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Bone (comics)
Encyclopedia
Bone is an independently published graphic novel
series originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004. Bone was drawn and written by Jeff Smith
.
Smith's black-and-white drawings were inspired by animated cartoon
s and comic strip
s, a notable influence being Walt Kelly
's Pogo: "I was ... a big fan of Carl Barks
and Pogo, so it was just natural for me to want to draw that kind of mixture of Walt Kelly and Moebius
." Accordingly, the story is singularly characterized by an effective combination of both light-hearted comedy and dark, epic fantasy: Time
Magazine has called the series "as sweeping as the Lord of the Rings
cycle, but much funnier." The series was published bimonthly with some delays from June 1991 to June 2004. The series was self-published for issue #1 through issue #19. It was published by Image Comics
from issue #20 through issue #28. It reverted to its original self-publishing company, Cartoon Books, for issue #29 through issue #55 (the last one).
Bone has received numerous award
s, among them ten Eisner Award
s and eleven Harvey Award
s. In 2005, Time chose the 1,342 page compilation as one of the 10 best English language graphic novels ever written
.
s. In the opening pages of Bone: Out from Boneville
the three Bone cousins—avaricious Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone, goofy cigar
-smoking Smiley Bone, and everyman
character Fone Bone—are run out of their hometown of Boneville after Phoney decides to run for mayor
and built a balloon on top the head of a statue of Boneville's founder. A strong wind made the balloon break the head off of the statue and all the townspeople ran Phoncible, Smiley, and Fone out of town. After crossing a desert
, the cousins are separated by a sea of locust
s and individually ending up in the mysterious Valley and must make their way across the fantasy landscape pursued by rat creature
s. They joyously reunite at a local village called Barrelhaven, where they are taken in by a mysterious girl named Thorn and her even more enigmatic grandmother. Fone Bone instantly develops a crush on Thorn when he meets her, and repeatedly attempts to prove his love through poetry. As they stay longer in the valley, they encounter humans and other creatures who are threatened by a dark entity, the Lord of the Locusts. The Bones are quickly drawn into the events around them, compelling them on a hero's journey to help save the world.
Although Boneville is never actually shown in the story, it is implied as technologically contemporary: Fone refers to its extensive downtown and has comics for Smiley and a novel of Moby Dick in his pack, Phoney carries dollar bills, and Smiley refers to the presence of nuclear reactors and a CornDogHut™. In contrast, the Valley is depicted as somewhat medieval, judging by its lifestyle, use of a bartering system, weapons and modes of transportation, and Phoney persistently refers to the valley people as "yokel
s".
Rat Creatures are likely to be found in the Valley, preparing a fight. Sometimes the Rat Creature's Master, Kingdok, is joining them. Miz 'Possum and her kids live in the Valley, and when Fone Bone discovered them on his walk, he became their friends. The kids take a liking to the Bone cousins, and sometimes go out on long hunts to find them. When they meet Rodrick and the orphans in Rock Jaw, they find a secret temple in the Valley.
by Smith under his Cartoon Books imprint from 1991 to 2004, but for a short time was published by Image Comics
. During this time, the first 27 issues were reprinted by Image with new covers. These reprints are identifiable by the Image logo in the upper left hand corner of the cover. The Cartoon Books printings have black back covers, inset with a single panel reprinted from inside. First printings can be distinguished from later printings by changes in the color of the logo on the front cover. The comic and its story ended with its 55th issue, dated June 2004. The back cover has, in place of the usual comic panel, a black-and-white photo of Smith in his studio drawing the last page on May 10. In an interview on Attack of the Show, Smith revealed that he drew the last page very early on. The 55 issues have been collected into the following volumes.
Other books published in the color series but not part of the main storyline are the prequel Rose
, illustrated by Charles Vess
; the Bone Handbook; and Tall Tales, which has a new story surrounding reprints of the Big Johnson Bone story, the Disney Adventures story, and a few new tales.
Issues from the Out From Boneville collection were also reprinted in the digest-sized children's magazine Disney Adventures
, first in 1994 and later in 1997 through 1998. The issues usually consisted of 7–9 pages a month and were coloured. The pages were also censored to remove smoking and drinking references and any innuendo involving Thorn and Fone Bone. There was also an exclusive story for Disney Adventures by Smith, featuring Fone and Phoney following a "treasure map".
The series was split into three story arcs, each having two names, one being the original arc name, the other being the name used in the one volume edition, respectively as follows. The first arc lasted from issues #1-19 (volumes #1-3, June 1991-August 1995) being named Vernal Equinox, or The Valley. It was the longest running arc (in terms of time) running for four years and one month. The main story in issue #13.5, "Up on the Roof", was reprinted as chapter six in the The Great Cow Race collected edition (though not in the one volume edition), therefore making it part of Vernal Equinox. The second arc was named Solstice, or Phoney Strikes Back. The arc lasted from issues #20-37 (volumes #4-6, October 1995-August 1999). It is tied as the longest running arc in issues with the third arc (also lasting 18 issues). The third arc, Harvest or Friends & Enemies, lasted from issues #38-55 (volumes #7-9, August 2000-June 2004).
began publishing the full color editions for the UK market. These editions correct some spelling errors, i.e., "kewpie-doll" for "cupie-doll" and "kowtow
" for "cowtow."
Besides correcting some errors, both color editions and the one volume edition are somewhat different (in terms of content) from the regular issues and even the earlier paperbacks. Some lines of dialogue were completely rewritten for these versions, and some story pages were added and others removed. Example of new material in Eyes of the Storm: Thorn and Fone in the garden talking about Ghost Circles. Four pages were excluded from the conversation between Thorn, Gran'ma and Fone in The Dragonslayer. Much of the dialogue on the remaining pages was edited as well, replaced with shorter lines. In Rock Jaw, the two rat creatures talk about Ghost Circles as well, which did not happen in the original issues and first paperbacks. In the same book, the frames from the last pages were completely rearranged, and some of the original ones were removed. Similar (and smaller) additions were made as well to Old Man's Cave, Ghost Circles and Treasure Hunters.
The series is once again being reprinted in color under HarperCollins Children's Books
, the fourth individual reprinting for the first 3 volumes and the third individual reprinting for the last 6 volumes. The first three volumes have been published in 2005, 2007, and 2009, respectively, though it is unclear whether the last six volumes will be reprinted.
In addition to the one volume paperback, a signed limited edition hardcover edition of the one volume book was issued. The deluxe hardcover featured gold embossed lettering on the cover, gilded
edges, and a cloth ribbon bookmark. The end pages are printed with a map of The Valley and it comes with a full-color signed and numbered bookplate. This limited edition pressing of the book originally sold for around $125 (USD) and was initially limited to 2,000 copies. The series has been reprinted 13 times, also featuring a signed limited edition of the 13th pressing version sold during November 2009.
The collection won the 2005 Eisner Award
for Best Graphic Album Reprint, and was listed at #3 in Time magazine's "Best Comix of 2004". Reviewer Andrew Arnold said of the collection, which was published at the conclusion of the monthly series, "As sweeping as the Lord of the Rings cycle, but much funnier...Smith imbues even simple dialogue panels with animation. Now that it's finished Bone should join the ranks of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
in the young adult pantheon."
(1993, Warrior Publications, 14 pages)
This was a Hero Premiere Edition bundled with Hero Illustrated
magazine. It includes a short story where the Bone cousins celebrate Winter Solstice, and also a Jeff Smith interview and sketches. It is featured in the Crown of Horns collection and the final issue of the series.
(Jan 1995, Wizard, 28 pages)
This was a free comic book mail-in offer through Wizard
magazine. As was also common with Wizard magazine comic offers, there was a special gold foil cover variant where the Bone title on the cover is embossed in gold foil. It came in a rigid mylar sleeve and a certificate of authenticity. There is a short story that fits in between #13 and #14 of the regular series, and is included in Bone Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race
. This special also includes a Jeff Smith interview and sketches.
(1995, Image Comics, 16 pages with wrap-around cover)
This was a free promotional book given out at 1995 San Diego Comic-con and it also polybagged with Wizard magazine. This sourcebook was published to celebrate the move of the Bone series from self-publishing to Image Comics, where it stayed for only 7 issues before Jeff Smith took it back to self-publishing.
It includes an Introduction by Jeff Smith & biography, character profiles, color poster by Jim Lee
, story timeline, upcoming storyline, and shipping schedule.
(2001, Cartoon Books)
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, a special color edition of Bone #1 was released with a free collectible Fone Bone PVC figure and a full color Phoney Bone Gazillion dollar bill. This special edition included a new cover, a new afterword by Jeff Smith, and an illustrated eight-page commentary by comics historian R. C. Harvey
, and the original artwork was digitally remastered in full color.
The hero of the series, Fone Bone is the most courageous of the Bones. He and his cousin Smiley Bone help their other cousin Phoney Bone escape from Boneville after he upset the villagers, and get stuck in the valley. He is passionate about his favorite book, Moby-Dick
, and is the most level-headed and smartest of the three Bone cousins. He has an unrequited crush on Thorn Harvestar. Fone Bone is very wary of his cousin Phoney's schemes, and always suspects him of something. The suspicion usually turns out right, and Fone is often angered by Phoney not seeming to care about the Valley,(or the people in it) as Phoney constantly tries to leave to return to Boneville. After the Hooded One realizes Phoney Bone is not the person she needs, and realizes that Thorn was too powerful for her to control, she then seeks Fone, for in Ghost Circles, Vol. 7 of the series, it is revealed that Fone has the Locust inside him too, which likely came from either his encounter in Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border, when he is knocked off a cliff, or in Old Man's Cave, when he rescues Thorn from the locusts by putting the Dragon Necklace on her. It is later taken out in Ghost Circles by Thorn, who took it herself, because she was told to by her dead mother in a Ghost Circle. This remains unknown by Fone until Crown of Horns, when they try to destroy the locust by touching the sacred Crown of Horns. He saves the day by touching the Crown of Horns while holding Thorn's hand, who is incapacitated on the ground, stuck in Kingdok's jaws, who she killed. There they are given a choice to live or die, both who choose 'live'. Thorn and Fone are both given pieces of the Crown of Horns as teeth which were knocked out in a fight with Tarsil's followers. The teeth apparently cause rapid healing of the two's injuries. His name comes from "funny bone," which also inspired the Mad
magazine character Fonebone drawn by Don Martin. Wizard
magazine ranked Fone Bone as the 28th greatest comic book character of all time. IGN
also ranked Fone Bone as the 60th greatest comic book hero of all time stating that his good nature and his unrequited love for his ally Thorn make Fone the heart and soul of this fantastical book.
Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone:
Manipulative and greedy, Phoney Bone is the least courageous of the Bones and he will do anything to get rich. Run out of Boneville by an angry mob of villagers after trying to run for mayor of Boneville, his greediness and selfishness makes an enemy of anyone who crosses him in the valley. Referred to as "The One Who Bears The Star" (due to the star on the t-shirt he wears) by the Hooded One, Phoney is sought after by the Rat Creature army though he does not know why (later it's revealed that the Hooded One erroneously believed a giant balloon of Phoney used in his campaign for mayor of Boneville that fell in her lair to be an omen that Phoney could be used to fulfill her agenda). Fone says that part of the reason for his cousin's resourcefulness and greed may be that Phoney, as the oldest of the Bone trio, raised his two cousins when they were young — and poor — orphans. Though he is selfish, he is very defensive of his cousins when he needs to be and shows he really cares about them. For example, when he is approached by The Hooded One who proceeds to threaten Fone Bone, Phoncible becomes angry and warns The Hooded One to stay away from Fone. He also shows his courageous side, because despite his complaints throughout the story and appearing to run away in the last battle, he comes back in armor with reinforcements ready for battle. To his dismay, they arrive right as the battle ended. However he still claims he is a hero.
Smiley Bone
The tallest of the Bones and arguably the least intelligent [true], he plays a one-string instrument resembling a lute
(but variously referred to throughout the series as a "banjo
" or "guitar
"). Smiley is often seen smoking a cigar, and often ends up driving people mad due to his stupidity and simplicity. However, he is also observant and seems to take life as it comes. He likes to help people, although Lucius says it is more like torture. Allegedly, Fone Bone brought him along purely to torture Phoney. He takes kindly to a rat creature cub, whom he names Bartleby, and through his nurturing of Bartleby we see a maturing in his character. When he and his cousins were children, Phoney made him steal pies off windowsills, because he was the tallest, and apparently they were poor to the point where they couldn't afford food. Phoney mentions that when he became rich, Smiley made him pay everyone back. Also Phoney Bone always convinces Smiley into his scams like in the great cow race (The Great Cow Race). However, every once in a while, Smiley shows his intelligence, for example in Bone Vol. 9 Crown of Horns, he comes up with a plan during a siege when the city of Atheia is being attacked. The plan is to feed the two stupid Rat Creatures (who Smiley captured as they tried to infiltrate the city) quiche, let them go 'accidentally', so the Rat Creatures would tell their leaders that Atheia could withstand the siege, for they have enough food to feed them quiche, thus maybe causing the Rat Creatures to stop attacking the city. Smiley also has his sad moments, for in the new Barrelhaven tavern, Smiley sits glumly at the table after Lucius's funeral, not speaking to anyone, not even Bartleby. Also in the departure from the Valley, he is slightly sad to leave and is sad for Fone, who has to leave Thorn.
Seemingly a simple farm girl, it is soon revealed that she is heir to the throne of Atheia. She is also the "veni-yan-cari" (the awakened one). Thorn has been shown to show excellent courage, as well as powers, such as escaping through a landslide blindfolded, flying, and jumping a castle wall without injuring herself. In a sense she can do anything if she can "concentrate her dreaming." Fone Bone falls in love with her at their first meeting.
Rose "Gran'ma" Ben (originally Rose Harvestar)
Thorn's grandmother, a tough-as-nails farmer who races against cows on foot as a hobby, and always wins. An immensely strong person, it is revealed that she is the former Queen of Atheia who escaped to Barrelhaven with Lucius Down in order to protect and safeguard Thorn.
Lucius Down
A large, gruff, older man who was described as over seven feet tall and over 300 pounds. Lucius was so powerful he could scare even Euclid into submission. He ran the Barrelhaven Tavern, and was the foil for almost all of Phoney Bone's schemes. In the later books we find that Jonathan Oaks was like a son to him. He was previously Captain of the Queen's guard and it was hinted he had a history with Gran'ma Ben, only to reveal later that he had 'picked the wrong girl', instead falling in love with her sister, Briar, whose motive in the affair was to hurt Rose. He was later in love with Rose Harvestar. Before the Rat Creatures destroy his tavern, he relocates to Old Man's cave, where he becomes Captain of an ill-equipped infantry of Barrelhaven farmers. After the volcano erupts, he leads the farmers and Veni Yan south, arriving in time for the battle on Sinner's Rock. When the Hooded One prepared to kill Rose, Lucius grabbed onto her just as her master, the Lord of the Locust, is destroyed; the resulting surge in power incinerates Briar and kills Lucius. His body is later taken north and buried behind the rebuilt Barrelhaven Tavern.
The Great Red Dragon
The son of the great dragon Mim, The Great Red Dragon is often Fone Bone's last-minute savior. The Red Dragon appears when he is most needed. Gran'ma Ben does not trust him, regardless of how many times he has saved her or her friends from harm. The Great Red Dragon seems to be incredibly ancient. In a sequence that shows the land during the Dragons' reign, supposedly the beginning of time, the Great Red Dragon can be seen fighting Mim along with other dragons. As said in the prequel Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
, he is Mim's son and he was part of the group that trapped her in stone when the Valley was made. He takes care of Thorn during the Great War while Rose searched for a place for them to hide. He is also seen at the end of Stupid, Stupid Rat-tails during the time of Boneville's founding by 'Big Johnson Bone'.
Jonathan Oaks
A small, often outspoken, villager who works for Lucius at the Barrelhaven, and views Lucius as a hero. Though he was saved from an ambush from the rat creatures in Old Man's Cave, it is revealed that he died subsequently, in the Veni Yan infirmary.
Wendell
One of Lucius' tough "bar-room boys" and the tinsmith of Barrelhaven. Outspoken in the early issues (he and Euclid have more than once threatened to trounce Phoney Bone), he became more introverted once the reality of the war presented itself. He often changes sides and his mind. He goes from hating the Bones and stick-eaters to following them and them hating the Bones again. He seems to be a powerful ally to have in his village and is often is followed by the villagers when he changes sides. Despite his skinny appearance, he is implied to be just as strong as Euclid.
Euclid
Along with Jonathan and Wendell, one of the "bar-room boys". He is depicted as very large and muscular, and often wishes to resort to physical force to solve problems. He is consumed by a ghost circle after the volcano explosion, but returns after Thorn destroys the ghost circles.
Rory
A third bar-room boy. Is almost always present near Wendell, Euclid, and Jonathan, but rarely speaks. None of his comments give much of a hint to his personality. It is implied that he is a total follower with little or no influence.
Ted
A helpful Acanalonia bivittata, or planthopper
, that pops up from time to time. Often mistaken for a leaf, Ted is the first creature Fone Bone encounters when he enters the valley, and harbors a strange link to the Red Dragon. He has an older brother who is several hundred times his size. He is able to perform magical enchantments and has the ability to detect Ghost Circles.
Miz Possum
Mother to the three possum kids, she is likewise a caring, motherly figure to everyone in the valley. She often has something to give to Fone Bone when she sees him, such as sealing putty, which Fone mistakenly eats a little.
The Possum Kids
Three young possums with a thirst for adventure. They have a knack for getting into trouble which then Fone Bone saves them, but they are resourceful and cunning. The possums look suspiciously like Pogo the possum from Walt Kelly's comic strip.
Servant of the Lord of the Locusts, Kingdok's superior, and the main antagonist. It is implied that The Hooded One is a former Veni Yan warrior, as she wears a similar robe and hood. It is later revealed that the Hooded One is Briar Harvestar, the elder sister of Gran'ma Ben and the grandaunt of Thorn. Briar was made to feel inferior to her sister when she was younger, and when the Rat Creatures invaded in the great war, she betrayed the Royal family by leading them to the Rat Creatures. When the King, Thorn's father, learned of this betrayal, he cut her in half with an abandoned harvesting scythe
, which the Hooded One now carries as a weapon that can now cut through steel and rock. Briar was possessed and resurrected by a swarm of locusts. The Hooded One is often thought of as resembling the Grim Reaper in physical appearance, although there is no real connection between the two. She is killed when her master, the Lord of the Locusts, was destroyed. It is suggested by some of her actions throughout the storyline that being the servant of the Lord of the Locusts drove her insane.
Kingdok
A giant rat creature, ruler of the horde of rat creatures and lackey of the Lord of the Locusts. Although he is ego-maniacal and cruel, he is prone to superstition and easily manipulated by The Hooded One. He carries a golden spiked club around with him, until Thorn cuts off his right arm. Roque Ja at one point attacks Kingdok and rips out his tongue, which he keeps as a trophy. A possible continuity error is that while Roque Ja is bragging about owning the tongue, Kingdok cannot speak, but later speaks clearly to the Hooded One; after that, he attempts to say "kill you", and it comes out "gill yoo", just as one would speak without a tongue. This may be an effect of the Hooded One's power; while the Hooded One is alive he can speak, but after she is destroyed he cannot. At the end of the novel, he faces Thorn before she can touch the Crown of Horns. He tells her that "Either she kills him or he kills her", because he wants to die. He states that he is tired of being the Hooded One's puppet. Thorn does not want to kill him, even though he goads her by reminding her that he was the one who killed her parents (he even tells her that he fed on Thorn's mother while she was still alive). She tries to dart towards the Crown of Horns, but Kingdok bites her leg. Given no choice, Thorn then drives her sword into Kingdok, killing him.
Fone Bone's Two Rat Creatures
Two rat creature soldiers, one blue, one brown, who have a particular interest in devouring the Bone cousins, and Fone Bone in particular. The two are rather incompetent, once deserting the army after their disobedience costs Kingdok his arm and later allying with the Bones briefly before returning to their own side. They address each other as "comrade". Fone Bone is the one who dubs the two "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures" (occasionally other characters also refer to them as such; Fone Bone is also usually credited with coining the term "Rat Creatures" itself; however, he actually got the name from the possum kids. As it stands, the proper name of Rat Creatures appears to be Hairy Men. Named after some incidents where one, or both, clearly emphasize their title, they in turn call Fone Bone "Small Mammal." In a running gag throughout the series, the brown rat creature often suggests cooking Fone Bone in a quiche
. The other rat creature then flies into a rage, insisting that 'dainty pastry foods' are 'unfit for monsters,' and that they should eat him in a stew — though he did once in a fit of anger declare an intention of eating Fone Bone raw, and on another occasion, when they were starving, told his comrade that he wouldn't mind some of his home-made quiche. Later, Fone Bone himself delivered to the two some 'piping hot quiche' when he found them shivering in a bush after the Hooded One's defeat. They also have a major role in Quest for the Spark.
Bartleby
A purplish baby rat creature found by Fone Bone and adopted as a pet by Smiley Bone (who also gave him his name). After the Bones' first encounter with Roque Ja, Bartleby returns to the fold of the Rat Creatures, though is out of place there and returns to the Bones later after growing a little. He became a good friend to Smiley and when they left for Boneville, he went with them. Bartleby was named by Shaenon K. Garrity
, for the title character in the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener
" by Herman Melville
. Unlike the other Rat Creatures, Bartleby has round ears. He explains that the Rat Creatures are supposed to get their ears cropped and that he ran away before they could do that to him. Bartleby also explains that the first time he ran away from the Rat Creatures was after he got his tail chopped off. He states that all Rat Creatures are born with beautiful, long, hairless tails, but all the Rat Creature cubs have their tails chopped off around the time they turn one year old. This is due to their belief that a sort of boogie man
named 'The Jekk' will drag them away in their sleep by their tails. In the prequel book Stupid, Stupid, Rat-Tails, we learn that the Bone cousins' forefather 'Big Johnson Bone' is the fabled boogie man they fear, having come to the Valley a thousand years earlier and fighting the Rat Creatures by swinging them around by their tails. In a sequence depicting the land during the Dragons' rule, Rat Creatures with long tails can be seen in the distance.
Roque Ja (Rock Jaw)
A huge mountain lion bigger than Kingdok who views himself as neutral in the conflict between the humans and the Lord of the Locusts despite lopsided affiliations. He is the guardian of the Eastern Border. His personal views are that there is no such thing as "good" and "evil", only that power matters above all and that friendship and love is meaningless. He despises both Dragons and Rat Creatures but works for the Hooded One in exchange for land and spoils of war. His name is mispronounced as 'Rock Jaw' by the Bone cousins.
Roderick and the Orphans
Roderick is a young raccoon
whose parents were killed and eaten by the two stupid rat creatures. He is the leader of a large group of orphaned animal children living in the mountains. Roderick is the only one named, and the complete group consists of a beaver, a boar, a second raccoon, two birds, a rabbit, a porcupine, a turtle, two snakes, a squirrel, and a chipmunk. Roderick the Raccoon is a main character in the Quest for the Spark, though he is now older and friends with Tom Elm, another main character in the trilogy.
King Agok
The new Rat Creature king in Bone: Legacy. He replaced Kingdok after he was killed. Like Kingdok, he hates the two Stupid Rat Creatures.
The unseen dark lord who orchestrates much of the saga's villainy. He is an evil, formless "nightmare" trapped inside a mountain, and appears in the form of a locust swarm to his chief henchman, the Hooded One. He was killed when Fone Bone and Thorn (with a piece of the Locust in her) touched the Crown of Horns.
Mim
The original queen of the dragons, believed to be the creator of the valley, who was possessed by the Lord of the Locusts, and turned to stone by the other dragons. Her awakening was said to be the end of the world, but when the Lord of the Locusts was destroyed, an aged Mim returned to her function followed by all of the other Dragons besides the Great Red Dragon.
The Veni Yan ("stick-eaters")
A mysterious clan of hooded warriors. Distrusted by the townsfolk (who came up with the derogatory term "stick-eater") but trusted by Lucius, though often they do not trust him in return.
Headmaster
The leader of the Venu and most powerful soldier. He is distinguished with a fur vest with bronze tokens. In the series, two appear. The first is the current one who has a feeling that the world is ending. The second one is retired in the city of Atheia and is the headmaster that appears in "Rose".
Tarsil
The leader of the Vedu. He has a large scar down the length of his face and claims that the scar was obtained while fighting dragons. He wears a large earring on one ear, and his beard in two separate parts each wrapped in a piece of cloth. He does not respect the monarchy of Aethia claiming that the throne is dead, even when Rose and Thorn return. He is killed by Briar (who had taken the form of his younger face and called herself handsome) in front of his own people.
The Vedu
A separatist group of Veni Yan who are led by Tarsil. Although they wear similar hoods to the Veni Yan they are distinguishable by the eye that they wear on their hoods. The Vedu do not worship, or even respect, dragons, claiming that they have all gone into hiding or are uncaring enough to ignore their people. They have kept order in Aethia for much of the time that Rose and Thorn were in exile, and claim that things are better that way. However some people disagree and continue to set out dragon shrines, which are removed by the Vedu.
Bob's Comics Review described the work as "Tolkienesque" in its compulsive progression from a simple comic tale to a sprawling epic. Although critical of the earlier issues, the writer came to enjoy the range of writing "from slapstick (the cow race is a classic), to the scary yet hilarious rat creatures, to intimations of high fantasy." Smith's sense of timing was praised as well as the creator's use of the silent panel and "repeated scene with variations of movement or perspective."
In 2004, TIME
critic Andrew Arnold called Bone "the best all-ages graphic novel yet published."
In 2010, a Minnesota parent sought to have Bone banned from all elementary school libraries in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District
, citing references in the work to smoking, drinking, and gambling. After a hearing, a school district committee voted 10 to 1 to keep the books on the shelves.
Nominations
. Nickelodeon
saw the series strictly as children's entertainment, and insisted on the Bone cousins being voiced by child actors and the film's soundtrack including contemporary pop
songs by Britney Spears
and N'Sync. Smith's response was that no one would consider putting pop songs in film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings
, and therefore should not be placed in Bone either.
On March 9, 2008, Cinematical.com announced that Warner Bros.
had bought the film rights to the series. Smith's website confirmed on March 13, 2008 that he had made a deal with Warner Bros. to adapt the Bone saga into a film series. A further information has been given in July 2011, citing, "a third (script) is currently in the works and will most likely yield three separate, computer-animated, 3-D films..." The first film is estimated to release the earliest in 2013.
announced that they would be developing adventure games based on the comic using episodic format. The first episode, Bone: Out from Boneville
, was released on September 15, 2005, and the second, The Great Cow Race
, on April 12, 2006. Both are available in downloaded or boxed form on Telltale's website for Windows-based PCs. Currently, Telltale Games has suspended any further development of the Bone game series.
On October 13, 2006, video game company Vanbrio Entertainment announced the release of a Macintosh
version of Bone Act 1: Out of Boneville
.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
series originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004. Bone was drawn and written by Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith (cartoonist)
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone. His current series, RASL, focuses on an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds.-Early life and education:Jeff Smith was born in McKees...
.
Smith's black-and-white drawings were inspired by animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
s and comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s, a notable influence being Walt Kelly
Walt Kelly
Walter Crawford Kelly, Jr. , or Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip, Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio and Fantasia. Kelly resigned in 1941 at the age of 28 to work at Post-Hall Syndicate,...
's Pogo: "I was ... a big fan of Carl Barks
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
and Pogo, so it was just natural for me to want to draw that kind of mixture of Walt Kelly and Moebius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
." Accordingly, the story is singularly characterized by an effective combination of both light-hearted comedy and dark, epic fantasy: Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
Magazine has called the series "as sweeping as the Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
cycle, but much funnier." The series was published bimonthly with some delays from June 1991 to June 2004. The series was self-published for issue #1 through issue #19. It was published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
from issue #20 through issue #28. It reverted to its original self-publishing company, Cartoon Books, for issue #29 through issue #55 (the last one).
Bone has received numerous award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
s, among them ten Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s and eleven Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
s. In 2005, Time chose the 1,342 page compilation as one of the 10 best English language graphic novels ever written
TIME's List of the 100 Best Novels
Times List of the 100 Best Novels, is an unranked list of the 100 best novels—and 10 best graphic novels—published in the English language between 1923 and 2005. The list was compiled by Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo....
.
Story
The series centers around the Bone cousins, white, bald cartoon caricatureCaricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s. In the opening pages of Bone: Out from Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville is the second video game endeavor by Telltale Games, and the first episode of the Bone adventure game series. It was released in September 2005 after around seven months in production...
the three Bone cousins—avaricious Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone, goofy cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
-smoking Smiley Bone, and everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
character Fone Bone—are run out of their hometown of Boneville after Phoney decides to run for mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and built a balloon on top the head of a statue of Boneville's founder. A strong wind made the balloon break the head off of the statue and all the townspeople ran Phoncible, Smiley, and Fone out of town. After crossing a desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, the cousins are separated by a sea of locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
s and individually ending up in the mysterious Valley and must make their way across the fantasy landscape pursued by rat creature
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s. They joyously reunite at a local village called Barrelhaven, where they are taken in by a mysterious girl named Thorn and her even more enigmatic grandmother. Fone Bone instantly develops a crush on Thorn when he meets her, and repeatedly attempts to prove his love through poetry. As they stay longer in the valley, they encounter humans and other creatures who are threatened by a dark entity, the Lord of the Locusts. The Bones are quickly drawn into the events around them, compelling them on a hero's journey to help save the world.
Although Boneville is never actually shown in the story, it is implied as technologically contemporary: Fone refers to its extensive downtown and has comics for Smiley and a novel of Moby Dick in his pack, Phoney carries dollar bills, and Smiley refers to the presence of nuclear reactors and a CornDogHut™. In contrast, the Valley is depicted as somewhat medieval, judging by its lifestyle, use of a bartering system, weapons and modes of transportation, and Phoney persistently refers to the valley people as "yokel
Yokel
Yokel is a derogatory term referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people.-Stereotype:In the US, it is used to describe someone living in rural areas...
s".
The Valley
The Valley is the home to the Harvestars, Thorn and Rose (also known as Gran'ma Ben). There is a city in the Valley called Barrelhaven, where Lucius Down works at the bar. The Valley is known to be very grassy and have lots of trees. Lots of wild animals live there and in the Eastern Border. Roque Ja, a giant mountain lion, is known to be the Master there.Rat Creatures are likely to be found in the Valley, preparing a fight. Sometimes the Rat Creature's Master, Kingdok, is joining them. Miz 'Possum and her kids live in the Valley, and when Fone Bone discovered them on his walk, he became their friends. The kids take a liking to the Bone cousins, and sometimes go out on long hunts to find them. When they meet Rodrick and the orphans in Rock Jaw, they find a secret temple in the Valley.
Publication history
Most of the series was self-publishedSelf-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
by Smith under his Cartoon Books imprint from 1991 to 2004, but for a short time was published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. During this time, the first 27 issues were reprinted by Image with new covers. These reprints are identifiable by the Image logo in the upper left hand corner of the cover. The Cartoon Books printings have black back covers, inset with a single panel reprinted from inside. First printings can be distinguished from later printings by changes in the color of the logo on the front cover. The comic and its story ended with its 55th issue, dated June 2004. The back cover has, in place of the usual comic panel, a black-and-white photo of Smith in his studio drawing the last page on May 10. In an interview on Attack of the Show, Smith revealed that he drew the last page very early on. The 55 issues have been collected into the following volumes.
Individual volumes
| Volume | Title | Original ed. | Colored ed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Out from Boneville Out from Boneville Out From Boneville is the first story-arc in the Bone series. It collects the first six issues of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comics. It marks the beginning of part one of the Bone series, titled "Vernal Equinox"... (originally released as The Complete Bone Adventures volume 1) |
1995 | 2005 |
| 2 | The Great Cow Race The Great Cow Race The Great Cow Race is the second book in the Bone series. It collects issues 7-11 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone graphic novels, along with the short story "Up on the Roof" which was originally published in Wizard Presents: Bone 13½. The book was first published by Cartoon Books in its... (originally released as The Complete Bone Adventures volume 2) |
1995 | 2005 |
| 3 | Eyes of the Storm Eyes of the Storm Eyes of the Storm is the third book in the Bone series. It collects issues 13-19 of Jeff Smith's Bone comic book series along with 5 previously unpublished story pages and 9 new illustrations. It marks the conclusion of the first part of the saga, titled "Vernal Equinox". The book was first... (originally released, minus issue 19, as The Complete Bone Adventures volume 3) |
1996 | 2006 |
| 4 | The Dragonslayer The Dragonslayer The Dragonslayer is the fourth book in the Bone series. It collects issues 20-27 of Jeff Smith's Bone comics. This volume marks the beginning of the second part of the Bone saga, entitled “Solstice”. The book was first published by Cartoon Books in its original black-and-white form in 1997... |
1997 | 2006 |
| 5 | Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border is the fifth book in the Bone series. It collects issues 28-32 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comic book series. The book was published by Cartoon Books in its original black-and-white form in 1998... |
1998 | 2007 |
| 6 | Old Man's Cave | 1999 | 2007 |
| 7 | Ghost Circles Ghost Circles Ghost Circles is the seventh book in the Bone series. It collects issues 38-43 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comic book series, and marks the beginning of the third and final part of the saga, entitled Harvest... |
2001 | 2008 |
| 8 | Treasure Hunters Treasure Hunters (book) Treasure Hunters is the eighth book in the Bone series. It collects issues 44-49 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comic book series. The book was published by Cartoon Books in 2002 and in color by Scholastic Press in 2008.... |
2002 | 2008 |
| 9 | Crown of Horns | 2004 | 2009 |
Other books published in the color series but not part of the main storyline are the prequel Rose
Rose (comics)
Rose is a prequel to the Eisner-winning comic book Bone. It was written by Bone creator Jeff Smith and illustrated by Charles Vess, who earned an Eisner nomination for his work on it...
, illustrated by Charles Vess
Charles Vess
Charles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha...
; the Bone Handbook; and Tall Tales, which has a new story surrounding reprints of the Big Johnson Bone story, the Disney Adventures story, and a few new tales.
Issues from the Out From Boneville collection were also reprinted in the digest-sized children's magazine Disney Adventures
Disney Adventures
Disney Adventures was a children's entertainment and educational magazine published ten times per year by The Walt Disney Company. It should not be confused with the Disney Magazine...
, first in 1994 and later in 1997 through 1998. The issues usually consisted of 7–9 pages a month and were coloured. The pages were also censored to remove smoking and drinking references and any innuendo involving Thorn and Fone Bone. There was also an exclusive story for Disney Adventures by Smith, featuring Fone and Phoney following a "treasure map".
The series was split into three story arcs, each having two names, one being the original arc name, the other being the name used in the one volume edition, respectively as follows. The first arc lasted from issues #1-19 (volumes #1-3, June 1991-August 1995) being named Vernal Equinox, or The Valley. It was the longest running arc (in terms of time) running for four years and one month. The main story in issue #13.5, "Up on the Roof", was reprinted as chapter six in the The Great Cow Race collected edition (though not in the one volume edition), therefore making it part of Vernal Equinox. The second arc was named Solstice, or Phoney Strikes Back. The arc lasted from issues #20-37 (volumes #4-6, October 1995-August 1999). It is tied as the longest running arc in issues with the third arc (also lasting 18 issues). The third arc, Harvest or Friends & Enemies, lasted from issues #38-55 (volumes #7-9, August 2000-June 2004).
Color editions
From February 2004 to January 2009, Scholastic Inc. (through its new Graphix imprint) began reissuing in both hardcover and soft the individual volumes in full color by Steve Hamaker. In 2006, HarperCollinsHarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
began publishing the full color editions for the UK market. These editions correct some spelling errors, i.e., "kewpie-doll" for "cupie-doll" and "kowtow
Kowtow
Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon ".In Han...
" for "cowtow."
Besides correcting some errors, both color editions and the one volume edition are somewhat different (in terms of content) from the regular issues and even the earlier paperbacks. Some lines of dialogue were completely rewritten for these versions, and some story pages were added and others removed. Example of new material in Eyes of the Storm: Thorn and Fone in the garden talking about Ghost Circles. Four pages were excluded from the conversation between Thorn, Gran'ma and Fone in The Dragonslayer. Much of the dialogue on the remaining pages was edited as well, replaced with shorter lines. In Rock Jaw, the two rat creatures talk about Ghost Circles as well, which did not happen in the original issues and first paperbacks. In the same book, the frames from the last pages were completely rearranged, and some of the original ones were removed. Similar (and smaller) additions were made as well to Old Man's Cave, Ghost Circles and Treasure Hunters.
The series is once again being reprinted in color under HarperCollins Children's Books
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, the fourth individual reprinting for the first 3 volumes and the third individual reprinting for the last 6 volumes. The first three volumes have been published in 2005, 2007, and 2009, respectively, though it is unclear whether the last six volumes will be reprinted.
One volume edition
The special 1,332 page, one volume edition (ISBN 1-888963-14-X) was released originally for $40 (USD) through Jeff Smith's Cartoon Books imprint in a paperback volume. This special print of the entire adventure was to celebrate the recent end of the series and the commencement of every collection in the series being reprinted in color through Scholastic Press. First released in 2004 and promoted as only a limited print run being available, this edition has recently returned to print.In addition to the one volume paperback, a signed limited edition hardcover edition of the one volume book was issued. The deluxe hardcover featured gold embossed lettering on the cover, gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
edges, and a cloth ribbon bookmark. The end pages are printed with a map of The Valley and it comes with a full-color signed and numbered bookplate. This limited edition pressing of the book originally sold for around $125 (USD) and was initially limited to 2,000 copies. The series has been reprinted 13 times, also featuring a signed limited edition of the 13th pressing version sold during November 2009.
The collection won the 2005 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Graphic Album Reprint, and was listed at #3 in Time magazine's "Best Comix of 2004". Reviewer Andrew Arnold said of the collection, which was published at the conclusion of the monthly series, "As sweeping as the Lord of the Rings cycle, but much funnier...Smith imbues even simple dialogue panels with animation. Now that it's finished Bone should join the ranks of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
in the young adult pantheon."
Spin-offs
Both prequels and sequels to the main storyline.- Thorn: Tales From the Lantern, a compilation of Jeff Smith's comic panels from his college years. Currently out of print.
- RoseRose (comics)Rose is a prequel to the Eisner-winning comic book Bone. It was written by Bone creator Jeff Smith and illustrated by Charles Vess, who earned an Eisner nomination for his work on it...
(with Charles VessCharles VessCharles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha...
)
- Stupid, Stupid Rat TailsStupid, Stupid Rat TailsStupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero is a prequel to the Eisner Award-winning comic book Bone by Jeff Smith...
: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero (with Tom Sniegoski and Stan SakaiStan Sakaiis a third-generation Japanese American Cartoonist comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo. -Biography:...
)
- Bone: Tall Tales, the events show Smiley and Bartleby after the events in the main series. It features them telling tall tales to three bone brothers (Ringo, Bingo and Todd). It is a repackaging of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tales, including a Disney Adventures short and new material. It was released on August 1, 2010. This spin-off mainly focuses on Big Johnson Bone's (ancestor to the Bone cousins) adventures, some time before the cousins' adventures in the Valley, though there is one short with Fone and Phoney follow a 'treasure map', which is later revealed as a joke by Thorn, who wanted the two to do the laundry. One story with Big Johnson Bone is when he discovers the Valley with his monkey, Pip(whose name Big Johnson constantly forgets). In the Bone Vol. 7, Ghost Circles, Bartleby mentions that before Rat Creatures had 'long, beautiful, hairless tails,' which have to be cut off when the Rat Creature reaches one year, and also mentions 'the Jekk,' a monster who Rat Creatures fear will drag them away by their tails, thus the reason they cut off their tails. In Tall Tales, the Jekk is revealed to be Big Johnson Bone, who swung them around by their tails when they attacked him, and due to that(and the fact the Queen and her son had their tails removed by Big Johnson) they decided to cut their tails so they could never be used against them again. In this, the Royal Rat Creatures grow to be quite large, possibly explaining Kingdok, the Rat Creature ruler, to be of such great size comparatively to the other Rat Creatures. The Red Dragon is also in this, though he looks the same.
- Bone Handbook is a 128-page handbook that chronicles the series and is accompanied by sketches, interviews, etc. The book was released in February 2010.
- Bone: Legacy, a trilogy of illustrated prose novels, written by Tom Sniegoski, following the adventures of new Bones in their quest in the valley. The first volume, Quest for the Spark, was released on February 1, 2011. A few of the characters from the original series are in the story, such as the Two Stupid Rat Creatures and Roderick the Raccoon, from the 5th Bone book, Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border. Thorn Harvestar and Rose(Gran'ma Ben) Harvestar are also in the trilogy. And in the book, the Bone cousins are mentioned in passing, though have no major part in the volume. Part II: Quest for the Spark will be released on February 1, 2012.
Special one-shots
- Bone: Holiday Special ("Hero" Premiere Edition)
(1993, Warrior Publications, 14 pages)
This was a Hero Premiere Edition bundled with Hero Illustrated
Hero Illustrated
Hero Illustrated was a comic book-themed magazine published in the early to mid 1990s in the United States. Columnists included Andy Mangels, and Frank Kurtz was at one time a managing editor. The journal won the 1995 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication.- History :Hero...
magazine. It includes a short story where the Bone cousins celebrate Winter Solstice, and also a Jeff Smith interview and sketches. It is featured in the Crown of Horns collection and the final issue of the series.
- Bone #13 ½
(Jan 1995, Wizard, 28 pages)
This was a free comic book mail-in offer through Wizard
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
magazine. As was also common with Wizard magazine comic offers, there was a special gold foil cover variant where the Bone title on the cover is embossed in gold foil. It came in a rigid mylar sleeve and a certificate of authenticity. There is a short story that fits in between #13 and #14 of the regular series, and is included in Bone Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race
The Great Cow Race
The Great Cow Race is the second book in the Bone series. It collects issues 7-11 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone graphic novels, along with the short story "Up on the Roof" which was originally published in Wizard Presents: Bone 13½. The book was first published by Cartoon Books in its...
. This special also includes a Jeff Smith interview and sketches.
- Bone Sourcebook
(1995, Image Comics, 16 pages with wrap-around cover)
This was a free promotional book given out at 1995 San Diego Comic-con and it also polybagged with Wizard magazine. This sourcebook was published to celebrate the move of the Bone series from self-publishing to Image Comics, where it stayed for only 7 issues before Jeff Smith took it back to self-publishing.
It includes an Introduction by Jeff Smith & biography, character profiles, color poster by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
, story timeline, upcoming storyline, and shipping schedule.
- Bone #1 Tenth Anniversary Edition
(2001, Cartoon Books)
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, a special color edition of Bone #1 was released with a free collectible Fone Bone PVC figure and a full color Phoney Bone Gazillion dollar bill. This special edition included a new cover, a new afterword by Jeff Smith, and an illustrated eight-page commentary by comics historian R. C. Harvey
R. C. Harvey
Robert C. Harvey , popularly known as R. C. Harvey, is an author, critic and cartoonist. He has written a number of books on the history of the medium, with special focus on the history of the comic strip, and he has also worked as a freelance cartoonist.Harvey describes himself as having created...
, and the original artwork was digitally remastered in full color.
Bone cousins
Fone BoneThe hero of the series, Fone Bone is the most courageous of the Bones. He and his cousin Smiley Bone help their other cousin Phoney Bone escape from Boneville after he upset the villagers, and get stuck in the valley. He is passionate about his favorite book, Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
, and is the most level-headed and smartest of the three Bone cousins. He has an unrequited crush on Thorn Harvestar. Fone Bone is very wary of his cousin Phoney's schemes, and always suspects him of something. The suspicion usually turns out right, and Fone is often angered by Phoney not seeming to care about the Valley,(or the people in it) as Phoney constantly tries to leave to return to Boneville. After the Hooded One realizes Phoney Bone is not the person she needs, and realizes that Thorn was too powerful for her to control, she then seeks Fone, for in Ghost Circles, Vol. 7 of the series, it is revealed that Fone has the Locust inside him too, which likely came from either his encounter in Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border, when he is knocked off a cliff, or in Old Man's Cave, when he rescues Thorn from the locusts by putting the Dragon Necklace on her. It is later taken out in Ghost Circles by Thorn, who took it herself, because she was told to by her dead mother in a Ghost Circle. This remains unknown by Fone until Crown of Horns, when they try to destroy the locust by touching the sacred Crown of Horns. He saves the day by touching the Crown of Horns while holding Thorn's hand, who is incapacitated on the ground, stuck in Kingdok's jaws, who she killed. There they are given a choice to live or die, both who choose 'live'. Thorn and Fone are both given pieces of the Crown of Horns as teeth which were knocked out in a fight with Tarsil's followers. The teeth apparently cause rapid healing of the two's injuries. His name comes from "funny bone," which also inspired the Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine character Fonebone drawn by Don Martin. Wizard
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
magazine ranked Fone Bone as the 28th greatest comic book character of all time. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also ranked Fone Bone as the 60th greatest comic book hero of all time stating that his good nature and his unrequited love for his ally Thorn make Fone the heart and soul of this fantastical book.
Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone:
Manipulative and greedy, Phoney Bone is the least courageous of the Bones and he will do anything to get rich. Run out of Boneville by an angry mob of villagers after trying to run for mayor of Boneville, his greediness and selfishness makes an enemy of anyone who crosses him in the valley. Referred to as "The One Who Bears The Star" (due to the star on the t-shirt he wears) by the Hooded One, Phoney is sought after by the Rat Creature army though he does not know why (later it's revealed that the Hooded One erroneously believed a giant balloon of Phoney used in his campaign for mayor of Boneville that fell in her lair to be an omen that Phoney could be used to fulfill her agenda). Fone says that part of the reason for his cousin's resourcefulness and greed may be that Phoney, as the oldest of the Bone trio, raised his two cousins when they were young — and poor — orphans. Though he is selfish, he is very defensive of his cousins when he needs to be and shows he really cares about them. For example, when he is approached by The Hooded One who proceeds to threaten Fone Bone, Phoncible becomes angry and warns The Hooded One to stay away from Fone. He also shows his courageous side, because despite his complaints throughout the story and appearing to run away in the last battle, he comes back in armor with reinforcements ready for battle. To his dismay, they arrive right as the battle ended. However he still claims he is a hero.
Smiley Bone
The tallest of the Bones and arguably the least intelligent [true], he plays a one-string instrument resembling a lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
(but variously referred to throughout the series as a "banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
" or "guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
"). Smiley is often seen smoking a cigar, and often ends up driving people mad due to his stupidity and simplicity. However, he is also observant and seems to take life as it comes. He likes to help people, although Lucius says it is more like torture. Allegedly, Fone Bone brought him along purely to torture Phoney. He takes kindly to a rat creature cub, whom he names Bartleby, and through his nurturing of Bartleby we see a maturing in his character. When he and his cousins were children, Phoney made him steal pies off windowsills, because he was the tallest, and apparently they were poor to the point where they couldn't afford food. Phoney mentions that when he became rich, Smiley made him pay everyone back. Also Phoney Bone always convinces Smiley into his scams like in the great cow race (The Great Cow Race). However, every once in a while, Smiley shows his intelligence, for example in Bone Vol. 9 Crown of Horns, he comes up with a plan during a siege when the city of Atheia is being attacked. The plan is to feed the two stupid Rat Creatures (who Smiley captured as they tried to infiltrate the city) quiche, let them go 'accidentally', so the Rat Creatures would tell their leaders that Atheia could withstand the siege, for they have enough food to feed them quiche, thus maybe causing the Rat Creatures to stop attacking the city. Smiley also has his sad moments, for in the new Barrelhaven tavern, Smiley sits glumly at the table after Lucius's funeral, not speaking to anyone, not even Bartleby. Also in the departure from the Valley, he is slightly sad to leave and is sad for Fone, who has to leave Thorn.
Valley characters
Thorn HarvestarSeemingly a simple farm girl, it is soon revealed that she is heir to the throne of Atheia. She is also the "veni-yan-cari" (the awakened one). Thorn has been shown to show excellent courage, as well as powers, such as escaping through a landslide blindfolded, flying, and jumping a castle wall without injuring herself. In a sense she can do anything if she can "concentrate her dreaming." Fone Bone falls in love with her at their first meeting.
Rose "Gran'ma" Ben (originally Rose Harvestar)
Thorn's grandmother, a tough-as-nails farmer who races against cows on foot as a hobby, and always wins. An immensely strong person, it is revealed that she is the former Queen of Atheia who escaped to Barrelhaven with Lucius Down in order to protect and safeguard Thorn.
Lucius Down
A large, gruff, older man who was described as over seven feet tall and over 300 pounds. Lucius was so powerful he could scare even Euclid into submission. He ran the Barrelhaven Tavern, and was the foil for almost all of Phoney Bone's schemes. In the later books we find that Jonathan Oaks was like a son to him. He was previously Captain of the Queen's guard and it was hinted he had a history with Gran'ma Ben, only to reveal later that he had 'picked the wrong girl', instead falling in love with her sister, Briar, whose motive in the affair was to hurt Rose. He was later in love with Rose Harvestar. Before the Rat Creatures destroy his tavern, he relocates to Old Man's cave, where he becomes Captain of an ill-equipped infantry of Barrelhaven farmers. After the volcano erupts, he leads the farmers and Veni Yan south, arriving in time for the battle on Sinner's Rock. When the Hooded One prepared to kill Rose, Lucius grabbed onto her just as her master, the Lord of the Locust, is destroyed; the resulting surge in power incinerates Briar and kills Lucius. His body is later taken north and buried behind the rebuilt Barrelhaven Tavern.
The Great Red Dragon
The son of the great dragon Mim, The Great Red Dragon is often Fone Bone's last-minute savior. The Red Dragon appears when he is most needed. Gran'ma Ben does not trust him, regardless of how many times he has saved her or her friends from harm. The Great Red Dragon seems to be incredibly ancient. In a sequence that shows the land during the Dragons' reign, supposedly the beginning of time, the Great Red Dragon can be seen fighting Mim along with other dragons. As said in the prequel Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero is a prequel to the Eisner Award-winning comic book Bone by Jeff Smith...
, he is Mim's son and he was part of the group that trapped her in stone when the Valley was made. He takes care of Thorn during the Great War while Rose searched for a place for them to hide. He is also seen at the end of Stupid, Stupid Rat-tails during the time of Boneville's founding by 'Big Johnson Bone'.
Jonathan Oaks
A small, often outspoken, villager who works for Lucius at the Barrelhaven, and views Lucius as a hero. Though he was saved from an ambush from the rat creatures in Old Man's Cave, it is revealed that he died subsequently, in the Veni Yan infirmary.
Wendell
One of Lucius' tough "bar-room boys" and the tinsmith of Barrelhaven. Outspoken in the early issues (he and Euclid have more than once threatened to trounce Phoney Bone), he became more introverted once the reality of the war presented itself. He often changes sides and his mind. He goes from hating the Bones and stick-eaters to following them and them hating the Bones again. He seems to be a powerful ally to have in his village and is often is followed by the villagers when he changes sides. Despite his skinny appearance, he is implied to be just as strong as Euclid.
Euclid
Along with Jonathan and Wendell, one of the "bar-room boys". He is depicted as very large and muscular, and often wishes to resort to physical force to solve problems. He is consumed by a ghost circle after the volcano explosion, but returns after Thorn destroys the ghost circles.
Rory
A third bar-room boy. Is almost always present near Wendell, Euclid, and Jonathan, but rarely speaks. None of his comments give much of a hint to his personality. It is implied that he is a total follower with little or no influence.
Ted
A helpful Acanalonia bivittata, or planthopper
Planthopper
A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha within the Hemiptera. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment and from the fact that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However,...
, that pops up from time to time. Often mistaken for a leaf, Ted is the first creature Fone Bone encounters when he enters the valley, and harbors a strange link to the Red Dragon. He has an older brother who is several hundred times his size. He is able to perform magical enchantments and has the ability to detect Ghost Circles.
Miz Possum
Mother to the three possum kids, she is likewise a caring, motherly figure to everyone in the valley. She often has something to give to Fone Bone when she sees him, such as sealing putty, which Fone mistakenly eats a little.
The Possum Kids
Three young possums with a thirst for adventure. They have a knack for getting into trouble which then Fone Bone saves them, but they are resourceful and cunning. The possums look suspiciously like Pogo the possum from Walt Kelly's comic strip.
Mountain creatures
The Hooded One (Briar Harvestar)Servant of the Lord of the Locusts, Kingdok's superior, and the main antagonist. It is implied that The Hooded One is a former Veni Yan warrior, as she wears a similar robe and hood. It is later revealed that the Hooded One is Briar Harvestar, the elder sister of Gran'ma Ben and the grandaunt of Thorn. Briar was made to feel inferior to her sister when she was younger, and when the Rat Creatures invaded in the great war, she betrayed the Royal family by leading them to the Rat Creatures. When the King, Thorn's father, learned of this betrayal, he cut her in half with an abandoned harvesting scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
, which the Hooded One now carries as a weapon that can now cut through steel and rock. Briar was possessed and resurrected by a swarm of locusts. The Hooded One is often thought of as resembling the Grim Reaper in physical appearance, although there is no real connection between the two. She is killed when her master, the Lord of the Locusts, was destroyed. It is suggested by some of her actions throughout the storyline that being the servant of the Lord of the Locusts drove her insane.
Kingdok
A giant rat creature, ruler of the horde of rat creatures and lackey of the Lord of the Locusts. Although he is ego-maniacal and cruel, he is prone to superstition and easily manipulated by The Hooded One. He carries a golden spiked club around with him, until Thorn cuts off his right arm. Roque Ja at one point attacks Kingdok and rips out his tongue, which he keeps as a trophy. A possible continuity error is that while Roque Ja is bragging about owning the tongue, Kingdok cannot speak, but later speaks clearly to the Hooded One; after that, he attempts to say "kill you", and it comes out "gill yoo", just as one would speak without a tongue. This may be an effect of the Hooded One's power; while the Hooded One is alive he can speak, but after she is destroyed he cannot. At the end of the novel, he faces Thorn before she can touch the Crown of Horns. He tells her that "Either she kills him or he kills her", because he wants to die. He states that he is tired of being the Hooded One's puppet. Thorn does not want to kill him, even though he goads her by reminding her that he was the one who killed her parents (he even tells her that he fed on Thorn's mother while she was still alive). She tries to dart towards the Crown of Horns, but Kingdok bites her leg. Given no choice, Thorn then drives her sword into Kingdok, killing him.
Fone Bone's Two Rat Creatures
Two rat creature soldiers, one blue, one brown, who have a particular interest in devouring the Bone cousins, and Fone Bone in particular. The two are rather incompetent, once deserting the army after their disobedience costs Kingdok his arm and later allying with the Bones briefly before returning to their own side. They address each other as "comrade". Fone Bone is the one who dubs the two "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures" (occasionally other characters also refer to them as such; Fone Bone is also usually credited with coining the term "Rat Creatures" itself; however, he actually got the name from the possum kids. As it stands, the proper name of Rat Creatures appears to be Hairy Men. Named after some incidents where one, or both, clearly emphasize their title, they in turn call Fone Bone "Small Mammal." In a running gag throughout the series, the brown rat creature often suggests cooking Fone Bone in a quiche
Quiche
Quiche is a savory, open-faced pie of vegetables, cheese, or meat in custard, baked in a pastry crust.The quiche is sometimes regarded as the savoury equivalent ofegg custard tart.- Etymology:...
. The other rat creature then flies into a rage, insisting that 'dainty pastry foods' are 'unfit for monsters,' and that they should eat him in a stew — though he did once in a fit of anger declare an intention of eating Fone Bone raw, and on another occasion, when they were starving, told his comrade that he wouldn't mind some of his home-made quiche. Later, Fone Bone himself delivered to the two some 'piping hot quiche' when he found them shivering in a bush after the Hooded One's defeat. They also have a major role in Quest for the Spark.
Bartleby
A purplish baby rat creature found by Fone Bone and adopted as a pet by Smiley Bone (who also gave him his name). After the Bones' first encounter with Roque Ja, Bartleby returns to the fold of the Rat Creatures, though is out of place there and returns to the Bones later after growing a little. He became a good friend to Smiley and when they left for Boneville, he went with them. Bartleby was named by Shaenon K. Garrity
Shaenon K. Garrity
Shaenon K. Garrity is a webcomics writer and artist, best known as the creator of Narbonic. She is one of the most prominent cartoonists in the Modern Tales network of commercial webcomic sites, and became the site's editor on August 1, 2006...
, for the title character in the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener
Bartleby the Scrivener
Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street is a short story by the American novelist Herman Melville . It first appeared anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 editions of Putnam's Magazine, and was reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in...
" by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
. Unlike the other Rat Creatures, Bartleby has round ears. He explains that the Rat Creatures are supposed to get their ears cropped and that he ran away before they could do that to him. Bartleby also explains that the first time he ran away from the Rat Creatures was after he got his tail chopped off. He states that all Rat Creatures are born with beautiful, long, hairless tails, but all the Rat Creature cubs have their tails chopped off around the time they turn one year old. This is due to their belief that a sort of boogie man
Bogeyman
A bogeyman is an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour...
named 'The Jekk' will drag them away in their sleep by their tails. In the prequel book Stupid, Stupid, Rat-Tails, we learn that the Bone cousins' forefather 'Big Johnson Bone' is the fabled boogie man they fear, having come to the Valley a thousand years earlier and fighting the Rat Creatures by swinging them around by their tails. In a sequence depicting the land during the Dragons' rule, Rat Creatures with long tails can be seen in the distance.
Roque Ja (Rock Jaw)
A huge mountain lion bigger than Kingdok who views himself as neutral in the conflict between the humans and the Lord of the Locusts despite lopsided affiliations. He is the guardian of the Eastern Border. His personal views are that there is no such thing as "good" and "evil", only that power matters above all and that friendship and love is meaningless. He despises both Dragons and Rat Creatures but works for the Hooded One in exchange for land and spoils of war. His name is mispronounced as 'Rock Jaw' by the Bone cousins.
Roderick and the Orphans
Roderick is a young raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
whose parents were killed and eaten by the two stupid rat creatures. He is the leader of a large group of orphaned animal children living in the mountains. Roderick is the only one named, and the complete group consists of a beaver, a boar, a second raccoon, two birds, a rabbit, a porcupine, a turtle, two snakes, a squirrel, and a chipmunk. Roderick the Raccoon is a main character in the Quest for the Spark, though he is now older and friends with Tom Elm, another main character in the trilogy.
King Agok
The new Rat Creature king in Bone: Legacy. He replaced Kingdok after he was killed. Like Kingdok, he hates the two Stupid Rat Creatures.
Others
The Lord of the LocustsThe unseen dark lord who orchestrates much of the saga's villainy. He is an evil, formless "nightmare" trapped inside a mountain, and appears in the form of a locust swarm to his chief henchman, the Hooded One. He was killed when Fone Bone and Thorn (with a piece of the Locust in her) touched the Crown of Horns.
Mim
The original queen of the dragons, believed to be the creator of the valley, who was possessed by the Lord of the Locusts, and turned to stone by the other dragons. Her awakening was said to be the end of the world, but when the Lord of the Locusts was destroyed, an aged Mim returned to her function followed by all of the other Dragons besides the Great Red Dragon.
The Veni Yan ("stick-eaters")
A mysterious clan of hooded warriors. Distrusted by the townsfolk (who came up with the derogatory term "stick-eater") but trusted by Lucius, though often they do not trust him in return.
Headmaster
The leader of the Venu and most powerful soldier. He is distinguished with a fur vest with bronze tokens. In the series, two appear. The first is the current one who has a feeling that the world is ending. The second one is retired in the city of Atheia and is the headmaster that appears in "Rose".
Tarsil
The leader of the Vedu. He has a large scar down the length of his face and claims that the scar was obtained while fighting dragons. He wears a large earring on one ear, and his beard in two separate parts each wrapped in a piece of cloth. He does not respect the monarchy of Aethia claiming that the throne is dead, even when Rose and Thorn return. He is killed by Briar (who had taken the form of his younger face and called herself handsome) in front of his own people.
The Vedu
A separatist group of Veni Yan who are led by Tarsil. Although they wear similar hoods to the Veni Yan they are distinguishable by the eye that they wear on their hoods. The Vedu do not worship, or even respect, dragons, claiming that they have all gone into hiding or are uncaring enough to ignore their people. They have kept order in Aethia for much of the time that Rose and Thorn were in exile, and claim that things are better that way. However some people disagree and continue to set out dragon shrines, which are removed by the Vedu.
Reception
Michael Arner from PopMatters.com was initially not impressed with the black and white artwork, and at first disappointed at the ending, hoping for a more conclusive dénouement. However, he ultimately praised the depth of the characterizations and Smith's ability to "mix humor and adventure perfectly."Bob's Comics Review described the work as "Tolkienesque" in its compulsive progression from a simple comic tale to a sprawling epic. Although critical of the earlier issues, the writer came to enjoy the range of writing "from slapstick (the cow race is a classic), to the scary yet hilarious rat creatures, to intimations of high fantasy." Smith's sense of timing was praised as well as the creator's use of the silent panel and "repeated scene with variations of movement or perspective."
In 2004, TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
critic Andrew Arnold called Bone "the best all-ages graphic novel yet published."
In 2010, a Minnesota parent sought to have Bone banned from all elementary school libraries in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District
Independent School District 196
Independent School District 196 is a K-12 public school district located in the south suburban Twin Cities, near both Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota....
, citing references in the work to smoking, drinking, and gambling. After a hearing, a school district committee voted 10 to 1 to keep the books on the shelves.
Awards
- 1993 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Humor Publication - 1994 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story: "The Great Cow RaceThe Great Cow RaceThe Great Cow Race is the second book in the Bone series. It collects issues 7-11 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone graphic novels, along with the short story "Up on the Roof" which was originally published in Wizard Presents: Bone 13½. The book was first published by Cartoon Books in its...
"; Bone #7-11 - 1994 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 1994 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Jeff Smith
- 1994 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication
- 1995 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication
- 1995 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Humor: Jeff Smith
- 1995 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 1998 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Humor: Jeff Smith
- 2005 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint: Bone One Volume Edition
- 1994 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith - 1994 Harvey Award Special Award for Humor: Jeff Smith
- 1994 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work: The Complete Bone Adventures; reissued in color as Bone: Out from Boneville (Scholastic Corporation)
- 1995 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 1996 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 1997 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 1999 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith, for his body of work in 1998, including Bone
- 2000 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 2003 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 2005 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Jeff Smith
- 2005 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work: Bone: One Volume Edition
Nominations
- 1993 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Jeff Smith
- 1995 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue: Bone #16: "Eyes of the Storm"
- 1995 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Item: Bone figurine, sculpted by Jeff Smith and Randy Bowen
- 1996 Eisner Award for Best Title for Younger Readers
- 1998 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 1998 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Product: Bone Red Dragon cold-cast statue, sculpted by Randy BowenRandy BowenRandy Bowen is an American pop culture sculptor and the founder of Bowen Designs.Originator and pioneer in the field of limited edition sculptures based on pop-culture icons. Primarily noted for the innovation of the mini-busts and statues of characters from films as well as characters from comic...
, based on designs by Jeff Smith - 1998 Eisner Award for Best Comics Publication for a Younger Audience
- 1999 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Product/Item: Phoney Bone inflatable
- 2003 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album Reprint: Bone vol. 8: Treasure Hunters
- 2004 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Humor: Jeff Smith
- 2005 Eisner Award for Best Comics Publication for a Younger Audience
- 2006 Eisner Award for Best Coloring: Steve Hamaker, Bone: The Great Cow Race
- 2008 Eisner Award for Best Coloring: Steve Hamaker, Bone (vols. 5 and 6) and Shazam: Monster Society of Evil
Film
In the late 1990s, a failed attempt was made to produce a Bone film through Nickelodeon MoviesNickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies is the motion picture production arm of children's cable channel Nickelodeon, originally launched in 1995. Its first film was Harriet the Spy. It has produced films based on Nickelodeon programs, as well as other adaptations and original projects...
. Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is a US cable TV channel.Nickelodeon may also refer to:-In television:*Spinoffs of the Nickelodeon channel:** Nickelodeon Magazine, a children's magazine.** Nickelodeon Universe, an amusement park....
saw the series strictly as children's entertainment, and insisted on the Bone cousins being voiced by child actors and the film's soundtrack including contemporary pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
and N'Sync. Smith's response was that no one would consider putting pop songs in film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, and therefore should not be placed in Bone either.
On March 9, 2008, Cinematical.com announced that Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
had bought the film rights to the series. Smith's website confirmed on March 13, 2008 that he had made a deal with Warner Bros. to adapt the Bone saga into a film series. A further information has been given in July 2011, citing, "a third (script) is currently in the works and will most likely yield three separate, computer-animated, 3-D films..." The first film is estimated to release the earliest in 2013.
Action figures
In 1996 the toy manufacturer Resaurus released Series One of a Bone figure line, featuring: Fone Bone with Rat Cub, Thorn, Smiley Bone, and Rat Creature. Five years later, a second line was released with Gran'ma Ben, Phoney Bone, The Hooded One, and a deluxe boxed set of Kingdok. Two exclusive figures were released through the toy and comic magazine "Previews": Hooded One (glow in the dark), and Phoney Bone as Ahab. Most recently, in 2007, "Dark Horse Comics Presents" released a 5 inches (127 mm) statue of Fone Bone, which is limited to 750 pieces and to be sold through Wizard Magazine.Video games
On February 22, 2005, the video game company Telltale GamesTelltale Games
Telltale Games is a leading independent digital first publisher and game developer founded in June 2004 as Telltale, Incorporated. Based in San Rafael, California, the studio includes designers formerly employed by LucasArts...
announced that they would be developing adventure games based on the comic using episodic format. The first episode, Bone: Out from Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville is the second video game endeavor by Telltale Games, and the first episode of the Bone adventure game series. It was released in September 2005 after around seven months in production...
, was released on September 15, 2005, and the second, The Great Cow Race
Bone: The Great Cow Race
Bone: The Great Cow Race is the third video game endeavor by Telltale Games, and the second episode of the Bone adventure game series. It was released in April 2006 after approximately seven months of production...
, on April 12, 2006. Both are available in downloaded or boxed form on Telltale's website for Windows-based PCs. Currently, Telltale Games has suspended any further development of the Bone game series.
On October 13, 2006, video game company Vanbrio Entertainment announced the release of a Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
version of Bone Act 1: Out of Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville
Bone: Out from Boneville is the second video game endeavor by Telltale Games, and the first episode of the Bone adventure game series. It was released in September 2005 after around seven months in production...
.