BONE

BONE

Written and drawn by Jeff Smith. Published by Cartoon Books.

After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful, terrifying creatures and people who'll change theirs lives forever.

One of the biggest fantasy sagas ever created in comic book form. 12 years in the making, 55 individual comic book issues. The series rounds out at more than 1300 pages, entirely produced by cartoonist Jeff Smith. 

The great quality of this saga was the consistency that the author demonstrated throughout the project. Of course, like any story, Bone has strong times and more introspective ones. But even in the quiet moments, everything works thanks to its sometime subtle, sometimes grotesque and sometimes delirious humor. The characters, from Fone Bone, The prototype of the nice hero: shy but with a heart of gold. Phoney Bone,  Smith's thinly veiled homage to Carl Bark's Uncle  Scrooge. Grandma Ben and her peculiar sport of racing cows. Each one of the characters is a successful mixture between caricature and realism. Even Smiley Bone, the seemingly simple minded cousin, who just seems to be coasting through life with delirious abandon, is often the one which utters the most judicious words at the right time. 

The art from Smith adapts remarkably well to the various tones and situations of the story. He is able to handle the ridiculous concept of a cow race or portray a battle worthy of The Lord of the rings. One of the most gifted cartoonist the American comics scene has seen in the last 25 years, Jeff Smith's output has been small since the conclusion of Bone, and while some of those other works have been enjoyable, this saga remains his crowning achievement.

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