An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300 page epic from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback.
Three modern cartoon cousin... read full description
Three modern cartoon cousin... read full description
reviews
Nov 09, 2011
oriana
rated it: 
Book #7 for Jugs & Capes!
read a cleaner version of this review on CCLaP!
pre-read: I ordered this online and it arrived today -- not in a padded envelope, as is customary, but in a big-ass box. I should have understood then, but not until I sliced the box open did I realize just how massive this thing is. Good grief! I need my reading to be portable, man! I read on the subway! So I took a steak knife and some old Vice magazine covers and DIY'd it into three somewhat more manage More...
read a cleaner version of this review on CCLaP!
pre-read: I ordered this online and it arrived today -- not in a padded envelope, as is customary, but in a big-ass box. I should have understood then, but not until I sliced the box open did I realize just how massive this thing is. Good grief! I need my reading to be portable, man! I read on the subway! So I took a steak knife and some old Vice magazine covers and DIY'd it into three somewhat more manage More...
15 comments
like
(13 people liked it)
Mar 20, 2007
John
rated it:
A friend gave the Bone single volume collection to me a gift one year. I wasn't familiar with the series prior to that but had just finished a semester of graduate english lit courses that focused on cultural studies and serial fiction. Bone is Lord of the Rings meets Dickens. I loved it. The beginning pages hooked me with humor, the middle turned into serious plot with social commentary, then wrapped everything up but was a little too ladden with explanations, I thought, of the authors visi
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 08, 2008
Cameron
rated it: 
all graphic novelists will enjoy this fast paced series
4 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Oct 14, 2008
Bruce
rated it:
4 1/2 stars. This is my final review of this fantastic (and meticulously detailed, cartoon-meets-realist) fantasy epic. Now that I've completed it, I had to dock one-half star for a (to me) incomprehensible ending. I'll save my discussion of that to the end though, so that I can lead with the rave.
Bleach the colors from Walt Kelly's Pogo (with Al Gator as Smiley Bone, Pogo as Fone Bone, and Pork Pine as Phoncible ('Sponsible?) P. "Phoney" Bone) and shove them into Elfques More...
Bleach the colors from Walt Kelly's Pogo (with Al Gator as Smiley Bone, Pogo as Fone Bone, and Pork Pine as Phoncible ('Sponsible?) P. "Phoney" Bone) and shove them into Elfques More...
0 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
May 13, 2008
Don
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Apr 07, 2008
leighcia
rated it:
I burned through this graphic novel (aka, fancy term for comic book)in 3 days, struggling to resist the urge to stay up until wee hours of the night in order to finish it. It is absolutely delightful! The characters are so memorable—the protagonist loves Moby Dick, the greedy Phoney Bone, a rat creature obsessed with quiche, and a talking leaf bug just to name a few. While managing to be extraordinary cute, corny and funny, the novel is also incredibly thought-provoking, particular on the subjec
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 03, 2008
Bonnie
rated it:
When the Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are chased out of Boneville and into the desert, they think they’re done for. Even worse, a storm of locust separates the cousins, leaving them to wander alone through a strange valley. When winter falls (quite literally), Fone Bone meets up with Thorn, a beautiful young woman, and her grandmother, Rose. Only Gran’ma Rose suspects what the arrival of the Bone cousins means for her granddaughter. Fone Bone is guarded by a mysteri
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 14, 2011
Quyen
rated it:
Beautifully drawn, and an amazing story to boot and – what's this? Fleshed out characters in a fantasy setting? Blasphemy! "Bone" is quintessential to anyone who loves fantasy, graphic novels, or both. I spent winter break 2008–2009 reading this in its entirety, and lent it to my friend Kat afterwards. I still need to get it back from her, and when I do I'm going to reread it like no other.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 28, 2010
Cootie
rated it:
It's kinda cornball, but this epic is so entertaining that I keep coming back to it. It seems like in the depths of winter I start thinking about the story and the intertwining narratives, and I pick it up again for some easy bedtime reading. It's definitely appropriate for kids (maybe older than seven?), and Jeff Smith is considered by many to be an ink brush virtuoso. For a long time before I ever read it, I thought Bone was a Disney thing. Glad it's not but I'm sure they'd love to suck th
More...
Jan 21, 2008
Mary
rated it:
If somebody had come up to me with this brick and said, "Hey, you should read this! It's like Walt Kelly having a J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired fever dream! For hundreds and hundreds of pages!" I probably would have blinked a couple times and changed the subject.
But this adorably geeky English teacher from one of the Carolinas presented it at a graphic novel forum at NCTE as the only thing the kids in his highly resistant 7th-grade classroom would read cover to cover. And it More...
But this adorably geeky English teacher from one of the Carolinas presented it at a graphic novel forum at NCTE as the only thing the kids in his highly resistant 7th-grade classroom would read cover to cover. And it More...
Mar 17, 2009
Shark
rated it:
Until reading this book, I couldn't think of the last time I was actually sad to see a story end. I've read plenty of excellent books in recent years, but none that have left me feeling so sorry to reach the last page!
I'm not sure why I never read this graphic novel earlier -- I think I was turned off by the promotions, which featured drawings of the Bone cousins so much that I misunderstood what the nature of the story was, assuming it was just a funnybook geared toward kids. That More...
I'm not sure why I never read this graphic novel earlier -- I think I was turned off by the promotions, which featured drawings of the Bone cousins so much that I misunderstood what the nature of the story was, assuming it was just a funnybook geared toward kids. That More...
Aug 22, 2011
Ed
rated it:
As I'm sure a portion of my generation had, I was first introduce to Bone in the pages of the Disney Adventures mini-zine as a kid. Of course back then I had no idea just how grand a tale this wonderful story was. I was actually pretty in the dark about the fact that it was anything but a comic in DA.
It wasn't until I was pleasently shocked several years ago when I saw a really thick, one-volume edition at a local Border's. This isn't the cover of mine (mine's the one with a Rat C More...
It wasn't until I was pleasently shocked several years ago when I saw a really thick, one-volume edition at a local Border's. This isn't the cover of mine (mine's the one with a Rat C More...
Aug 07, 2011
Chris
rated it:
It's funny how we change and yet, somehow, stay the same. I've read comics (or graphic novels) at three points in my life so far. In each of these points, it's been a slightly different style. When I was a preteen, my local store sold mainly DC and so I read those. But it was mainly non-mainstream More...
2 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Aug 06, 2011
Tom
rated it:
The first time I picked up Bone in comic form, I was just amazed by how such simple drawings could tell such a compelling story. While little kids like it, the themes are actually oriented to an older audience under the surface. Love, Greed, Ignorance, Fear, Courage, Loyalty are just some of the character traits that are evidenced in the "stars"of the show, Fone Bone (the love-struck, courageous one who doesn't seem to mind walking around with nothing on) and his cousins, Phony Bone
More...
Jul 22, 2011
Luke
rated it:
A simply astonishing achievement for the world of comics. Bone took 12 years to complete independently, but I read it in just two weeks. This is because I couldn't put it down, but was also trying to pace myself because I didn't want it to end. Bone tells the story of three Bone cousins stuck in a strange valley of weird creatures and eccentric people. There arrival coincides with a great evil beginning to rise and the protection of a lost princess. This is on the same scale of fantasy adventure
More...
May 30, 2011
shanties
rated it:
The devil's advocate
1333 pages.
And I read it in a week.
With three other books thrown in, for good measure.
This book had been the object of my desires for ages, and when it finally arrived home I just couldn't resist.
***********
But now I'm going to play a game, it's called the devil's advocate.
This series has been pluri-awarded, hailed as a masterwork among graphic novels and an ultimate cornerstone of independent More...
1333 pages.
And I read it in a week.
With three other books thrown in, for good measure.
This book had been the object of my desires for ages, and when it finally arrived home I just couldn't resist.
***********
But now I'm going to play a game, it's called the devil's advocate.
This series has been pluri-awarded, hailed as a masterwork among graphic novels and an ultimate cornerstone of independent More...
May 03, 2011
Joey
rated it:
Note: I wrote this review in 2004.
The Bigness of Bone
Over the course of its serialization, Jeff Smith's Bone has been almost unanimously praised, picking up every major cartooning award for which it qualified and serving as a rare example of sales success for creator-owned, non-superhero work in the Direct Market.
Bone as a property has even started to step outside the limited comic book subculture, appearing in the supermarket digest Disney Adventures, and soo More...
The Bigness of Bone
Over the course of its serialization, Jeff Smith's Bone has been almost unanimously praised, picking up every major cartooning award for which it qualified and serving as a rare example of sales success for creator-owned, non-superhero work in the Direct Market.
Bone as a property has even started to step outside the limited comic book subculture, appearing in the supermarket digest Disney Adventures, and soo More...
Dec 13, 2010
Ganglion
rated it:
A good book if you don't think about it. Very witty, excellent story economy, three dimensional characters, splendid artwork.
"I like it" is, however, a very boring review. So let's analyze it from an political perspective.
The "Bones" are creatures that are, to some extent, a blatant representation of modern man, (the Bone characters are drawn in a cartoonish Walt Kelly/Carl Barks style compared to the realism of the Valley people and creatures) cast al More...
"I like it" is, however, a very boring review. So let's analyze it from an political perspective.
The "Bones" are creatures that are, to some extent, a blatant representation of modern man, (the Bone characters are drawn in a cartoonish Walt Kelly/Carl Barks style compared to the realism of the Valley people and creatures) cast al More...
Nov 21, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
I don't actually own the one-volume, but I do own every trade paperback. And really, they should all be reviewed in one place. So:
I discovered Bone when I would have been in about grade 1. Darkwing Duck had just been cancelled, but when I was shopping with my mom I saw a copy of "Disney Adventures" with a Darkwing Duck comic in it, which I was allowed to get. Alongside it was the first few pages of the first issue of "Bone."
Even at the time, I was struck b More...
I discovered Bone when I would have been in about grade 1. Darkwing Duck had just been cancelled, but when I was shopping with my mom I saw a copy of "Disney Adventures" with a Darkwing Duck comic in it, which I was allowed to get. Alongside it was the first few pages of the first issue of "Bone."
Even at the time, I was struck b More...
Mar 13, 2010
Kyle
rated it:
This work demands to be accounted as a classic work of literature in the graphic novel format. It starts out strong by turning on the charm, begins to add weighty plot in the middle, and wraps up nicely towards the finish. The story isn't always consistently incredible (it was originally written and published sporadically over the space of a decade), but there's a steady current of humor throughout. All the characters, even the cartoonier ones, are engaging and fleshed-out enough to touch. The s
More...
Dec 28, 2009
David
rated it:
I LOVED this book. I was about to say graphic novel, but that seems cheapen the work. Bone was such a funny, interesting read I don't even know where to begin. Well...except from the beginning.
Bone starts out so hilarious and innocent that you are immediately brought in by the goofy characters, but as you continue into this fantasy world you find that it is a MUCH darker story than you would believe at first glance. I personally loved the way the artist had three cartoon style chara More...
Bone starts out so hilarious and innocent that you are immediately brought in by the goofy characters, but as you continue into this fantasy world you find that it is a MUCH darker story than you would believe at first glance. I personally loved the way the artist had three cartoon style chara More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Apr 03, 2009
Kayla
rated it:
Most of the time, when someone drops a brick of a book in your lap, you know right away that you are not going to read it because let’s face it, it’s too big! But every once in a while comes that brick of a book that’s gripping and still awesome, regardless of its size. I have encountered that once in a blue moon treat in the graphic novel Bone, by Jeff Smith. While it may seem intimidating and boring because of its size, I’d advise you to follow that old cliché of “you can’t judge a book More...
Jul 27, 2011
Matti
rated it:
Hyväsydäminen Leppo, ahne Tahvo ja hömelö Auvo Luupää tempautuvat keskelle suurta ja suurenmoista seikkailua, jossa pitkään rauhassa eläneen laakson asukkaita uhkaa mystinen paha Heinäsirkkojen herran muodossa.
Jeff Smithin "Luupäiden" (Like, 1994-2004) ilmestymistahti oli aikanaan sen verran epäsäännöllinen, että lukukokemus lässähti hieman kun kolmannen trilogian alkamista saatiin odotella peräti kolmen vuoden ajan.
Nyt tulin lukeneeksi saagan yhdeltä istumalta lop More...
Jeff Smithin "Luupäiden" (Like, 1994-2004) ilmestymistahti oli aikanaan sen verran epäsäännöllinen, että lukukokemus lässähti hieman kun kolmannen trilogian alkamista saatiin odotella peräti kolmen vuoden ajan.
Nyt tulin lukeneeksi saagan yhdeltä istumalta lop More...
Sep 07, 2010
abatage
rated it:
It's hard to know where to start, or how to write about this book at all. After the first couple of pages I couldn't put it down - if I didn't have work and uni commitments, I doubt I would have! Bone is an epic tale that is a fine example of how graphic novels can excel beyond the limitations of a cartoon genre. In fact, it's the genre itself that makes Bone as close to perfect as the telling of a story should really get.
I'm stunned at how much care and elegance was given to each ch More...
I'm stunned at how much care and elegance was given to each ch More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 06, 2010
Ject
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 09, 2011
Felipe
rated it:
"Bone" ganhou vários prêmios, é uma das top ten graphic novels da Times e, aqui mesmo, no Goodreads, ele está no topo, ao lado de "Maus", "Persépolis", "Watchmen" e "Sandman". Pois depois de eu ter lido a volume único de 1332 páginas na semana passada, minha impressão sobre ele, de uns dias para cá, apenas diminuiu.
Não há dúvidas de que ele seja imponente (afinal, são muitas páginas!), possua um traço preciso, personagens marcantes e More...
Não há dúvidas de que ele seja imponente (afinal, são muitas páginas!), possua um traço preciso, personagens marcantes e More...
Jan 03, 2010
Darrell
rated it:
The first three books in this "Complete Cartoon Epic" had me utterly smitten, and rate a Five-Plus in my estimation. Smith's world is populated by characters that are a delightful mash-up of Walt Kelly and Floyd Gottfredson types, with dash of peppery good-girl art for that extra zip to put it over the top. All of this was dished out in 12-panel doses that would have done Carl Barks proud. I really hadn't seen anything like it, and would have sung its praises to my dying breath if Smit
More...
Jan 17, 2012
Alex
rated it:
Jeff's Bone series amazed me with the story line of it. It’s about three bone creatures, a princess, and a retired queen who desperately try to prevent the hooded one from trying to free the Lord of the Locusts. This is an action/ adventure/ comedy comic book and I loved it.
There are many characters in this series such as: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, Thorn, Granma Ben, Briar, Bartleby, Lucius, Roque Ja (Rock Jaw), Kingdok, Tarsil, and the great red dragon. If you want to kno More...
There are many characters in this series such as: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, Thorn, Granma Ben, Briar, Bartleby, Lucius, Roque Ja (Rock Jaw), Kingdok, Tarsil, and the great red dragon. If you want to kno More...
Jan 10, 2012
Steven
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 17, 2011
Mark
rated it:
I didn't think this was as great as people told me it was going to be, and I really came to it hoping to love it. The art is wonderful, yes, but about halfway through, when the action gets much more epic, and it loses the casual adventure feel of the earlier half, I really lost a sense of character. I felt like whole important plot terms and characters were introduced literally a few minutes before they became important, and many of the characters I thought I was going to love (Lucius, Phone Bon
More...
