Jeff Smith
Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume (2004)
Author: Jeff Smith
Genre: Graphic Novel (Fantasy)
Plot Summary:
In this epic tale of good versus evil, cartoonist Jeff Smith follows the adventures of the oddball anthropomorphic Bone cousins: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. After having been banished from their hometown, Boneville, the cousins become lost in a fantastic and strange world, The Valley. This new world is home to an extraordinary array of creatures, ranging from humans, to voracious Rat Creatures, dragons, talking bugs, and giant cats. The Bone cousins find refuge and friendship in The Valley on a quaint farm run by Grandmother Rose and her granddaughter, Thorn. While trying to find their way back to Boneville, the Bone cousins become entangled in a series of adventures. Fone Bone is regularly chased by a pair of hungry rat creatures and saved by the mysterious Red Dragon, Phoney Bone connives in several money making schemes, and Smiley Bone manages to befriend everyone with his generosity and simplicity, including a baby rat creature. Meanwhile something sinister is brewing in The Valley. A dark family secret surfaces from Rose and Thorn’s past which will affect the lives of all living in The Valley, including the Bone cousins. SPOILER: Grandmother Rose and Thorn are the last living heirs to the Harvestar royal family. Rose has hidden this secret from her granddaughter until dreams awaken Thorn with images from her past and her true identity. Not only is Thorn the bearer of the royal blood line, she is also a Veni-Yan-Cari, a human who can see into the dream world. She is the guardian of the dreaming, a world that maintains the balance between good and evil. This balance is disrupted by the emergence of a long-resting evil spirit known as the Lord of the Locusts. This evil force intends on destroying the delicate balance in The Valley, and with the help if its henchmen, the rat creatures, seeks to kill Thorn and her Bone friends. Only love, humor, friendship, loyalty and kindness can overcome this evil force, lead the Bone cousins back to their home, and ensure the safety of The Valley.
Geographical Setting: The Valley, a fantasy world
Time Period: Unknown
Series: The complete cartoon epic in one volume: v. 1. Out from Boneville, v. 2. The Great Cow Race, v. 3. Eyes of the Storm, v. 4. The Dragonslayer, v. 5. Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border, v. 6. Old Man's cave, v. 7. Ghost Circles, v. 8. Treasure Hunters, v. 9. Crown of Horns
Appeal Characteristics:
Jeff Smith combines an intricate adventure tale with complex, endearing, and sympathetic characters. The storyline contains elements of a traditional fantasy with the added appeal of Smith’s artistry. The Bone cousins, accompanied by Rose, Thorn and a myriad of complex characters embark on a quest to realign the balance between good and evil. Along the way, they are side-tracked and encounter new and different creatures who bring into question their values and beliefs. Each character, including intriguing secondary characters, undergoes some level of internal evolution and ultimate improvement. The main character, Fone Bone, is an endearing, almost child-like creature whose sense of wonder and adventure, loyalty and love for his cousins, Thorn and the people around him drives the moral spirit of Bone. The story takes many twists and turns, keeps the reader constantly on their toes, and compels the tale forward with urgency to resolve the fundamental struggle between good and evil. The action-packed plot is interspersed with light, humorous, and often introspective moments. Smith also wholly immerses the story in a fantastical world. It is rich, complete, and believable world because the characters have similar human struggles, cares and concerns for friendship, love, family, and loyalty. Smith employs different artistic techniques to convey the variety and depth of his characters. Although he draws the Bone cousins in a very simple, cartoonish way, each Bone has their own unique expressions, gestures, and voice. Smith depicts human characters in a more active and realistic way, although they also have their own distinct, somewhat exaggerated qualities. Perhaps the most inventive characters are Smith’s rat creatures. Smith styles them in a way where they appear vicious and cruel at one moment, while reverting to hilarious, goofy, human-like, and almost endearing monsters the next. Smith is able to combine this balance between dark and light in the way he inks his stories, the characters he develops, and the story he sketches with words and images. The tone of the story alternates between dark and humorous, ominous and frivolous. Although the 2004 compilation set of Bone is inked in black and white, Smith is still able to contrast a dark and foreboding quality with the heartwarming light tone of the text. The artistic style of Bone is complemented by the verbal narrative. Quick, witty, and rich bubble dialogue drives the narrative while the drawings provide descriptive context.
Read-alikes:
Mouse Guard: Autumn 1152 is an attractive fast-paced read for those who enjoy fantastical stories with a pinch of realism, a heavy dose of world-building, and a flavorful action packed tale of a society of warrior mice. Set in the year 1152, a contingent of anthropomorphic mice belonging to the mouse militia, or Guard, must defend their rodent world from a rogue dictator. The Guard wishes to live peacefully and protect against harmful creatures without upsetting the balance of the mouse society and the predator-prey relationship they share in the world surrounding them. In order to defend this delicate balance, they embark on a journey to find their mouse-hero. Sharing many of the fantasy tropes found in Bone, Mouse Guard also includes bold character depictions. Fortunately, Mouse Guard is entirely in color. If readers can get their hands on the color versions of the Bone volumes, the artistic comparison is palpable. Readers should be wary of the depictions of violence or death, although they are no more graphic than in Bone. The Clouds Above by Jordan Crane will interest readers who fancy whimsical, humorous stories about fantastical creatures in imaginary worlds. The graphic novel follows the adventures of a boy named Simon and his cat, Jack, as they play hooky from school one day and venture up a magical staircase into a dream world. There the two characters befriend a cloud named Perch, and get involved in a conflict between Perch, a group of malicious storm clouds, and a flock of nasty birds. In the midst of their absurd and surprisingly believable adventures, our heroes contend with some pretty heavy life questions. Nonetheless, the levity, child-like whimsy, comedy, and artistic subtlety and characterization of The Clouds Above should interest young readers and adult readers who are young at heart. Tellos: Reluctant Heroes and Tellos: Kindred Spirits, the first two graphic novels in the Tellos anthology written by Todd Dezago and inked by Mike Wieringo and Paul Mounts will appeal to readers who relish simple stories combined with beautiful and complex artistry and well-developed characters. Jarek, a reluctant and young hero, is thrust into a world flocking with half-human, half-animal creatures. After befriending a motley crew, including his faithful companion the tiger-man Koj, Jarek and friends embark on a crusade to save this fantastical world from evil forces. Reluctant Heroes sets the framework for all subsequent graphic novels in the series, whereas Kindred Spirits delves more deeply into the history of the many characters, providing depth and epic interest. Although the story centers on the typical fantasy quest to vanquish evil, brevity, lightness, witty dialogue, and humor flesh out the tale more fully. Without a doubt, Dezago is adept at world-building, and Wierango and Mounts combine to bring the vibrancy of this otherworld to life. Billy Hooten: Owlboy by Thomas E. Sniegoski is a cross between a superhero tale, an urban fantasy, and a children’s book. It may appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced adventures, comical characters, and a lighter tone combined with more profound issues. The story centers on the life of schoolboy Billy Hooten. Somewhat of an outcast and nerd, Billy one day wanders into a cemetery and discovers a goblin who reveals Bill’s true identity. He is Owlboy!, the geeky superhero who protects the fantasy creatures living in Monstros City, the underworld beneath Billy’s hometown of Bradbury. Billy suddenly realizes he possesses an unexpected array of powers. Once accepting his destiny as Owlboy, Billy ventures out to fight against the various forces that threaten to destroy Monstros City and its inhabitants. Perhaps Billy Hooten: Owlboy’s greatest strength is in the believability of its characters. Artistically, Sniegoski’s characters are cartoonish while preserving human expressions, gestures, and features. In this way, his characters are more plausible and sympathetic, resembling in many ways the various qualities of Smith's Bone. Dreamkeepers by David Lillie is a recent publication that combines elements of fantasy and the art of manga and graphic novels. This title may serve as a bridge for graphic novel readers into manga. The fundamental fantasy plot, as well as the in depth character development and rich world-building, will appeal to Bone fans. The blend of light and dark in the artistry and in the novel’s tone is also reminiscent of Smith’s Bone. However, Dreamkeepers favors the darker side and may be more appropriate for mature readers or young adults who enjoy Bone. The story immediately draws the readers into a fantastical, yet believable dream world. This dream world is occupied by half-human, half-animal dreamkeepers. Each dreamkeeper has their counterpart in the human world. The dreamkeepers protect their human counterparts from the dangerous and evil nightmares that threaten to overcome human sanity. Every dreamkeeper is as unique as their human equal with the exception that the dreamkeepers possess magical abilities to guard against the nightmares. However, over the years the dreamkeepers have become complacent, believing the nightmares have vanished into obscurity. Hidden away, the nightmares and an ancient evil plot to destroy the dreamkeeper and human worlds. The first and promising Lillie graphic novel follows the dreamkeepers as they muster their weakened forces to protect both worlds against their forgotten foe.
Red Flags: Scenes of mild to medium graphic violence. The rat creatures and the the evil grim reaper, Briar, may frighten children.
Bone: Out from Boneville (2005)
Author: Jeff Smith
Genre: Graphic Novel (Fantasy)
Plot Summary:
Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone, three cousins, have been run out of Boneville and find themselves lost in a vast desert. They become separated in the desert due to some pesky locusts, but they each find their way to the Valley. The Valley contains some mystical and some menacing creatures. There is the Dragon that reveals himself only to Fone Bone, and there are evil Rat Creatures that terrorize the residents of the Valley. Fone Bone is taken in and cared for by Thorn, a beautiful maiden that lives with her Gran'ma Ben. Eventually, Phoney Bone meets up with Phone Bone, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben. Unbeknownst to the Bones, there are dark forces at work in the Valley and they have set their sites on the Bones, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben. SPOILER: Fone Bone, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben narrowly escape an attack by the Rat Creatures through the help of the Dragon and some fancy moves by Gran'ma Ben. There is more than meets the eye concerning Gran'ma Ben but is not revealed in this book. Fone and Phoney are reunited with Smiley Bone in the Village. The book ends with a figure that resembles the Reaper threatening Phoney Bone. Apparently it is time for Phoney Bone to deliver his soul.
Geographical Setting: The Valley
Time Period: Indeterminate
Series: Book 1 of the Bone Series
Appeal Characteristics:
Awarded the Best Graphic Album Award in 2005, this fast-paced story is kept moving by constant twists and turns in the plot. Fone Bone is a lovable character that is polite and good natured and has a certain sense of innocence. He is the most educated of the Bones and his favorite book is Moby Dick. Phoney Bone is greedy and is out only for himself. He does show a softer, compassionate and side to his cousins. Smiley Bone is like a village idiot, senseless and endearing, yet has moments of great insight. All the Bones fall into the sub-genre of the "funny animal" graphic novel. None of them represent actual animals, though there is some resemblance to Snoopy the Dog. The graphics are simple illustrations, but each character shows a lot of facial expression. The story contains elements of fantasy, adventure and mystery. There is a small romantic infatuation between Fone and Thorn. Underlining the entire story there is an element of humor. The elements of mystery and humor, along with the colorful graphics, make this a compelling read.
Similar Authors: Out from Boneville is the first book in the nine book Bone Series. The second installment in the series is The Great Cow Race. Jeff Smith has also written two spin off graphic novels to Bone. Rose features a young Gran'ma Ben and Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, also a prequel, follows the adventures of Big Johnson Bone and explains the origins of the Rat Creatures. Mark Crilly's Akiko would be a good read-like because of it's elements of adventure, everyday people becoming extraordinary heroes and mystical and fantastical characters. Groo by Sergio Aragones has a simialr comedic tone and graphics. Groo and Smiley Bone both have that village idiot thing going for them. For a graphic novel with elements of humor and a "funny animal" character try Pogo by Walt Kelly. Another graphic novel that is based around a "funny animal" but incorporates the adventure and fantasy elements is Cerebus by Dave Sim. If you are looking for an epic graphic novel with strong elements of fantasy and adventure, you will want to read Sandman by Neil Gaiman. This is the story of Dream who must reclaim his kingdom from dark forces. If you are looking for a witty adventure saga that features animals as the main characters, you should try Dave Sim's Cerebus, the story of an aardvark with a bizarre life that is highlighted with ironic and witty dialogue. If you are looking for a graphic novel that is appropriate to read with your kids, you will want to read Tellos: Reluctant Heroes by Todd Dezago. This is a fantastic adventure story about a hero who really doesn't want to be a hero. It has amazing illustration that anyone 10 and older will enjoy. Another book that kids and adults will enjoy is Abadazad, Book One: The Road to Inconceivable by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog. This is a epic fantasy in which a boy is trapped in a parallel world and his sister must find a way to rescue him.
Red Flags: The images of the rat creatures and the Reaper are a little disturbing.
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