Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1839 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The nine-volume Bone graphic novel series was the toast of the comics world when it was published by Smith's own Cartoon Books beginning in the early 1990s; in this first volume of Scholastic's new edition, the original b&w art has been beautifully converted into color. Smith's epic concerns three blobby creatures who have stumbled into a valley full of monsters, magic, farmers, an exiled princess and a huge, cynical dragon. The story is something like a Chuck Jones version of The Lord of the Rings: hilarious and action-packed, but rarely losing track of its darker subtext about power and evil. This volume is the most lighthearted of the bunch, though, featuring some of the wittiest writing of any children's literature in recent memory--a few of Smith's gags are so delicious that he repeated them for the rest of the series. It also introduces the Bone cast's unforgettable supporting characters: the leathery, tough-as-nails, racing-cow-breeding Gran'ma Ben; the carnivorous but quiche-loving "rat creatures"; a spunky trio of baby opossums; and Ted the Bug, whose minimalist appearance (a tiny semicircle) exemplifies Smith's gift for less-is-more cartooning. The way his clear-lined, exaggerated characters contrast with their subtle, detailed backgrounds is a product of his background in animation, and so is his mastery of camera angles and choreography. This is first-class kid lit: exciting, funny, scary and resonant enough that it will stick with readers for a long time. (Feb.)
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From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up–A whimsical journey, cunningly told. It combines fable with American legend in a tale of greed, friendship, and struggle. The story follows three cousins who have been thrown out of their town for cheating the citizens. Shortly thereafter, they are separated. Each Bone stumbles into a mysterious valley full of odd creatures that reveal strange happenings. The story is well paced with smooth transitions. It is dark, witty, mysterious, and exciting. The full-color art reflects that of classic comic books; one glance at the comic cels and one is reminded of old Disney and "Peanuts" cartoons. However, the animation and fresh story line put Smith in a league of his own.–Scott La Counte, Anaheim Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Bone is a Really Bizarre Trip Through a Forest!
Bone is a dog? (I think) He and his cousins are trapped traveling through a desert and a forest to escape trouble his cousin got into. Now they are lost and trying to survive in the forest. A freak snowstorm (snow that plops out of the sky in a huge layer) causes havoc and meeting a beautiful girl named Thorn and her grandma save the day. Watch out for the giant rats! Funny, strange story.

Parent and Child Review
A second-grade boy says, "Bone is the best book ever! It might have scary things, but it is fun too. It has a lot of adventures in it which makes it exciting. If you are a comic book lover, then you'll love these books."

His mother says, "This series absolutely captivated my son and was single-handedly responsible for helping him catch the reading bug. The 'to be continued' format meant that he couldn't wait to read on.
The one challenge to the fact that your child won't want to put these down is that you must have the next volume on hand, and sooner than expected.
Libraries have a very hard time keeping this series on the shelf. Learn from our experience that the suspense of waiting for the following book to be returned is simply too frustrating.
You might as well purchase the series. It will be worth it. Many friends have wanted to borrow them.
And I well imagine that my boy will want to read them all over again in the very near future, especially since the characters are fascinating on both simple and direct levels and with very complex depths.
ALERT: Parents should know that there are indeed dark plot lines and images, so the series may not be age appropriate for other 7 year olds. But, for kids such as mine, this is most appealing.
As should be clear from his critique, these do offer all the appeal of comic books. However, parents and teachers will be much happier about the literary merits in "Bone" than with the vast majority of graphic formats. "

An excellent graphic novel from Jeff Smith
"Out from Boneville" is the first volume of Jeff Smith's self-published comic book, "Bone." It tells the story of the Bone family, who are small white creatures that are never really explained, but interact with humans and animals. In volume 1, the protagonist of the story, Fone Bone, and his two cousins, Smiley and Phoney, find themselves run out of the town of Boneville, where they become lost in a strange valley. They soon discover the valley is filled with strange creatures (even stranger than themselves), many of which are hunting them for an unknown reason.

When I saw this in the library, it always looked like a kids' book, so I never gave it much thought until I saw it listed on one of those "Greatest Graphic Novels" lists. Smith has a very intriguing artistic style that can be simple (in the case of the bones and much of the background art), or more complex (as in the case with the character of Thorn and many of the humans). The art may be simple, but the story isn't. It can certainly be enjoyed by those of all ages. Although it contains some humor, the comic centers more on the story, which works well since it involves a fairly complex and rich story that is not overshadowed by the simplicity of the art. Volume 1 doesn't do much more than introduce the main characters and set up some of the future storylines, but it is very well conveyed and the reader gets the sense that this is much more than the traditional comic.

Although originally published in black and white, this version is in color, which I highly recommend over the black and white strip. The coloring by Steve Hamaker really adds a lot to these editions and I would strongly advise people to get these editions over the black and whites. Also, it is advised to read this comic in order, since you won't know what is going on if you start with a later volume. The volumes read very quickly however, and it only takes about an hour to read an entire volume. The rest of the series is as follows:

Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race
Bone Volume 3: Eyes of the Storm
Bone Volume 4: The Dragonslayer
Bone Volume 5: Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border
Bone Volume 6: Old Man's Cave
Bone Volume 7: Ghost Circles
Bone Volume 8: Treasure Hunters
Bone Volume 9 Crown of Horns (Bone Series)

Bone: One Volume Edition - If you plan on reading the whole series, get this, which has every volume listed above.