Bone (comics)
| Bone | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Bone: Out From Boneville | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | self-published |
| Format | limited series |
| Publication date | 1991 - 2004 |
| No. of issues | 55 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Jeff Smith |
| Artist(s) | Jeff Smith |
Bone is an independently published comic book series, originally serialized in 55 irregularly-released issues from 1991 to 2004, notable as one of the longest-running self-published comic book series by a single writer/artist.
Bone was drawn and written by Jeff Smith. Smith's black-and-white drawings are inspired by animated cartoons and comic strips, a notable influence being Walt Kelly's Pogo. However, the story contains both light-hearted comedy and dark, epic fantasy, drawing inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien and others. Different characters are drawn in widely different styles, reflecting Bone's diversity of tone.
Bone has received numerous awards, among them ten Eisner Awards and eleven Harvey Awards.
The comic ended with its 55th issue, dated June 2004. The back cover has, in place of the usual comic panel, a black and white photo of Smith in his studio drawing the last page on May 10.
Story
The series centers around the Bone Family, which is composed of creatures which talk and act like the humans in the story, but who are white, small, bald humanoids with big noses, and don't normally wear much clothing.
In the opening pages the three Bone cousins - the avaricious Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone, the goofy, cigar-smoking Smiley Bone, and the everyman character Fone Bone - are run out of their hometown of Boneville after Phoney decides to run for mayor with disastrous results. An example of his resulting unpopularity was given by Smiley, saying that the mayor declared a school holiday just so all the schoolchildren could come and throw rocks at Phoney. After crossing a desert and ending up in a mysterious valley, the cousins are separated, and must individually make their way across a fantasy landscape pursued by locusts and rat creatures before meeting up again. At this time, they are taken in by a mysterious girl named Thorn and her even more enigmatic grandmother. As they stay longer in the valley they encounter humans and other creatures who are threatened by a dark lord, the Lord of the Locusts. Fone Bone is drawn into the events around him and finds himself on a hero's journey to help save the world.
Regular Series Collections
Bone was released originally in single issue comic book format from 1991 to 2004 both self-published and published by Image Comics at different times. The regular series ran for 55 issues and has been collected into the following volumes.
Individual volumes
- Out from Boneville (originally released as The Complete Bone Adventures volume 1)
- The Great Cow Race
- Eyes of the Storm
- The Dragonslayer
- Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border
- Old Man's Cave
- Ghost Circles
- Treasure Hunters
- Crown of Horns
- Bone: One Volume Edition (ISBN 1-888963-14-X) - contains all of the above; 1332 pages. Listed in Time Magazine's "Best Comix of 2004".
Colorized editions
In 2004 Scholastic Press began reissuing the individual volumes in full color (with coloring by Steve Hamaker). Both hardcover and softcover editions of each volume are being released simultaneously (at the time of writing not all volumes have been colorized and re-released). The most current colorized Bone volume is volume seven of nine, Ghost Circles. The eight volume, Treasure Hunters, is set to be released in August 2008 [1]. Starting in 2006 HarperCollins are publishing the full colour editions for the UK market. They are currently on volume three of nine, Eye of the Storm. The fourth volume, The Dragonslayer, is set to be released in March 2008.
One Volume Edition
The special 1300 page, one volume edition was released originally for $40 (USD) through Jeff Smith's Cartoon Books imprint in a paperback volume. This special print of the entire adventure was to celebrate the recent end of the series and the commencement of every collection in the series being reprinted in color through Scholastic Press. First released in 2004 and promoted as only a limited print run being available, this edition has recently returned to print.
In addition to the one volume paperback, a signed limited edition hardcover edition of the one volume book was issued. The deluxe hardcover featured gold embossed lettering on the cover, gilded edges, and a cloth ribbon bookmark. The end pages are printed with a map of The Valley and it comes with a full-color signed and numbered bookplate. This limited edition pressing of the book originally sold for around $125 (USD) and was initially limited to 2,000 copies.
Spin-offs & Special One-shots
Spin-offs
Both prequels to the main storyline, but can be read without spoiling too much about the main story.
- Rose (with Charles Vess)
- Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero (with Tom Sniegoski and Stan Sakai)
- Thorn: Tales From the Lantern: a compilation of Jeff Smith's comic panels from his college years. This book is extremely rare; most copies cost over $500.
Special One-shots
- Bone: Holiday Special (Hero Premiere Edition)
(1993, Warrior Publications, 14 pages)
This was a Hero Premiere Edition bundled with Hero Illustrated magazine. It includes a short story where the Bone cousins celebrate Winter Solstice, Jeff Smith interview and sketches.
- Bone #13 1/2
(Jan 1995, Wizard, 28 pages)
This was a free comic book mail-in offer through Wizard Magazine. As was also common with Wizard Magazine comic offers, there was a special gold foil cover variant where the Bone title on the cover is embossed in gold foil. It came in a rigid mylar sleeve and a certificate of authenticity. There is a short story that fits in between #13 and #14 of the regular series, and is included in Bone Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race. This special also includes a Jeff Smith interview and sketches.
- Bone Sourcebook
(1995, Image Comics, 16 pages with wrap-around cover)
This was a free promotional book given out at 1995 San Diego Comic-con and it also polybagged with Wizard Mag. This sourcebook was published to celebrate the move of the BONE series from self-publishing to Image Comics, where it stayed for only 7 issues before Jeff Smith took it back to self-publishing. It includes an Introduction by Jeff Smith & biography, character profiles, color poster by Jim Lee, story timeline, upcoming storyline, and shipping schedule.
- Bone #1 Tenth Anniversary Edition
(2001, Cartoon Books)
To celebrate it's 10th year anniversary, a special color edition of Bone #1 with was released with a free collectible Fone Bone PVC figure and a full color Phoney Bone Gazillion dollar bill. This special edition included a new cover, a new afterword by Jeff Smith, and an illustrated eight-page commentary by comics historian R.C. Harvey, and the original artwork was digitally remastered in full color.
Cast of characters
Bone Cousins
- Fone Bone
- The hero of the series. He helped his cousin Phoney Bone escape from Boneville after he upset the villagers, and got stuck in the valley. He is passionate about his favorite book, Moby-Dick, and is the most level-headed of the three Bone cousins. He has an unspoken crush on Thorn Harvestar. His name comes from "funny bone," which also inspired the Mad Magazine character Fonebone drawn by Don Martin.
- Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone
Manipulative and greedy, Phoney Bone will do anything to get rich. Run out of Boneville by an angry mob of villagers after a few shady business deals, his greediness and selfishness makes an enemy of anyone who crosses him in the valley. Referred to as "The One Who Bears The Star" (due to the star t-shirt he wears) by the Hooded One, Phoney is sought after by the Rat Creature army though he does not know why. Fone says that part of the reason for his cousin's resourcefulness and greed may be that Phoney, as the oldest of the Bone trio, raised his two cousins when they were young - and poor - orphans. Though he is selfish he is very defensive of his cousins when he needs to be and shows he really cares about them. An example is given when he is approached by The Hooded One who proceeds to threaten Fone Bone, Phoncible becomes angry and warns The Hooded One to stay away from Fone.
- Smiley Bone
- The tallest of the Bones and arguably the least intelligent, he plays a one-string banjo, and often ends up driving people mad due to his stupidity and simplicity. Allegedly, Fone Bone brought him along purely to torture Phoney. He takes kindly to a rat creature cub, whom he names Bartleby, and through his nurturing of Bartleby we see a maturing in his character. When he and his cousins were children, Phoney made him steal pies off of windowsills, because he was the tallest, and apparently they were poor to the point where they couldn't afford food. Phoney mentions that when he became rich, Smiley made him pay everyone back.
Other Characters
- Thorn Harvestar
- Fone's crush. Seemingly a simple farm girl, it is soon revealed that she is heir to the throne of Atheia. She is also a "veni-yan-cari" (an awakened one). Thorn has been shown to show excellent courage, as well as powers, such as escaping through a landslide blindfolded, flying, and jumping a castle wall without injuring herself. In a sense she can do anything if she can "concentrate her dreaming". Though it is never mentioned outright, she is 17 years old.
- Rose "Gran'ma" Ben (originally Rose Harvestar)
- Thorn's grandmother, a tough-as-nails farmer who races against cows on foot as a hobby, and always wins. It is revealed that she is the former Queen of Atheia and escaped to Barrelhaven with Lucius Down and Thorn to protect her.
- The Great Red Dragon
- Often Fone's last-minute savior, the Red Dragon appears when he is most needed. Gran'ma Ben does not trust him, regardless of how many times he has saved her or her friends from harm. This grudge was later revealed to be mutual, as in her youth Rose had been ordered by the Great Red Dragon to kill the first thing she saw after destroying a different dragon - only for that thing to be revealed as her sister. Pleading for mercy, Briar claimed that Rose had seen one of her hunting dogs at the same time and so therefore should kill that. Rose held a grudge against the Dragon for not being direct in his instruction, and he equally held one against her for setting the path for the Lord of the Locusts' return. The Great Red Dragon seems to be incredibly ancient. In a sequence that shows the land during the Dragons reign, supposedly the beginning of time, the Great Red Dragon can be seen fighting Mim along with other dragons. Regardless if this is true or not, he is at least over 50 years old, as he takes care of Thorn while the Great War is taking place.
- Roque Ja
- A huge mountain lion who views himself as neutral in the conflict between the humans and the Lord of the Locusts. He works for the Lord of the Locusts in exchange for land when the valley becomes their's, and loathes the Dragons. His name is mispronounced as 'Rock Jaw' by the Bone cousins. He is the guardian of the Eastern Border.
- Kingdok
- A giant rat creature, ruler of the horde of rat creatures and lackey of the Lord of the Locusts. Although he is egomaniacal and cruel, he is prone to superstition and easily manipulated by The Hooded One. He carries a golden spiked club around with him, until Thorn cuts off his right arm. Roque Ja at one points attacks Kingdok and rips out his tongue, which he keeps as a trophy. A continuity error is that while Roque Ja is bragging about owning the tongue, Kingdok cannot speak, but later speaks clearly to the Hooded One. After that, he attempts to say "kill you", and it comes out "gill yoo", just as one would speak without a tongue. At the end of the novel, he faces Thorn before she can touch the Crown of Thorns. He tells her (once again able to speak) that "Either she kills him or he kills her", because he wants to die. He states that he is tired of being the Hooded Ones puppet. Thorn does not want to kill him, even though he taunts her by reminding her that he was the one who killed her parents (He even tells her that he fed on Thorns mother while she was still alive). She tries to dart towards the Crown of Thorns but Kingdok bites her leg. Thorn then drives her sword into Kingdok's right eye, killing him.
- Lucius Down - The foil for almost all of Phoney Bone's schemes. He runs the Barrelhaven Tavern, and in the later books we find that he sees Jonathan Oaks as a son. Lucius had formerly hinted of a history with Gran'ma Ben - only to reveal later that he had 'picked the wrong girl', instead falling in love with her sister, Briar, whose motive in the affair was to hurt Rose. Though Briar in her form as the Hooded One still held a little affection for him (indicated in a tiny heart appearing in her speech bubble when she called his name), he was still in love with Rose Harvestar. When the Hooded One prepared to kill Rose, Lucius grabbed onto her just as her master, the Lord of the Locust, is destroyed; the resulting surge in power incinerates Briar and mortally wounds Lucius.
- Ted - A helpful insect that pops up from time to time. Ted is the first creature Fone Bone encounters when he enters the valley, and harbors a strange link to the Red Dragon. Has an older brother who is several hundred times his size.
- The Lord of the Locusts - The unseen dark lord who orchestrates much of the saga's villainy. He is an evil, formless "nightmare" trapped inside a mountain, and appears in the form of a locust swarm to his chief henchman who is simply known as "The Hooded One".
- The Hooded One - Servant of the Lord of the Locusts and Kingdok's superior. It is implied that The Hooded One is a former Veni Yan warrior, as he wears a similar robe and hood. It is later revealed that the Hooded One is Briar Harvestar, the sister of Gran'ma Ben. Briar was made to feel inferior to her sister when she was younger, and when the Rat Creatures invaded in the great war, she betrayed the Royal family by leading them to the Rat Creatures. When the King, Thorn's father, learned of this betrayal, he cut her in half with an abandoned harvesting scythe, which the Hooded One now carries as a weapon. Briar was possessed and resurrected by a swarm of locusts.
- Mim - The original queen of the dragons, was possessed by the Lord of the Locusts, and turned to stone by the other dragons. Her awakening was said to be the end of the world, but instead the Lord of the Locusts disappeared, and an aged Mim returned to her function followed by all of the other Dragons save the Great Red Dragon.
- The Possum Kids - Three young possums with a thirst for adventure. They have a knack for getting into trouble, but they are resourceful and cunning.
- Roderick and the Orphans - Roderick is a young raccoon whose parents were killed and eaten by the two stupid rat creatures. He is the leader of a large group of orphaned animal children living in the mountains. Roderick is the only one named, and the complete group consists of a beaver, a boar, two birds, a rabbit, a porcupine, a turtle, two snakes, a squirrel, and a chipmunk.
- Miz Possum - A caring, motherly figure to everyone in the valley. Mother to the three possum kids.
- Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures - Two soldiers of rat creature hordes who have a particular interest in devouring the Bone cousins, and Fone Bone in particular. They address each other as "comrade". Fone Bone is the one who dubs the two "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures"; Fone Bone is also usually credited with coining the term "Rat Creatures" itself; however, he actually got the name from the possum kids. As it stands, the proper name of Rat Creatures appears to be Hairy Men. Named after some incidents where one, or both, clearly emphasize their title, they in turn call Fone Bone "Small Mammal." In a running gag throughout the series, the Bone rat creature suggests cooking Fone Bone in a quiche. The other rat creature flies into a rage, insisting that 'dainty pastry foods' are 'unfit for monsters,' and that they should eat him in a stew - though he did once in a fit of anger declare an intention of eating Fone Bone raw, and on another occasion, when they were starving, told his comrade that he wouldn't mind some of his homemade quiche. Later, Fone Bone himself delivered to the two some 'piping hot quiche' when he found them shivering in a bush after the Hooded One's defeat.
- Bartleby - A baby rat creature found by Fone Bone and adopted as a pet by Smiley Bone. He became a good friend to Smiley and when they left for home, he went with them. Named by Shaenon K. Garrity [2] , for the title character in the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville. He unlike other Rat Creatures has round ears. It is explained that the Rat Creatures crop their ears. Bartleby explains that he ran away from the other Rat Creatures after he got his tail chopped off. He states that all Rat Creatures are born with beautiful long hairless tails (Like a rat), but all the Rat Creature cubs have their tails chopped off. This is due to their belief that a sort of boogeyman will drag them away in their sleep by their tails. (In the prequel book Stupid, Stupid, Rat-Tails, we learn that the Bone cousins' forefather Big Johnson Bone is the fabled boogeyman they fear, having come to the Valley a thousand years earlier and fought the rats by swinging them around by their tails.) In a sequence where it shows the land during the Dragons rule, Rat Creatures with long tails can be seen in the distance.
- The Veni Yan - A mysterious clan of hooded warriors. Distrusted by the townsfolk (who came up with the derogatory term "stick eater") but trusted by Lucius.
- Jonathan Oaks - A small, often outspoken, villager who works for Lucius at the Barrelhaven, and views Lucius as a hero. Though he was saved from an ambush from the rat creatures in Old Man's Cave, it is implied that he dies in the Veni Yan infirmary.
- Wendell- One of the Lucius' tough "bar room boys." Outspoken in the early issues (he and Euclid have more than once threatened to trounce Phoney Bone) he became more introverted once the reality of the war presented itself.
- Euclid - Along with Jonathan and Wendell, one of the "bar-room boys". In personality, one way to describe him is that he is even more violent than Wendell.
- Rory - A third barroom boy. Is almost always present near Wendell, Euclid, and Jonathan, but rarely speaks. None of his comments give much of a hint to his personality.
- Headmaster- The leader of the Venu and most powerful soldier. He is distinguished with a fur vest with bronze tokens. In the series two appear. The first is the current one who has a feeling that the world is ending.The second one is retired in the city of Atheia and is the headmaster that appears in "Rose".
Notes
Although essentially a high fantasy, Bone often displays comic humor, particularly the Great Cow Race in issue #10, and Phoney's ongoing efforts to become rich off the credulous valley residents. The series tended to become more serious and adventurous as it went on, and the humor became a lesser element in the story.
The Bone characters have been compared to those of Walt Kelly's Pogo, both in appearance and in characterization. However, their respective personalities also have other precedents. Phoney Bone's personality resembles Carl Barks' Scrooge McDuck, Fone Bone's personality bears some similarities to J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins, and Smiley Bone's personality is akin to Ed Norton from The Honeymooners. Gran'ma Ben bears an unmistakable similarity to Popeye, and Thorn shares a 'hidden king' history with characters like Tolkien's Aragorn. The Stupid Rat Creatures also seem to have origins in Tolkien with their constant quarreling over how to cook any of their prey like the trolls from The Hobbit.
Most of the series was self-published by Smith under his Cartoon Books imprint, but for a short time was published by Image Comics. During this time, the first 20 issues were reprinted by Image with new covers. These reprints are identifiable by having reproductions of the original covers on the back. The Cartoon Books printings have black back covers, inset with a single panel reprinted from inside. First printings can be distinguished from later printings by changes in the color of the logo on the front cover.
The story has been collected into a set of nine black-and-white trade paperbacks; some of the artwork, especially in critical exposition scenes, was revised and expanded for these editions. The 1300-page story has also been published in a single paperback volume, from Cartoon Books.
Issues from the Out From Boneville collection were also reprinted in the digest-sized children's magazine Disney Adventures, first in 1994 and later in 1997 through 1998. The issues usually consisted of 7-9 pages a month and were coloured and censored to remove smoking and drinking references. There was also an exclusive story for Disney Adventures by Smith, featuring Fone and Phoney following a "treasure map."
As of 2004, Cartoon Books' Steve Hamaker is coloring the entire series for new color editions of the nine trade paperbacks, to be published by the Graphix imprint of Scholastic Press.
In addition to the regular series, there have been a pair of spin-off limited series: Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, about an earlier visitor from Boneville to the valley, and Rose, about Thorn's grandmother in her youth. In a recent interview [www.a3upocast.com], Jeff talked about another "Big Johnson Bone" adventure that may be forthcoming. Big Johnson Bone is the lead character from the "Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails".
One very unusual thing about the series is Boneville itself. Even though the three Bone cousins are from Boneville, and it is frequently referred to as the place where they wish to return, the village itself is never shown or depicted in the Bone comics. Also, it appears that Boneville is fairly modern, as opposed to the Valley. For example, Smiley Bone makes a comment to Phoney Bone about a failed scheme of his involving a nuclear reactor, a Twentieth Century achievement.
In an interview on Attack of the Show, Jeff Smith revealed that he drew the last page very early on.
Other media
Animated film
In the 1990s, an attempt to produce a film of Bone through Nickelodeon Films was unsuccessful. According to Smith, Nickelodeon saw the story strictly as children's entertainment, and insisted that the Bone characters be voiced by child actors and that the film had to include pop songs by the likes of Britney Spears [3]and N'Sync. Smith's argument was that no one would even briefly consider putting pop songs in film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, and therefore should not be placed in Bone either.
Action Figures
In 1996 the toy manufacturer Resaurus released Series One of a Bone figure line, featuring: Fone Bone with Rat Cub, Thorn, Smiley Bone, and Rat Creature. Five years later, a second line was released with Gran'ma Ben, Phoney Bone, The Hooded One, and a deluxe boxed set of Kingdok. Two exclusive figures were released through the toy and comic magazine "Previews": Hooded One (glow in the dark), and Phoney Bone as Ahab. Most recently, in 2007, "Dark Horse Comics Presents" released a 5-inch high statue of Fone Bone, which is limited to 750 pieces and to be sold through Wizard Magazine.
Video games
On February 22 2005, video game company Telltale Games announced that they will be developing adventure games based on the comic using episodic format. The first episode, Bone: Out from Boneville, was released on September 15 2005, and the second, The Great Cow Race, on April 12, 2006. Both are available in downloaded or boxed form on Telltale's website. They come for the PC
On October 13 2006, video game company Vanbrio Entertainment announced the release of a Macintosh version of Bone Act 1: Out of Boneville.
Cultural References
In the Fox sitcom "The War at Home", a picture of Phoney Bone hangs in Larry's room.
In the Sam & Max Season One episode Situation: Comedy (also created by Telltale Games), when the heroes walk into a TV station, there is a set labeled "Barrelhaven Set", a reference to the fictional town from Bone. In a "blooper reel" released on the Season DVD, during the scene when Sam is examining the Barrelhaven Set, Fone Bone walks up behind him and surprises him, causing fits of laughter from himself, Sam, Max, and the rest of the off-screen crew.
In the television series Numb3rs, the character Larry Fleinhardt purchases (among other things) a Fone Bone plush doll in the episode "Graphics", which is set at a comic book convention.
See also
External links
