Also, please note the product placement/plug for Sky Pirates of Valendor in the picture! Sky Pirates is produced by Jolly Rogue Studios, who are our neighbors at many conventions when we're out promoting our own comics.
Title: Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic In One Volume
Publisher: Cartoon Books
Date: 2004
Writer: Jeff Smith
Artist: Jeff Smith
And he means it when he says "Epic"!
This is the complete version of Bone. All 1332 pages of it. This is widely considered one of the most influential comics of the last few decades, and it lives up to all of the accolades.
Bone is the story of three cousins who are run out of their home town by an angry mob after the moneymaking schemes of the oldest cousin, Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone, finally anger the wrong people (which in this case is basically everyone in Boneville).
The cousins cross a desert and find themselves in a valley inhabited by talking animals, monstrous rat-creatures, and a grandmother and granddaughter named Ben and Thorn.
The story begins as a light comedy and morphs brilliantly into a fantasy epic while still keeping its sense of humor.
I absolutely love the handling of the characters Thorn and Grandma Ben throughout the story. Not only do they both fall into the category of strong female characters, but they are complex, well-rounded, and central to the plot. Furthermore, in over 1300 pages, neither of them ever has their capabilities questioned on the basis of gender. Not once. Awesome.
The story takes its time ramping up, but once it gets going, it's in high gear straight through to the finish. This is easily among the best fantasy stories to ever appear comics, and it's quickly become one of my favorite fantasy stories in any format.
Totally worth the 1332 pages of reading.
Rating: 10/10 (Which is a first for this blog!)
I had the privelege of meeting Jeff Smith at the recent Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland ME. Here are a couple of bonus pictures:
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