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Bone
Bone: Coda
co·da (ko-d?) noun
1. the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure. 2. a concluding event, remark, or section.
25 years after the first black & white issue of the self-published comic book BONE appeared on comic shop shelves, and over a decade since the concluding chapter comes a new (and completely superfluous!) adventure featuring the Bone cousins! Ride along with the boys and their friend Bartleby the Rat Creature as they brave the dangerous journey across the desert back toward Boneville in their rickety cow cart. Creator Jeff Smith is back for another laugh with Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley!
Also included is the complete text of The BONE Companion fully illustrated for the first time! Written by award winning comics historian Stephen Weiner, author of 101 Outstanding Graphic Novels , Faster than a Speeding The Rise of the Graphic Novel , The Hellboy Companion , and The Will Eisner Companion .
All this plus rare behind the scenes photos & memories, and an afterword by the author thanking the comics community and the readers all add up to make this a truly special commemorative volume of BONE to add to your collection!
1. the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure. 2. a concluding event, remark, or section.
25 years after the first black & white issue of the self-published comic book BONE appeared on comic shop shelves, and over a decade since the concluding chapter comes a new (and completely superfluous!) adventure featuring the Bone cousins! Ride along with the boys and their friend Bartleby the Rat Creature as they brave the dangerous journey across the desert back toward Boneville in their rickety cow cart. Creator Jeff Smith is back for another laugh with Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley!
Also included is the complete text of The BONE Companion fully illustrated for the first time! Written by award winning comics historian Stephen Weiner, author of 101 Outstanding Graphic Novels , Faster than a Speeding The Rise of the Graphic Novel , The Hellboy Companion , and The Will Eisner Companion .
All this plus rare behind the scenes photos & memories, and an afterword by the author thanking the comics community and the readers all add up to make this a truly special commemorative volume of BONE to add to your collection!
136 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2016
78 people are currently reading
909 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Smith
622 books1,430 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comic book BONE, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards helped propel Cartoon Books and BONE to the forefront of the comic book industry.
In 1992, Jeff’s wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as partner to handle publishing and distribution, licensing, and foreign language publications. In the Spring of 2005, Harry Potter’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. entered the graphic novel market by launching a new imprint, Graphix with a full color version of BONE: Out from Boneville, bringing the underground comic to a new audience and a new generation.
In 2007, DC Comics released Smith’s first non-creator owned work, SHAZAM! Monster Society of Evil, a four-part mini-series recreating a classic serial from comic’s Golden Age. Between projects, Smith spends much of his time on the international guest circuit promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.
Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comic book BONE, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards helped propel Cartoon Books and BONE to the forefront of the comic book industry.
In 1992, Jeff’s wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as partner to handle publishing and distribution, licensing, and foreign language publications. In the Spring of 2005, Harry Potter’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. entered the graphic novel market by launching a new imprint, Graphix with a full color version of BONE: Out from Boneville, bringing the underground comic to a new audience and a new generation.
In 2007, DC Comics released Smith’s first non-creator owned work, SHAZAM! Monster Society of Evil, a four-part mini-series recreating a classic serial from comic’s Golden Age. Between projects, Smith spends much of his time on the international guest circuit promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 6, 2021
Begins with a new 30+ page black and white Bone story that follows the three Bone cousins along with Bartleby in their trek through the desert after the leave Thorn and Grandma Ben. It's core Bone, packed with humor and adventure. I like that at the end of it they are still trying to find Boneville, and Smiley remarks "At this rate we could be lost forever, and have adventures every day." That is the quintessential Bone cousins to me.
Next up is about 20 pages where Jeff Smith reflects back on making Bone, with lots of pictures and the like. It's quite nice to read through and see some of what Smith went through while publishing the comic.
The last half of the book is an essay from a fan about Bone and its merits. It almost reads like a term paper and makes me wonder if that's where it's origins lay. I started skimming through it after a couple of pages as it doesn't bring anything new to the table.
Overall, I suggest borrowing this one from the library for the Bone story and skim through the rest.
Next up is about 20 pages where Jeff Smith reflects back on making Bone, with lots of pictures and the like. It's quite nice to read through and see some of what Smith went through while publishing the comic.
The last half of the book is an essay from a fan about Bone and its merits. It almost reads like a term paper and makes me wonder if that's where it's origins lay. I started skimming through it after a couple of pages as it doesn't bring anything new to the table.
Overall, I suggest borrowing this one from the library for the Bone story and skim through the rest.
September 2, 2016
I could tell you a whole lot about the origins of Bone and how it went from a struggling self-published title to a phenomenon, but if I did, I'd spoil a lot of this book for you. It's not that I would spoil the story itself -- the story at the beginning of this book is just a lagniappe to the larger story -- but about two-thirds of this title is comprised of Smith's own recollections and The Bone Companion, a literary look at the entire saga. So the book is more nonfiction than fiction, really.
That being said, how much you like this book will depend on how much you like to know the background of endeavors like this. I'm very much a behind-the-scenes kind of guy (the first thing I do after seeing a movie is look up its trivia), so I thought it was fantastic. It didn't hurt that I started reading Bone with issue number nine or so, when I first got into comics, so a lot of what Smith talks about in his piece is stuff that happened while I was in that scene. It was pretty neat, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Weiner's piece has been published before, and how necessary you feel it is depends on how you feel about literature. Weiner draws comparisons between Bone and the other works that inspired it, and some of those comparisons feel like a stretch. Additionally, Weiner sometimes makes a comparison but doesn't support it with any additional detail, just expecting the reader to accept it. What I remember most clearly from my English classes is that you can draw any conclusion from a piece that you want, so long as you can support it with details from the work itself; Weiner bypasses this step a few times, but still expects the reader to agree with his conclusion.
It goes without saying that this book is intended for the Bone completist; even the short story at the beginning of the book adds nothing to the saga. At first I thought that it brought the entire story full circle, but that's not entirely true; the end of Bone ended pretty much as it began, and this story goes a bit further, showing us some of what could have happened on the Bones' way to Barrelhaven. Since we already know what the Bones' characters are like, and can expect some of what happens, there's nothing much new here. Still, it's entertaining, hitting the usual notes readers would expect, and I imagine this book will sell just as well as all the others.
That being said, how much you like this book will depend on how much you like to know the background of endeavors like this. I'm very much a behind-the-scenes kind of guy (the first thing I do after seeing a movie is look up its trivia), so I thought it was fantastic. It didn't hurt that I started reading Bone with issue number nine or so, when I first got into comics, so a lot of what Smith talks about in his piece is stuff that happened while I was in that scene. It was pretty neat, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Weiner's piece has been published before, and how necessary you feel it is depends on how you feel about literature. Weiner draws comparisons between Bone and the other works that inspired it, and some of those comparisons feel like a stretch. Additionally, Weiner sometimes makes a comparison but doesn't support it with any additional detail, just expecting the reader to accept it. What I remember most clearly from my English classes is that you can draw any conclusion from a piece that you want, so long as you can support it with details from the work itself; Weiner bypasses this step a few times, but still expects the reader to agree with his conclusion.
It goes without saying that this book is intended for the Bone completist; even the short story at the beginning of the book adds nothing to the saga. At first I thought that it brought the entire story full circle, but that's not entirely true; the end of Bone ended pretty much as it began, and this story goes a bit further, showing us some of what could have happened on the Bones' way to Barrelhaven. Since we already know what the Bones' characters are like, and can expect some of what happens, there's nothing much new here. Still, it's entertaining, hitting the usual notes readers would expect, and I imagine this book will sell just as well as all the others.
August 5, 2016
A mixed bag. The volume starts with a Bone story which picks up at the end of the big ol' Bone One Volume edition. It's charming, funny, and completely unnecessary to the Bone storyline --- just a nicely appreciated piece of lagniappe. Then you get an essay from Jeff Smith on the history of Bone, complete with pictures and reminiscences on the self-publishing scene. (A fun read for me as the 90's was when I got into independent/alternative comics.) Finally, there's the Bone Companion, which is mostly just essays on the plot of Bone and influences. I found this fairly boring and overstated at times (the author wants to compare Bone to a ton of literary and comics classics).
If you really like Bone, I think you should pick this up. But be aware that you aren't missing much if you don't.
If you really like Bone, I think you should pick this up. But be aware that you aren't missing much if you don't.
November 22, 2016
I enjoyed Smith's new Bone short story and his memoir about Bone's creation and history. But beware! Half the book is padded out with a tedious, amateurish, redundant, and overly worshipful and aggrandizing companion written by some random other guy. His half of the book is 1-star, but I'm weighting my final rating heavily in Smith's favor.
January 12, 2021
This, apart from the behind-the-scenes of Bone that are exclusively for die-hard fans of the series, is really, really crappy. I mean, all these years later and they come up with a lousy vulture-in-the-desert story? pitty.
October 27, 2016
The new material from Jeff Smith that is ostensibly the reason this thing exists is by no means essential, and anyone whose last memory of Bone is the high fantasy that closed out the series will probably be sorely disappointed by the results, but it's highly enjoyable all the same and characteristic of the Bone cousins, who were always the heart of the story. Included is a lot of bonus material to fill out the release, scholarly articles that explore Bone's history, impact, and storytelling, plus a gloss on Smith's experiences before, during, and after it. All of this is fairly valuable stuff for anyone looking to refresh themselves on the saga and why it's become a cultural touchstone, now that Bone has spent a dozen years acquiring new fans from the Scholastic color editions and prose novels, all of which Cartoon Books closely aped in formatting, so it'll fit snug with them on your bookshelf.
Now, the story itself, while appearing superfluous, is actually quite clever. "We're still in uncharted territory," Smiley Bone says near the end of it. "At this rate we could be lost forever, an' have adventures every day!" It's a nice reminder that for these characters, life didn't begin or end with the events depicted in Bone itself. The biggest gag of the series was stuff we never really got to see, including Boneville itself, where the Bone cousins call home. It's not really hard to imagine them stumbling into another big adventure before reaching home again, but really, you don't need Smith to make any real effort to tell such a thing. The one he already told was about as big an adventure as they could have already, and dramatically affected...well, Fone Bone, but the point is, that was a story Smith couldn't really hope to top, with the Bone cousins (I actually think Smith's best work to date is RASL, an ambitious tale of alternate realities), at any rate. So if he were to return to them, it really couldn't hope to compete with the original. Just ask Star Wars fans about that if you doubt me. It took him fifty-five issues, nine collections, and more Moby Dick than most of his readers were ever going to need in their lives (to their loss) to weave the original adventure. But the funniest thing about it was that its three stars emerged on the other side, merely trying to get back home. Whole epics have been written about that sort of thing. Just not by Jeff Smith, and that's okay. This coda was perfect, really.
Now, the story itself, while appearing superfluous, is actually quite clever. "We're still in uncharted territory," Smiley Bone says near the end of it. "At this rate we could be lost forever, an' have adventures every day!" It's a nice reminder that for these characters, life didn't begin or end with the events depicted in Bone itself. The biggest gag of the series was stuff we never really got to see, including Boneville itself, where the Bone cousins call home. It's not really hard to imagine them stumbling into another big adventure before reaching home again, but really, you don't need Smith to make any real effort to tell such a thing. The one he already told was about as big an adventure as they could have already, and dramatically affected...well, Fone Bone, but the point is, that was a story Smith couldn't really hope to top, with the Bone cousins (I actually think Smith's best work to date is RASL, an ambitious tale of alternate realities), at any rate. So if he were to return to them, it really couldn't hope to compete with the original. Just ask Star Wars fans about that if you doubt me. It took him fifty-five issues, nine collections, and more Moby Dick than most of his readers were ever going to need in their lives (to their loss) to weave the original adventure. But the funniest thing about it was that its three stars emerged on the other side, merely trying to get back home. Whole epics have been written about that sort of thing. Just not by Jeff Smith, and that's okay. This coda was perfect, really.
June 6, 2022
This was delightful. It is just what it says it is - a coda. This is just a little revisit with some old friends for a last bit of silliness. It touches on the same interactions and relationships that these three cousins have (as well as Bartleby, let's not forget him) as they have one last adventure while they attempt to return home to Boneville.
The accompanying essays and features shed a light on the process, reception and achievement that the series has gone through over the years.
Overall a very nice package and something every Bone fan should get and enjoy.
The accompanying essays and features shed a light on the process, reception and achievement that the series has gone through over the years.
Overall a very nice package and something every Bone fan should get and enjoy.
July 26, 2016
I really felt like this was marketed as a graphic novel. Instead it was long single comic (about 45 pages) with about 100 pages of either analysis of the series or Jeff Smith discussing his story of making Bone. If you're looking for a continuation of the series (or even anything more than a prolonged footnote) you'll be disappointed.
January 22, 2018
Reading Bone introduced me to the world of graphic novels and comics, so purchasing this was a no brainier. Besides I have all the original black and white hardcover volumes. I love everything by Jeff Smith in this little book, but I was pretty bored by the rest of the material. I now want to go back and read the whole series again.
February 7, 2018
Un postre bastante apropiado para cerrar el delicioso festín que es la serie. Contiene un breve cuento que narra un pequeño suceso en el camino de vuelta hacia Boneville y una serie de textos divididos en un breve estudio de la obra, la historia de su publicación y una entrevista a Jeff Smith. Interesante complemento.
March 25, 2022
I only read the small chapter at the beginning. A cute aftertaste but not needed. Nothing was really gained from its existence other than proofing to the reader that yes, Bone is indeed over and you can now move on. And that's fine.
The essays I dunno, didn't read them, they looked OK I guess. In good faith, I wouldn't recommend buying it. I took this one from the library. It's a good idea to put money into Bone, it's maybe not a good idea to put money into the Coda, unless you're like, a HUGE fan.
The essays I dunno, didn't read them, they looked OK I guess. In good faith, I wouldn't recommend buying it. I took this one from the library. It's a good idea to put money into Bone, it's maybe not a good idea to put money into the Coda, unless you're like, a HUGE fan.
August 20, 2019
So-so. Kind of sparse on material. There is a short, cute Bone comic at the beginning, then some rather self-congratulatory reminisces and nostalgia. Then a thesis / long book review on Bone. The pieces aren’t entirely without merit, especially if you have an interest in the world of comic book publishing; but I think overall the audience for this is very niche and I’m only on the margins of it.
March 23, 2018
It wasn’t bad, just not in any way what I thought it would be. Not interested in reading interviews and author histories.
Read
April 21, 2021this book was funny but it just needed a bit more pages to cause the book was short but I like the book and it was funny adventure and was interesting!
July 10, 2025
I picked these up when my middle son and I decided to read them at bedtime and see what everyone was talking about. Over the past three years, we blasted through these great books – books that are strangely banned in some places in the US. When they are forced from their home, Boneville, three cousins that look something more anthropomorphic Casper the Friendly Ghosts need to figure out what to do next. Their cartoonish goofy attitudes are certainly why they were dropped from the community – and next they must deal with the wild, uncertain wilderness in their certainly funny way.
The most notable aspect of these comics is the variety of art styles that Smith combines in telling this story. It is a strange amalgamation of cartoony Warner Bros characters, more streamlined Disney ones, and occasionally a hero or villain straight out of regular comic heros, and they all live in a Discworld/Lord of the Rings-type universe that has villains, weather, citizens of distant lands, and all manner of weirdos getting in the way of our three main protagonists that embody the Three Stooges character tropes: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. There are cow races, royal lineages, romances between humans and... uh... whatever the Bone cousins are. At every turn they are chased by rat creatures and their hooded disciples bent on undermining the evolving goals of our main characters. It makes for some brilliant fight scenes, near escapes, and my favorite, sentimental, quiet introspection under the stars.
While I have not completely finished reading all of the available volumes of BONE, nearing the end it makes the most sense to write about all of them and review them all at once as the storyline runs through all of the books and the delineations just separate the overall story beats. This is less about the story and very much about the solid characters and beautiful illustration styles that serve as not only a backbone to the story, but as an homage to the characters and situations they are (at times) clearly based on. Inventive and original, BONE is a delight, and I find it interesting that the parts that touch me the most tend to be those quiet moments that my youngster likely doesn’t entirely grasp. We’ve had a wonderful time with it so far and look forward to finishing the final two books.
The most notable aspect of these comics is the variety of art styles that Smith combines in telling this story. It is a strange amalgamation of cartoony Warner Bros characters, more streamlined Disney ones, and occasionally a hero or villain straight out of regular comic heros, and they all live in a Discworld/Lord of the Rings-type universe that has villains, weather, citizens of distant lands, and all manner of weirdos getting in the way of our three main protagonists that embody the Three Stooges character tropes: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. There are cow races, royal lineages, romances between humans and... uh... whatever the Bone cousins are. At every turn they are chased by rat creatures and their hooded disciples bent on undermining the evolving goals of our main characters. It makes for some brilliant fight scenes, near escapes, and my favorite, sentimental, quiet introspection under the stars.
While I have not completely finished reading all of the available volumes of BONE, nearing the end it makes the most sense to write about all of them and review them all at once as the storyline runs through all of the books and the delineations just separate the overall story beats. This is less about the story and very much about the solid characters and beautiful illustration styles that serve as not only a backbone to the story, but as an homage to the characters and situations they are (at times) clearly based on. Inventive and original, BONE is a delight, and I find it interesting that the parts that touch me the most tend to be those quiet moments that my youngster likely doesn’t entirely grasp. We’ve had a wonderful time with it so far and look forward to finishing the final two books.
March 21, 2021
This was a blast to read at the end of my run through Bone’s original nine volumes and the Rose prequel. More graphic novel series should have something like this to almost capstone their release. The original comic here is fun and light. The memoir-adjacent writing by Smith does an excellent job positioning his creation within the context of all the other indie comic creators in the early 90s to a fascinating extent. He does such a good job that it renders much of Weiner’s back half essay almost unnecessary, though his analysis of themes and influences is interesting if a bit cursory. It’s actually that section where I noticed the most editing issues and the myriad head-scratching “pointing out the obvious” elements without building up his critical examination (maybe the target audience was assumed to barely be this interested in the subject at hand?). I also loved how central this work made Vijaya, Jeff Smith’s partner and spouse, who isn’t as visibly connected to the Bone series as the covers could obviously suggest, but made many key sacrifices and contributions that allowed it to exist and thrive. Where maybe my love affair with the comic waned in the back third as a the narrative came to a close, Coda made me vastly more excited to one day revisit the series while exploring other works by Smith and his contemporaries that I’ve yet to dive into.
May 22, 2023
A book in 3 parts that is definitely only for either a superfan of Bone or someone who likes reading analyses. I didn't expect the majority of this book to be nonfiction.
The first part is a new Bone adventure short story that follows the Bone cousins immediately after the events in the main Bone saga. There are some throwbacks to the main storyline and also a nice core message about the beauty in being lost and embracing the unknown (and the implied adventures that come along with all of that of course).
Next section is by Jeff Smith as he tells the story of Bone and how it came to be. I really enjoyed this section and it gave me a better appreciation for how Bone fit in with the wider world of comics, graphic novels, and publishing in general. Plus there are a lot of interesting pictures.
The last section is an essay by Stephen Weiner about Bone (an appreciation for, a history, and the story with its influences), which awkwardly reads kind of like a school research paper. There is also an interview with Jeff Smith. All together, the nonfiction sections of this book are very repetitive.
The first part is a new Bone adventure short story that follows the Bone cousins immediately after the events in the main Bone saga. There are some throwbacks to the main storyline and also a nice core message about the beauty in being lost and embracing the unknown (and the implied adventures that come along with all of that of course).
Next section is by Jeff Smith as he tells the story of Bone and how it came to be. I really enjoyed this section and it gave me a better appreciation for how Bone fit in with the wider world of comics, graphic novels, and publishing in general. Plus there are a lot of interesting pictures.
The last section is an essay by Stephen Weiner about Bone (an appreciation for, a history, and the story with its influences), which awkwardly reads kind of like a school research paper. There is also an interview with Jeff Smith. All together, the nonfiction sections of this book are very repetitive.
March 24, 2017
This collection contains one chapter past Bone's mega collection, an essay by Smith about the ride and development of Bone and its role in the birth of the graphic novel, and a few chapters about where Bone came from and its place in literary evolution.
I loved the chapter. It was fun to be reminded of the Bone brothers and their personalities and see again how their tempers and personalities get them into trouble and how they seem to get out of it in a completely unexpected and humorous way.
I also really enjoyed hearing what Jeff thought about how the series came to be and about the field of comics and how it changed. I find that kind of behind-the-scenes information fascinating.
By the time I got to the last third I was skimming. I wasn't really interested in the other works that contributed to Bone and how it fits in their ranks. It was well written and full of information, but just not my personal interest.
I loved the chapter. It was fun to be reminded of the Bone brothers and their personalities and see again how their tempers and personalities get them into trouble and how they seem to get out of it in a completely unexpected and humorous way.
I also really enjoyed hearing what Jeff thought about how the series came to be and about the field of comics and how it changed. I find that kind of behind-the-scenes information fascinating.
By the time I got to the last third I was skimming. I wasn't really interested in the other works that contributed to Bone and how it fits in their ranks. It was well written and full of information, but just not my personal interest.
September 30, 2017
I love Jeff Smith's one, but this really is a volume for die-hard fans and completists only. The biggest draw is obviously the "New Bone Chapter" is good fun, but if Bone was an epic blockbuster movie (one day, I can but hope!) then this new chapter is little more than an extended post-credits scene. It;s fun but doesn't add anything to the main story and we still don't get to see Boneville!
The next bit, A Moveable Pizza Party is quite an interesting account by Smith about his struggles to write Bone in a time when independent comics were struggling and the Graphic Novel industry was in its infancy and includes some nice rare art. Some of this is repeated in the final section of theis book, which is very much of an academic essay, which reads a bot like a dissertation from someone studying for a major in comic book history, but there are some interesting nuggets in there.
The next bit, A Moveable Pizza Party is quite an interesting account by Smith about his struggles to write Bone in a time when independent comics were struggling and the Graphic Novel industry was in its infancy and includes some nice rare art. Some of this is repeated in the final section of theis book, which is very much of an academic essay, which reads a bot like a dissertation from someone studying for a major in comic book history, but there are some interesting nuggets in there.
May 16, 2017
Bone: Coda I had no idea what this book was when I placed it on hold. I just saw another hold copy and knew I needed to check it out since I'm reading my way through Bone this month.
If you're looking for more information on comic book publishing history and how Bone fits into that then this book is for you. I wasn't really feeling it, so I stopped reading after Jeff Smith's part (the end of Part I). It is interesting how much comics have changed in the last 25 years.
I did enjoy the comic at the beginning. If you enjoyed the series and want more of the Bone cousins it's probably worth checking Coda out from your local library to read that story.
Also, this is my first DNF of the year (according to my spreadsheet). That's pretty good for me.
If you're looking for more information on comic book publishing history and how Bone fits into that then this book is for you. I wasn't really feeling it, so I stopped reading after Jeff Smith's part (the end of Part I). It is interesting how much comics have changed in the last 25 years.
I did enjoy the comic at the beginning. If you enjoyed the series and want more of the Bone cousins it's probably worth checking Coda out from your local library to read that story.
Also, this is my first DNF of the year (according to my spreadsheet). That's pretty good for me.
December 9, 2018
Fun and informative, with an exhaustive amount of background about Bone, Smith, and the history of comics publishing around the different eras of the Bone releases and re-releases. Starts off with a new, quick Bone adventure which is fun but not urgent. If you're completist, though, or just someone who loves the Bone books, you need this. The rest of this is something I feel like is more useful to someone like me - a library worker who loves comics - than it is for anyone else. There is a quote about GN acceptance in here that resonated with me - this is from Couch's introduction to Weiner's history: "Graphic Novels will find acceptance in the academic and scholarly worlds only when the last Baby Boomer has died."
September 15, 2020
Bone: Coda comprises a short humorous story, a sketchy really, that finds the Bone cousins and Bartleby in the desert on their way home from the valley to Boneville; an essay on Smith's recollections of the process of writing, publishing, and promoting Bone; some scholarly work on the series; and an interview with Smith. All of it was enjoyable to read and the scholarly work was interesting though didn't really reveal anything new to me. Someone who did not have any background knowledge on the history of comics (particularly indie comics) in the late 20th century may find it illuminating.
Definitely worth adding to the collection if you are Bone fan and interested in the history of comics.
Definitely worth adding to the collection if you are Bone fan and interested in the history of comics.
July 12, 2018
If you have never read BONE, fix that problem. --ahem--If you have never read BONE, this will be the most boring, tedious dose of misery. If you read and enjoyed BONE and you have an appreciation for literature, literary history, the Hero's Journey, comics, and/or the history of comics, your nerdy self will leave the book satisfied.
I only have two complaints.
1. It becomes a bit repetitive and "I already know this, so why tell it all" towards the end. Mainly in "The Story and Its Influences."
2. I am cursed/blessed with finding typos and errors in nearly everything I read. "...that Smith read as child" is missing "a"--a child (p. 93).
I only have two complaints.
1. It becomes a bit repetitive and "I already know this, so why tell it all" towards the end. Mainly in "The Story and Its Influences."
2. I am cursed/blessed with finding typos and errors in nearly everything I read. "...that Smith read as child" is missing "a"--a child (p. 93).
December 27, 2021
Did I really not write a review for this? Weird. I compose reviews in my head a lot of the time, I carry books downstairs, and when I carry them back upstairs the review is suppose to be done.
The short at the beginning was fine, a bit better than typical so basically a 3.5
The publishing history of the series with the story of the independent comics business with photos was great, I wish it was longer and with more anecdotes, so basically a 4
The portions of the rest that talked about the series was better - I didn't get much from the plot summaries - a little long, a little boring - but really not bad so basically a 3
So 3.5 of 5 and now maybe I'm done with Bone?
The short at the beginning was fine, a bit better than typical so basically a 3.5
The publishing history of the series with the story of the independent comics business with photos was great, I wish it was longer and with more anecdotes, so basically a 4
The portions of the rest that talked about the series was better - I didn't get much from the plot summaries - a little long, a little boring - but really not bad so basically a 3
So 3.5 of 5 and now maybe I'm done with Bone?
January 28, 2022
I know people have mixed feelings on Bone: Coda, but I honestly loved it. Why? Here’s why.
Bone: Coda’s first 40-ish pages is pretty much an epilogue to the main story. It was very funny and amusing, and it was nice to see the Bone cousins and Bartleby one true final time. The rest of Coda is more of a 25th anniversary companion piece to the series, but for me, it was very interesting to read.
If you’re going into Bone: Coda with the expectation for a whole new story the entire way through, you’ll be very disappointed. However, if you don’t go in with that expectation, you might be pleasantly surprised.
9 out of 10.
Bone: Coda’s first 40-ish pages is pretty much an epilogue to the main story. It was very funny and amusing, and it was nice to see the Bone cousins and Bartleby one true final time. The rest of Coda is more of a 25th anniversary companion piece to the series, but for me, it was very interesting to read.
If you’re going into Bone: Coda with the expectation for a whole new story the entire way through, you’ll be very disappointed. However, if you don’t go in with that expectation, you might be pleasantly surprised.
9 out of 10.
November 1, 2025
Starts with a chapter done entirely for fan service, has a middle pretentiously written by the author and an ending that reads like a college research paper. Bored out of my mind and only stubbornness got me through to the end.
Save yourself the time, read the beginning when you wrap up the main story of Bone and skip everything else.
Only for the most absolute diehards desperate for anything they can grasp with their rat creature claws.
Save yourself the time, read the beginning when you wrap up the main story of Bone and skip everything else.
Only for the most absolute diehards desperate for anything they can grasp with their rat creature claws.
August 13, 2018
Honestly this book isn't really needed! However, if you're a fan...and I mean a true fan of both Bone and the author, then you'll enjoy this book.
Truthfully, the whole journey of the author self publishing this series-to it becoming one of the greatest independent comics ever, is actually quite a fun and inspirational story!
Truthfully, the whole journey of the author self publishing this series-to it becoming one of the greatest independent comics ever, is actually quite a fun and inspirational story!
September 22, 2018
The Coda chapter to Bone was fun if inconsequential. But I found the rest of this book pretty dull. Mostly just a list of things that Bone meant to people or that Bone did. And it was repetitive, which is odd considering how short it was. I also enjoyed the interview in the back. But really, this is probably just for Bone completists.
May 12, 2019
The short Bone story at the beginning picks up where we left off and is a lot of fun. The rest of the book is all about the history of the series, with a little bit of history of graphic novels in general. I liked it more than I thought I would, and came away with a greater appreciation for the Bone comics.
June 6, 2019
A fabulous short story about the Bone cousins in the desert, a detailed autobiographical essay by creator Jeff Smith, and a fun critical appreciation by Stephen Weiner make this a delightful return to the world of Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone. And there's a fun hint that the Bones can return to the Valley in the future, even if Jeff Smith declines to show us that adventure.
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