Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume [Paperback]

Jeff Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004 | Age Range: 9 and up

An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300-page epic adventure from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback. Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, speanding a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. Their many adventures include crossing the local people in The Great Cow Race, and meeting a giant mountain lion called RockJaw: Master of the Eastern Border. They learn about sacrifice and hardship in The Ghost Circles and finally discover their own true natures in the climatic journey to The Crown of Horns.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Mere months after publishing the final installment of the long-running fantasy saga Bone, Smith collects all 13 years' worth of it in a single, massive volume. As many comics fans know, the series chronicles the adventures of the Bone cousins--plucky Fone Bone, scheming Phony Bone, and easygoing Smiley Bone-- who leave their home of Boneville and are swept up in a Tolkienesque epic of royalty, dragons, and unspeakable evil forces out to conquer humankind. The compilation makes it evident how fully formed Smith's vision was from the very beginning--although the early chapters emphasized comedy, as do the final pages, the tale quickly found its dramatic bearings. His remarkably accomplished drawing style, in the manner of such comics masters as Walt Kelly and Carl Barks, was fully formed from the start, too. Libraries that have missed out on individual Bone series titles should seize this opportunity to make up for the fact, and those who have collected the series all along will do well to acquire the collected edition to supplement or supplant those doubtless well-worn volumes. But be prepared for overdues: even the most voracious readers will be hard-pressed to get through this hefty, phone book-like tome before they're supposed to return it. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Endorsements
Time Magazine: One of the Ten Greatest Grapic Novels of all Time
Publisher's Weekly: Best Book LIst
The Comics Journal: Book of the Year
American Library Association: Top 25 Graphic Novels for Young Adults
Better Homes and Gardens: 'Must Read' list

Quotes

Time Magazine
“BONE combines the humor and look of early Disney movies with the scope of the Lord of the Rings cycle. While children will read BONE for its breathless adventure and sight gags, older kids and adults will appreciate the themes of blind fanaticism and corrupting power.”

Entertainment Weekly
“BONE is storytelling at its best, full of endearing, flawed characters whose adventures run the gamut from hilarious whimsy to thrilling drama. Along the way, Smith’s musings… take on a greater relevance than you’d ever expect. Grade: A.”

Publisher's Weekly
"Charming, character-driven fantasy with an elegant design and masterful story-telling in the tradition of Walt Kelly, Charles Schulz and Carl Barks." (starred review)

ALA Booklist
"Like Pogo, BONE has a whimsy best appreciated by adults, yet kids can enjoy it, too; and like Barks’ Donald Duck stories, BONE moves from brash humor to gripping adventure in a single panel."

Neil Gaiman (author of The Graveyard Book and Sandman)
"Jeff Smith can pace a joke better than almost anyone in comics; his dialogue is delightful—so are all his people, not to mention his animals, his villains, and even his bugs."

Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons)
"I love BONE! BONE is great!”

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 1300 pages
• Publisher: Cartoon Books; Revised edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188896314X
• ISBN-13: 978-1888963144
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 2.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (194 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Did you know that Dragons can cause droughts? October 12, 2004

By ewomack TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If Lord of the Rings were much funnier and pervaded with humor, it would be very much like Bone. Not that Bone isn't a serious work, because it is in every way - It's probably one of the comic book masterpieces of our time. Only that the story sometimes twists and turns on laugh out loud plot devices. Many of the characters are funny (Phoney Bone, the stupid stupid rat creatures, Smiley Bone, Bartelby, Gran'ma) but also have a downright serious side (Gran'ma has one VERY serious side; don't mess with her and definitely don't mess with her cows). The story itself is even funny in ways, but it amazingly maintains tension with some horror and shock mixed in. It's adventure, comedy, horror, and fantasy wrapped in a shell of great comic artwork.

Hidden beneath the adventures, jokes, and great artwork also lies some social commentary. When Phoney Bone convinces the townsfolk that dragons are an immediate threat to their safety and, since he's a dragonslayer, they should give him absolute control over the town, this hits almost a little too close to home. Phoney represents greed on steroids. Other innocents get pulled into his plans for money and power (he doesn't seem too concerned with glory or the well being of society in general). Nonetheless, the entire story turns on Phoney's schemes, and they play a vital role in the plot.

Other highlights include: the Great Cow Races; Fone Bone's infatuation with Thorn; Ted the Bug (what an amazing character); the two stupid rat creature's travails with Kingdok (one of them loves quiche); the slow uncovering of Gran'ma and Thorn's true identities; Smiley Bone's pet rat creature; Fone Bone's run ins with The Great Red Dragon; the Giant Bees ("Gimmee dat Cigar!"); Phoney Bone's first very creepy run in with The Hooded One. There's plenty more. These some 1300 pages are crammed with highlights.

Bone was originally released in numerous comic books (from 1991 to 2004) which were then collected into 9 larger books, and now all nine books are compiled into this one chunky volume. This book is slightly smaller in physical size than the other books, so some of the extreme detail of the art is lost (but most people won't care). Nonetheless, here's the entire story in one big volume for one much smaller price. It's a quick and tumultuous read, and represents ten years very well spent.

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars my only complaint is with the book, not content. December 1, 2004

By roderyck

Format:Paperback

i have already bought the bones series volume by volume and love its take on mixing fantasy, humor and pogo-like characters. i would wholeheartedly recommend getting the series.

my only problem is with the ONE VOLUME EDITION, and that is only if you are INTERESTED IN THE ART. the volume is smaller in size but even that isn't a real issue. the problem is with the THINNESS OF THE PAGES, the artwork from the other side shows through (kind of like the wording shows through on many bibles). this hurts smith's beautiful black and white inked drawings (to me at least), and since graphics are what makes it a graphic novel, it might be an issue for someone that doesn't get to flip through the pages before buying it.

but it is a GREAT DEAL FOR THE PRICE. and i would still prefer the cheap volume over not having it at all. (BTW, i had to have the last 2 volumes ordered through a bookstore and they came in hardback instead of softcover and they are beautiful with a map on the interior binding, a gold-inked illustration on the front cover, a wrap-around book cover with the softcover art over that, and is worth the $5 or so extra if you are going to buy volume by volume).

68 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I got mine autographed! August 7, 2004

By Johnny Heering

Format:Paperback

This book contains all nine books in Jeff Smith's epic series Bone. It's a real bargain, since you get the complete story at a fraction of the price you would pay if you bought all the individual books. But aside from the price, this is simply a great comic book. I hadn't read Bone at all before I bought this book, and now it is one of my favorite comics. It's 1300 pages long, but once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. I don't want to give away much of the plot, because part of the enjoyment comes from experiencing the many twists and turns that the story takes. But I will mention that the book is a fantasy adventure with a lot of humor. The "Bone" title comes from the characters of the Bone cousins; big hearted Fone Bone, greedy Phoney Bone and goofy Smiley Bone. As the book opens, the Bones have been run out of their hometown of Boneville. The end up in the Valley, and have the adventure of their lives. And that's all I am going to say. I highly recommend this book.