreciated by adults, yet kids can enjoy it, too; and like Barks’ Donald Duck stories, BONE moves from brash humor to gripping adventure in a single panel."
Neil Gaiman (author of The Graveyard Book and Sandman)
"Jeff Smith can pace a joke better than almost anyone in comics; his dialogue is delightful—so are all his people, not to mention his animals, his villains, and even his bugs."
Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons)
"I love BONE! BONE is great!”