Bone: One Volume Edition

Rating:
Summary: Less than the sum of its parts
Review: As a semi-regular comic book, BONE was a lot of fun to read. Its cartoony characters recall elements of Kelly's POGO strips and Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge adventures. Jeff Smith shows great skill at injecting humor into serious adventures, with expert pacing of his humorous moments throughout the text. The episodes, especially through the first third of his saga, were charming and involving for adult readers and kids alike.

Unfortunately the series takes a turn into tired fantasy territory that takes control of the plot. While there are some interesting aspects to it in a few unique characters and situations, much of it is familiar fantasy cliche's like the peasant girl who doesn't know she's the lost princess, the heroine's potential to be corrupted by her newly-discovered powers, the secret villain who is close to the hero, the ambivalent dragon that you know from very early on will come back to save the day despite himself, and even the "trilogy of trilogies" structure to the overall novel.

What Smith has accomplished here is that it is largely a sweet & likeable cast of heroes, most of whom are two-dimensional so that there are occasional moments of unexpected but believeable character turns. And most fantasy trilogies are overwritten messes that try to create a world with words. Smith conviningly creates his world with pictures that eliminate the need for tedious text. If you are looking for a fun comic fantasy work that at least breaks a couple of gender stereotypes (if only in familiar ways) about fantasies, this could be the one.

Overall a fun read, but not particularly groundbreaking, and at this size perhaps a little awkward to read to kids. There are smaller color editions coming soon from Scholastic Books, though.

Rating:
Summary: Very Satisfying
Review: Bone is one of the most consistently good and satifying fantasy's I have ever read. The build up and pay off to this series is brilliant. There are no low spots in this book, and nothing that seems forced or out of character. It is good throughout, with an ending that has impact and emotion. Unlike many other stories told in serial parts over long periods, it feels like one big story with a consitent narrative and voice. I highly recommend this book. It is a classic, epic fantasy that should be remembered for years to come. I almost didn't pick this one up because it looked (upon first glance,) like a funny animal book -- but I'm glad I gave it further inspection. I may even buy the limited edition hardcover when it comes out later in the year. Oh, and Jeff Smith is also a brilliant artist who draws expressions and chase scenes as well as anyone I've ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I hadn't read a single panel of Bone until I picked up this book, and I finnished the book in 4 days. Considering the book is 1332 pages long, that's saying something.
Somewhere between Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, this book tells it's tale of war, power, secret pasts, and secret pacts while never forgetting the air of fun that the book is filled with fron the first page.
This book is an unbelievable accomplishment. 13 years in the making, Bone holds reader interest and remains compelling and page-turning from beginning to end. There are no boring parts to be found. Granted, the book was originally published chapter-by-chapter in comic-book form, a fact that greatly contributes to the always-moving-forward feeling of the book, but it is still an incredible accomplishment.
Buy it. Read it. Then read it again.

Rating:
Summary: my only complaint is with the book, not content.
Review: 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).

Rating:
Summary: So much fun!!
Review: I have loved the story of the Bone cousins with Thorn and Bartleby and Granma Ben for a while, but I missed out on a lot of the earlier issues simply because I wasn't old enough to want them when they came out. For that reason this book is tremendous.

It contains the entire Bone saga, from beginning to end, in one gigantic gorgeous book that'll beat up anyone with a measely phone book anyday!! Jeff Smith's comic is full of brain, humor, and heart. It somehow relates to this wacky world we live in in a manner that most comics don't. You feel sucked into the book itself, and it takes tremendous effort to be able to put this book down. Which is fortunate, because it's weight'll make your arms buff, but unfortunate because it'll be in your arms for days it's so long!!!

If you're a fan of comics, young or old, you owe it to yourself to purchase this book and share it with your friends and family. The Bones are so cute, yet so admirable and courageous. This is a great story that deserves this format more than any other comic I've ever read. Pick it up!

Rating:
Summary: What a bargain!
Review: I read most of this story over its run in the comic book shops, but I did miss some here and there. I even had some gaps of 5 or 6 issues at points. I was giving serious thought to purchasing all of the individual collections (13 in all I think) to get the whole story when I happened upon this one volume edition. What a deal! 1341 pages of story for less than $30!

The story itself is endearing, fun, and exciting. I rank this aas one of my favorite comic book stories, and I have been reading comics for over 20 years! It starts a little silly, and appears to be a slapstick comedy, but it slowly evolves into an intense well-written fantasy. The felling I got reading through this tale can only be compared to the way I felt the first time I saw Star Wars. Their is innocence, and there is evil. There is light, and there is dark.

This is one of those books that I think my kids will enjoy when they start reading on their own. My 3 year old already has me reading it to her at bedtime!

Rating:
Summary: Did you know that Dragons can cause droughts?
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: I got mine autographed!
Review: 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 fantasty 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.

Rating:
Summary: 5 for content, BUT the book is NOT IN COLOR!!
Review: This review is more about the physical charactersitics of this book than the actual comic.

The comics, content-wise, are fine. But this one-volume set is in Black And White while the individual volumes are in beautiful color (the color is done by Steve Hamaker, I don't know if these comics were originally released in B&W or not)

If you want the whole "Bone" story in one package, then this is the way to go. But in my opinion the color really adds to the comic (I got interested in the "Bone" books because of the artwork, so I personally didn't want the B & W version)

Also, the paper is really thin in this collection (you can see the artwork come through the other side of the page), wheras the color versions are on nicer glossy paper. And the pages are a bit smaller in this one volume set than the individual books.

In regards to the writing; someone pointed out in an earlier review, and I would have to agree, that "Bone" touches on all the fantasy genre cliches. And also others have noted that Jeff Smith draws heavily from Walt Kelly's "Pogo", both in the look of the artwork and the dialect the characters use.

All in all, the one-volume set is economical, but you compromise a little of the artwork.

Rating:
Summary: Racing cows, Moby Dick, and a monster love of quiche
Review: What could beat a story of a royal family destroyed by evil, an ancient menace thought to be only exist in children's stories, and a battle of humans, monsters, furry woodland creatures, and...Bones?

So the story goes of the kindhearted Fone Bone and the greed and idiocy of his cousins which got them run out of town, no thanks to bad prunes. Separated by a mysterious cloud of locust, each Bone finds himself in a mysterious and magical valley where they are assisted by dragons, guided by a tiny green bug with an attitude, or chased by rat creatures who want to make them into baked meat pastries.

Magic and comedy run amuk for Fone Bone, always topped with his crush on the sweet, beautiful human girl Thorn who has the strength and tenacity of a bull...and seems to be sharing fearful dreams with Bone about the horrors of the past- all of which may be the only way to save the future of the valley. And often the biggest trial in reaching their amazing fate...is trying to put up with comic cow costumes, the attitude of a little old lady, or finding themselves dressed as characters from Moby Dick.

If you love epic adventures but want to skip the boring details of the scenery to instead visually see an amazing story unfold, and if you have a single funny bone in you, Bone will never disappoint. I first read the beginning of the story when I was still a child and fell in love, but like Shrek this tale has elements of humour for all ages, whether you love watching idiot characters get strangled or find yourself laughing at the greediest dictator in the story as he discovers he's been thrown into an economy run by livestock trade. I may have grown up since first discovering the world of Bone, but when I read in a nationally acclaimed magazine that this full compiling of the story had been created a smile filled my face and I rushed to get one for myself. You're never too old for fairy tales.