From 1991 to 2004, author and illustrator Jeff Smith put out Bone Comic books which was a long narrative tale strung together irregularly released and self-published in 55 separate issues. Those were paired together in Volume’s of which we came across in maybe 2009/2010’s of which Z & Me devoured. Since these were so good, it was the nighttime routine to read before bed time. Well with the Bone Volume’s those reading times got longer and longer since we both equally were very into the story. It’s a rare thing you come across that kids and parents can get into equally. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Huck Finn, or iCarly!!! Okay so I was a little bit more into ICarly than anybody else in our family.
So this was destiny as Smith who started drawing the main character, Phone Bone, the everyman protagonist, at the age of 5. By 10 he started to develop the stories and flesh out the character. Then at Ohio State he got exposed to literature like Huck Finn by Mark Twain, that whale tale, Moby Dick, Tolkien, and Star Wars. He envisioned his favorite comics going on in epic fashion for 1,000 plus pages so you could really develop the stories, the cthorharacters.
So the whole thing was done originally in black and white style. The story was three brothers/cousins got kicked out of their modern city of Boneville and ended up in this medieval valley where rat creatures chase them and there’s an evil Lord of the Locusts. It turns into an epic war and battle of good vs. evil where Bone is the unlikely hero. Dark fantasy but always comedic. The best of both worlds. It’s hard to describe really and even if graphic novels don’t sound quite like your thing, it’s the story telling and humor and sheer originality of the work that brings you into that world for the greatest kind of escape.
Even if you aren’t into buying the 9 volumes or even the 1,332 page complete work, don’t fear Jeff Smith’s creation is coming to a Netflix near you.
This is something Z&Me will always share, that time before sleep lost in another world. I miss those times.
ZandMe's 999 Good Things 