Book Review: Bone Handbook by Jeff Smith

Bone Handbook by Jeff Smith

The Bone Handbook is a collection of extras about the Bone saga. It includes a history of the Valley where all the action takes place (basically a summary of the whole story), character biographies, recipes, interviews with the writers and the colorist, and a couple of bonus stories. It's the graphic novel equivalent of that second DVD full of extra materials you watch because you really love the movie. I found it enjoyable and informative and recommend it to Bone fans--but you need to finish the graphic novels first or else you'll read spoilers!

Book Review: Bone Vol. 9 Crown of Horns by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 9 Crown of Horns by Jeff Smith

The big finale is a quick-moving romp. Gran'ma Ben leads the defenders of Atheia as her sister leads the assault. Fone Bone and Thorn set out to find the Crown of Horns, hoping she can use it to end the conflict. Phoney Bone figures the only place to hide such a valuable object is the heavily guarded ancient dragon burial ground. Dragons have killed whoever has disturbed their final resting place. He does not go with them. He wants to recover the town's treasure, which he figures is hidden in the well, the heavily guarded source of water for the besieged town. At least it was heavily guarded before the assault started. And the dragons have left the valley, so maybe that is easy to reach too?

The end of the war is a little predictable but nonetheless entertaining. Jokes are still around but not as frequent as in earlier issues. More of the history of Bone's world is revealed and a satisfying ending rounds out a great comic book series. Highly recommended!

Sample Text--Smiley Bone tortures some captive rat creatures with quiche!

Click to enlarge

Book Review: Bone Vol. 8 Treasure Hunters by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 8 Treasure Hunters by Jeff Smith

The Bones, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben make it to Atheia, human capital of the valley. The city is getting ready for a siege and is overwhelmed by refuges fleeing from the ghost circles that are creating havoc in the valley. People wait at the gates to be allowed in. Thorn's group bribes their way in. Inside, things are also bad. Water is being rationed by the military force in control of the city. The force calls themselves the Vedu and they've outlawed dragon-lore and have no interest in returning royalty reestablishing their authority. Thorn and company will have to tread lightly. Unfortunately, Phoney Bone is only interested in finding the fabulous treasure he assumes must be in the city...and he wants to mint gold coins with his image on them. Political intrigues, both significant and slight, abound.

The amazing blend of comedy and drama continues in this volume, setting up an epic conflict for the next (and final) issue.

Book Review: Bone Vol. 7 Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 7 Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith

The Hooded One flubbed the sacred rite to bring the Lord of Locusts back but got enough right that the mountain is now erupting. And a massive magical wave is spreading ghost circles across the valley. Anyone who wanders into a ghost circle will get trapped in an alternate reality. Thorn can see where they are and she leads the Bones and Gran'ma Ben on a perilous trip to across the valley to Atheia, the old royal city, for help. They are pursued by the rat creatures all the way.

Lucius flubbed defending Old Man's Cave and a perilous fight with the rat creatures and their allies leads to hard decisions for the valley dwellers and the Veni-Yan warriors. Can the uneasy human alliance be preserved?

The story continues to unfold with more drama and depth than you'd expect from a graphic novel. The author includes plenty of comedy to lighten the mood (there's a fun bit where Moby Dick comes up again, among other laugh out loud moments). These books make very compelling reading indeed!

Book Review: Bone Vol. 6 Old Man's Cave by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 6 Old Man's Cave by Jeff Smith

The people of the valley have fled to Old Man's Cave, a sanctuary that is a center of mystical power and their last refuge. The rat creatures are running rampant over the valley and on the verge of surrounding Old Man's Cave. Thorn leads a crew of townsfolk who are rounding up the last humans in the valley. But she is reluctant to bring them back to the cave. She still has issues with Gran'ma Ben.

Meanwhile, the Hooded One (leader of the rat creatures and servant of the Lord of Locusts who plans to resume physical form) makes a deal with Rock Jaw the mountain lion. The lion has to deliver Phoney Bone and Thorn to the rat creatures before the blood moon so a sacrifice can be made to restore the Lord of Locusts. Rock Jaw agrees readily and delivers on time.

The book ends with the Hooded One's identity finally revealed during the sacrificial ceremony, an event that is both comic and tragic while leaving a great cliffhanger for the readers.

Another excellent issue of Bone!

Book Review: Bone Vol. 5 Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 5 Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith

Fone Bone and Smiley Bone are on a mission to return a rat creature cub to its mountain home. Smiley has developed a lot of affection for the cub, even naming him Bartleby. Fone is more serious about the task--the rat creatures are the enemy and they need to get rid of the cub. They take him to the mountains on the eastern border of the valley where they run into a giant mountain lion who calls himself "Roque Ja." The Bones pronounce it "Rock Jaw," which is a bit annoying to the lion. Rock Jaw tells them they need to choose sides--either the old cow woman (Gran'ma Ben) with the dragons or the rat creatures who serve the "Hooded One," a mysterious figure who really works for the Lord of Locusts. The Bones are unclear which side the lion is on, since he disdains both the dragons and the rat creatures. Rock Jaw claims there is neither good nor evil in the world, only power, which is the only thing worth having. His actions put him on the side of the rats (which to the Bones is the same as being on the side of evil), so they come into conflict pretty quickly. Luckily, the three baby possums from the second issue of Bone come to the rescue. I know that sounds ridiculous but it works amazingly well. Unluckily, Kingdok, leader of the rat creatures, comes to the not-rescue. His fate doesn't work out so well.

This issue has a surprising depth to it. In addition to the theme of whether the rat cub is evil or not just based on being a rat cub, a whole new theme of moral relativity is opened by Rock Jaw. The Bones aren't interested in his position and claim they are on the side of the valley-dwelling humans, a position that Rock Jaw scoffs at. Since the author named this volume "Rock Jaw" and not "Roque Ja," I imagine he definitely sides with the Bones. I enjoyed engaging with deeper issues in this volume.

This is another great book in a great series. Highly recommended!

Book Review: Bone Vol. 4. The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith

Bone Vol. 4. The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith

The Bone saga continues with another get-rich-quick scheme by Phoney Bone. He's made a bet with Lucius, the owner of Barrelhaven's tavern, that he can sell more beer than Lucius. Phoney does this by claiming to be a dragonslayer who will save the town from dragon attacks. His plan works a little too well and he turns into the conniving dictator of Barrelhaven. The only flaw in his plan is that he'll eventually have to kill a dragon, even though they are really friendly protectors and not sworn enemies of the valley people.

A more significant plot line is the journey of Gran'ma Ben, Thorn, and Fone Bone back to Barrelhaven. They are waylaid by rat creatures, forcing Gran'ma to tell Thorn more about her past and her fate, which doesn't go down well with Thorn. Gran'ma is carried off and Thorn faces the decision to accept her fate as a hero and princess or to run away from it all.

Meanwhile the forces of evil are amassing on the outskirts of the valley and ready to go to war with the people of the valley, especially the residents of Barrelhaven. More is revealed about their mysterious leader but not quite everything yet.

The story is developing quite well. More mythology is revealed and characters grow with a lot more depth than you would expect from a comic. The comedy is still strong. I can't wait for the next issue!

Book Review: Bone Tall Tales by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski

Bone Tall Tales by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski

This volume is another supplemental set of stories from the world of Bone. Smiley Bone takes a troop of scouts (which inexplicably includes a rat creature but it's funny so go with it) camping and they tells stories around a campfire. These are the tall tales of the title. Most of them are stories about Big Johnson Bone, the bone who founded Boneville. One story is about Fone Bone and Phoney Bone seeking treasure rather than doing their laundry. All the stories are packed with humor and fun, making this a delightful read and a good addition to the Bone collection (though some bits are a spoiler for the main story so the reader is advised to read this after reading the nine main volumes).

Book Review: Bone Vol. 3 by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 3: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith

In the aftermath of the Great Cow Race (which included both Phoney Bone becoming indebted to Lucius Down and Gran'ma Ben's farm attacked by the rat creatures), the bigger story picks up. Fone Bone and Thorn (Gran'ma's granddaughter) have had strange dreams about dragons. They eventually confront Gran'ma about Thorn's past and who she really is, which is an amazing revelation.

Meanwhile, Phoney makes a bet with Lucius--they divide Lucius's tavern in half and whoever can make more profit wins. Phoney wins freedom from debt; Lucius wins life-long servitude from Phoney and Smiley Bone. It looks like a bad bet since all the villagers hate Phoney, but can he make it work?

Also meanwhile, the rat creatures are gathering again and a new and unexpected (and unexplained) leader is guiding their actions. Who could it be and what plan does he have for Phoney Bone?

The book is a great blend of action, comedy, and storytelling. This series keeps getting better!

Book Review: Bone Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith

Phoney Bone is working off his debts at the local tavern when he hears about the Great Cow Race. The race is held every year with the fastest cows around and also Gran'ma Ben, who usually wins the race. Phoney starts a rumor that Gran'ma is too old to win and the Mystery Cow is really the favorite. Then he takes bets against Gran'ma and in favor of the Mystery Cow (really just Smiley Bone in disguise--supposedly a sure way to make the Mystery Cow lose). Like the get-rich-quick schemes of his former days, this one works out about as well.

Meanwhile, Fone Bone has taken a shine to Thorn, the granddaughter of Gran'ma, but how can he compete with the shirtless honeycomb salesman who wants to go around with Thorn too? The strange rat creatures from the forest are also out and causing trouble. Plenty of jokes and action go by as the story begins to hint of greater things to come. I enjoyed this a lot and am looking forward to the next installment.

Book Review: Bone: Rose by Jeff Smith

Bone: Rose by Jeff Smith

Bone: Rose is a prequel to the Bone series. It tells the story of two sisters, Briar and Rose, who are princesses and have a prophetic gift. They have a "dreaming eye" that lets them see the future, but not exactly. The younger sister Rose has a dream where she sees a baby dragon calling out for help while trapped in a river. Later on she runs into a full-grown dragon trapped in a river. The older sister has shown no signs of a dreaming eye. The queenship may pass to her younger sister if she does not have the gift. They are sent on a trip to Old Man's Cave, where they will be tested by the wise men there. Along the way Rose releases the dragon from the river. The dragon is possessed by the evil Lord of the Locusts and causes anarchy. Can Rose and Briar put that genie back in the bottle?

The story is very interesting and the art is nice. I do feel like there's a lot of mythology that I'd know more about if I had read the whole Bone series, so I suspect there's a whole other level of appreciation for this book. Even so, I enjoyed it. I may revisit this after I read the other books.

I do have to note that the font and printing of this book make reading the text hard at points.

Book Review: Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith

Bone Volume 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith

Three cousins (Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone) are cast out of Boneville because yet another get-rich-quick scheme by Phoney has failed. They wander through a mountainous desert until they find a map. A swarm of locust prevents them from following the map. Instead they are separated. Fone Bone finds the map and follows it to a lush valley on the other side of the desert where he becomes trapped by the winter weather. He hopes to find the other bones and go back home, but he's pursued by rat creatures (who aren't very smart), defended by a red dragon (who is quite mysterious), and searching for Thorn (a person who was recommended to him by the bug Ted). Thus begins what is a long series of adventures (the series ran for 55 comics which are collected in 9 trade paperbacks).

The adventures in this book are interesting and the comedy is quite funny. Fone is an endearing character and I am definitely in search of volume 2.