This page last updated ... 06/04/98

"After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert.

One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures..."

What is Bone?

Bone is a hilarious, well written, well drawn comic book series written by Jeff Smith. It is a remarkable story filled with unforgetable characters and great black and white artwork. An issue comes out about every few months, but it's always worth the wait.

Jeff founded Cartoon Books in 1991 to publish his bi-monthly comic book. In July of 1993, Jeff's wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as full partner and president to assume the responsibilities of publishing. Bone has won many awards, including an Eisner for Best Humor Publication three years in a row, and Bone is currently published in over nine different languages.

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What is Bone About?

Jeff Smith's work on Bone was influenced by many comic strips. Batman, Peanuts and Uncle Scrooge are some of the comics that influenced him. But what inspired him the most was Walt Kelly's Pogo. He recalls, "At about age nine, someone brought a book to school that reprinted Pogo newspaper strips. From that moment on I wanted to be a cartoonist."

First, Bone was about the mishaps and adventures of the three Bone cousins as they hopelessly trodded about the Valley, trying to find a way to get home. They encountered a few shallow characters, and had a couple run-ins with the rat creatures. It was a very funny and very promising comic.
Now, the characters have evolved and they have opened up a complex, deep storyline. The encounters with the Hooded One, the strange dreams of Thorn and Fone Bone, Thorn's royalty and the Lord of the Locusts have all produced interesting twists to the ever expanding plot. Not to mention, the introduction of Rock Jaw has spun the story off into another subplot.
For an in depth look at the plot of Bone look at the Story.

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The Artwork

First of all, if you don't like black and white comics, you'll change your mind when you see Bone. Jeff Smith understands to create a strong athmospheric feeling in his artwork which can jump from the sunniest and happiest day to a dark and scary nightmare in a second. His graphical storytelling is superb. The characters are drawn in two main styles: The simple, childlike and loveable shapes of Fone Bone, Phoney and Smiley (the Bones were origianally invented by Smith while he was in kindergerten) and the realistic style of most of the other characters, such as Lucius and Gran'ma.
Smith's timing is impeccable. He knows excactly how to express the movement of all his characters. His "Bare Bones" artwork of the Bones is fluent and smooth. To see more of Bone out go to The Artwork of Bone.

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The Arangement with Image

Bone moved over to Image for issue number 21, and was been at Image until November 1997. October 1995 marked the first issue of the Bone series that was not self-published by Smith's own Cartoon Books. Smith's move to Image Comics raised a number of questions about the state of the comic book industry, especially in terms of self-publishing and small comic publishing companies. Some think this might have been a bad move on Smith's part, but I don't. It just made Bone way more accessible. Then, Image has been reprinting all the back issues with new covers.
Then, in November 1997, a press release marked Bone's switch back to Cartoon Books. Issue number 28 was the first issue that Cartoon Books published. Smith wanted this aragement ended because he wanted to retake full control of his comic book. Look at this press release for the full story of the switch back.

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Back Issues and the 'Volumes'

Jeff Smith has made it very easy to get aquainted with the story because all of the back issues were also kept in print by Cartoon Books until it joined Image. You need not worry about hunting down all the back issues and paying horrendous prices. furthermore Cartoon Books will continue to publish trade paperbacks that collect those issues. Smith has a sensible content-related grouping of stories so that a paperback won't stop in the middle of The Great Cow Race, for example. Currently, the six issue paperbacks are: Out from Boneville, The Great Cow Race, The Eye of the Storm and The Dragonslayer (these can also be obtained in hardcover form). The first three volumes make up the "First Trilogy".

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Reviews

Here's what the experts say about Jeff Smith and Bone. They're experts, so they must be right.

"Charming, character-driven fantasy with an elegant design and masterful story-telling in the tradition of Walt Kelly, Charles Schulz and Carl Barks."
-Publishers Weekly

"Congratulations on Bone. I find it well concieved and altogether enjoyable. You are walking in the tradition of Herriman and Walt Kelly -- Keep Going!"
Will Eisner,
The Spirit, To the Heart of the Storm

"I laughed out loud a LOT! Beautifully drawn, Beautifully constructed, and perfect pacing."
Neil Gaiman,
Sandman

"GREAT storytelling! I am now a confirmed BONE-A-PHILE!"
Chuck Dixon,
Robin II

"Smith's writing is crisp, his dialogue is witty, and his artwork is sublime... BONE is that rarest of all cliches: Fun for the whole family."
The Comics Journal

"BONE is Brilliant!"
Dave Sim,
Cerebus

more reviews to come...

If you want to pitch in your two cents about Bone, write to:

Catoon Books, P.O. Box 16973, Columbus, OH 43216 and tell Jeff Smith what you think. Your letter might get in the Bone-A-Fides.
(WOW!)

Disclaimer:
Bone® and all the related Bone stuff is © by Jeff Smith and or Cartoon Books. This is an unofficial, unsanctioned site. All it is doing is providing free promotion for an already incredible comic book.