[This review of "Bone #43" is one of the early comic book review that I ever wrote for my “Negromancer” blog (which began as a website) way back in mid-Summer of 2001. For a few years, I wrote my comic book reviews under the column title, "Why I Love Saturn," which I took from Kyle Baker's 1990 graphic novel, "Why I Hate Saturn."
Recently, I was able to recover my files from two 2000s-era hard drives. Beginning with this review, I am going to go back and re-edit all my original “Negromancer” comic book reviews and post these updated versions on here, my “I Reads You” blog. I hope you enjoy the trip back in time.]
BONE #43
"Why I Love Saturn" Episode Five
CARTOONIST: Jeff Smith
COVER: Jeff Smith with Steve Hamaker
28pp, B&W, $2.95 U.S., $4.50 CAN (July-August 2001)
“Prayer Stone”
For the unfamiliar, Bone is a delight hiding in wait for you to discovery it. Begun in 1991, Bone is best read in one of its seven collected volumes, which are available in comic book shops and bookstores, both the brick and mortar versions and online versions.
But for those in the know, who follow the semi-regularly published individual issues, it is one of the truly great comic books of the modern era, and one of the best since it began publication. Like Cerebus before it, Bone has become much more than what it seemed to be in the beginning of its run. What began as a fine all-ages, adventure tale has become an excellent epic fantasy, or, at least, as good as a comic book can be as an epic fantasy.
Bone #43 finds Gran'ma Ben, Thorn Harvestar, and the Bone cousins (Fone Bone, Phoncible P. “Phoney” Bone, and Smiley Bone) having finally reached the sacred walls of the old capital, Atheia. There, they hope to discover a way to save “the Valley.” So what will they find there?
In this work, cartoonist Jeff Smith is a master yarn spinner and fine comic book creator. He understands how to arrange panels on a page and how to arrange pages to tell the most effective stories. Smith's art skills are strong, and like Jamie Hernandez of Love and Rockets fame, he is one of the few modern comic book artists who plies his trade in black and white as a master illustrator and storyteller. Both Smith and Hernandez's comics approach the power and skill of past black and white masters such as Alex Toth and Wally Wood.
If you stopped reading Bone in the last few years, it’s just as good, if not better than before. It’s calling you home. New readers, try one of the seven trades; the story is entertaining and coherent no matter where you start.
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars
Original date: September 4, 2001
Edited with a rewrite: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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The entire run of Bone has been collected in a single paperback collection, entitled BONE: THE COMPLETE CARTOON EPIC IN ONE VOLUME at Amazon.
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