Customer Reviews

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you haven't read the work of Jeff Smith, you are missing out on not only one of the greatest series of comics in recent memory, but what may be the greatest fantasy epic since the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. I highly recommend picking up Bone in any of its editions, although I lean toward "The Complete Bone" myself. However, there is one significant advantage of the edition listed here that none of the reviewers have mentioned yet (that I've spotted, anyway): This is the first release of Bone in full colour, as opposed to the black-and-white art contained in the previous tomes of the Bone series (with the exception of Rose). This series is so excellent that I'm tempted to get this edition despite already owning the complete black-and-white edition, and I cannot think of higher praise than that.

For those who find the arena known as Comics to be a
field of endless narrative possibilities, Jeff Smith's
BONE is a wonderful adventure. Filled with sobering
peril and merciless laughter, the saga of three cousins
lost in a strange land offers rich characterization
and many an ethical turn with each page. For those
who still regard Comics as a hopelessly unworthy
field, fit only to encourage ignorance and delinquency,
I submit that one good read of this first chapter,
OUT FROM BONEVILLE, will alter your perceptions on
this matter, forever.
Since its debut in 1991, Smith's saga of camaraderie,
hi-jinks, and deeper responsibility has set high marks
for Fantasy literature, and stunned the world of the
Sequential Arts. A prodigious epic which spans nine
volumes (and an illustrious prequel, ROSE), BONE is
a captivating read; alluring in its charm and immediacy,
and warming in its ability to be genuinely cute without
succumbing to the artifice of cutesiness.
That Smith achieves this in a tale of dragons, lost
princesses, sibling rivalry and prickly innocence
marks BONE as an exceptional masterpiece for all
ages to enjoy.

With the time-honored Scholastic Press currently
issuing the 9-volume saga in color, the tale now
becomes available to a whole new audience. With
direct distribution into schools and libraries,
as well as other institutions which an independent
press (such as Smith's own Cartoon Books) might be
harder-pressed to reach, the opportunities for
BONE are more auspicious than ever before.

Those familiar with the Sequential field, as well
as those older newspaper strip readers, will see
Smith's immense mastery of the idiom. BONE's
blend of ticklish escapades and tense relationships
will call to mind both the cunning wit of Walt
Kelly's POGO and the flesh-n-blood nobility of
Harold Foster' PRINCE VALIANT.
Others who love the bright pugnacity of POPEYE's
E. C. Segar will delight in the rolling action
which frequently takes place here. Lovers of
J.R.R. Tolkien and Michael Moorcock will be
enthralled by Smith's thought-provoking forays
into the issues of Balance and Excess, and
how each character comes face-to-face with
the choices to be made.

Bottom line, however, is that Smith is very
much his own man, and BONE is very much his
hallmark upon the annals of great literature.
As humble in its presentation as it is majestic
in its unfurling, the tale of Fone Bone and
Thorn is a story which packs one thrilling,
thematic wallop.
Count on Jeff Smith's BONE to keep you
enthusiastically involved with each turn
of every page, from start to finish
throughout this volume, as well
as throughout the many chapters
to come......

This is one of the best comic books of all time. Read it and you will be undoubtably amazed by this funny and unforgetable tale of the three bone cousins. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and buy it.

Jeff's Smith's Bone is an introduction book, a start with no finish. It sets up the situation and sends the reader into an unpredictable fantasy world, with characters both classic and ridiculous. Driven from their home, three bone creatures related by blood are lost in the desert and pushed off a cliff by a swarm of angry locusts and into a valley of mystery, danger, and even love.

Their diverse characters have all the markings of a standard comedy team. There is a care-free Smiley Bone, who casually points out impending doom and continues to smoke his cigar. Then there is the scheming and crafty Phoney Bone who causes all the trouble and ultimately gets his hand caught in every cookie jar he comes across. Finally you have the "hero" of the tale, Fone Bone, a veritable straight-man if there ever was one. His charming and honest nature sets the overall tone in the book, and it is his unerring moral compass that keeps the three of them bound by the same fate, both in and out, of hot water.
Separated from each other, the plight of his three varied and lovable "bone cousins" follows Fone as he struggles to reunite them as the story begins to unfold. Smith then uses picturesque, highly predictable behavior patterns and exaggerated reactions in and from the cousin's to draw the reader into to their characters. It is Fone's giving nature combined with Phoney's opportunism and Smiley's nonchalance that does this. It has the effect of giving the reader the sympathetic urge to smack Phoney, give Smiley a high five, and reassure Fone that everything will be OK in the end. To trap the reader in the tale, he uses a secondary group of characters ranging from a cigarette smoking red dragon to a muscle bound grandma, to a dainty, young vixen in a hot spring. With their animated qualities, the supporting cast leaves the reader wondering about the next event or laughing in amazement.

Unfortunately the ending has no resolution. It finishes on a cliffhanger, cunningly trying to draw you in to buy the next episode. The long and short of it: Don't buy this book for your 8-13 year old if you think you'll be able to get away with only getting him or her this one. Otherwise it's a funny, entertaining trip from the world of reality.

Reviewed by Mike Dorsey for Flamingnet Book Reviews

Please visit www.flamingnet.com for more preteen, teen and young adult book reviews and recommendations.

Bone, by Jeff Smith, is an adventurous book about a lost trio that got split up in a dessert. Fone Bone has to find his friends before two furry monsters eat him! If you like funny comics and strange adventures this is your book! 138 pages of eye-pulling comics are a hysterical way to start your day. If you like this book you will LOVE Jeff Smith's others. Matt Groening (The creator of the Simpsons) says Bone is a great read! Heads up Garfield, you've got a rival!

The book Bone - Out of Boneville is about three cousins that get chased out of town by a mob of bones (bones are little creatures that look like ghosts). The cousins get separated in the woods and try to find there way back to each other.

The book is laid out like a comic book. It has colorful pictures and very detailed graphics which make it fun to read.

My favorite part of the book was when the Locusts attacked and they all fell down into a canyon and bumped their heads. It made me laugh to think of them rolling down and down.

I think that other kids my age would like this book because it was fun to read and I can't wait to continue with the series to see what other kind of trouble the cousins get into.

I have been trying to find something new for my 8-year-old son that really grabs him. I found this book by accident and could not be happier. I have found him reading after bed time under his covers to find out what happens next after our nighttime reading ends. He has put all the remaining volumes on his Christmas list.

The first Graphic novel I ever read was some Pokemon one from Japan not the best to start out with...But kept seeing Bone: Out From Boneville and eventually bought it. It's a delightful tale about the wonderfully cartoony "Bone" Cousins who are dragged into a more serious and entricately drawn world filled with Rat Creatures and a "Hooded One." The main charcter Fone Bone is usually nude except for his cloak. He is seperated from his cousins in the desert while running from rioting villagers and locusts and soon finds himself in a mysterious valley with the help of a Map. He must survive the winter from Rat Creatures with his friend the dragon to find the Mysterious "Thorn." The other 'Bones' included are Phony Bone who wears a shirt with a black star and is a spoiled rich Scrooge without the Christmas bashing and Smiley who is just like Goofy from Mickey Mouse. The trio lead seperate adventures eventually crossing paths outwitting rat monsters (Stupid, Stupid Rat Monsters!), pulling cow racing scams at the local tavern and trying to get too Boneville desperately. I would recommend this to those of all ages, Graphic Novel fans and those interested in the art of it. This series is off to a good start.

This book is extravigent, vivid, and bright, but it is cliffhanger too. It is about 3 bones Smiley, Phoney, and FoneBone (he is talked about a lot) are chased from their hometown Boneville and stuck in the mountains. They are seperated in a swarm of locuses. FoneBone manages to get thro life in the woods but not Phoney. Fone is chased by these rat creatures but is saved. The rest you will have to read but listen to me...It Is Halarious!
C.C.

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. "