Bone, Volume 4: The Dragonslayer

Bone

by Jeff Smith

This collection contains some of the most exciting, suspensful and fantastic chapters of the BONE saga! From the nighttime journey of Fone Bone, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben and their terrifying encounter with Kingdok, the hideous leader of the rat creatures, to the ridiculous manipulation of the villagers and Phoney Bone's sunrise ceremony to sacrifice the Great Red Dragon!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Graphic Novels Comics

184 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Raquel Estebaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuarto volumen de la saga.

Con la misma calidad que los anteriores, y más drama y aventuras.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rat creatures are gathering for a massive attack on the valley while Phoney Bone is bilking the townspeople once again. Phoney Bone's schemes are both malicious and often hilarious. Meanwhile, Thorn begins to grow into her destiny whether she wants to or not. The series continues to be a great source of humor, drama, and adventure.

[Danger]

The tension in this series is escalating nicely. I was actually reading this on the edge of my seat at points. The series seems like a slowburn, but it works, because you're invested in these characters and understand their motivations. It's good comic book writing.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better and better. And also darker, which I really like. Can't wait to read next one.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

For what I assumed was a graphic novel created for kids and young adults there are certainly some very mature takes on adult themes.

Smiley: You can’t feel safe unless there is somethin to be safe against.
Phoney: Exactly! People like to be victims! There’s a certain unassailable moral superiority about it...

Valuable wisdom in these comics, not unlike Calvin and Hobbes.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this might be where the series starts to take a more serious turn. Even Phoney's scheming isn't quite as funny this time around.

[Max's Comic Reviews and Lists · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most well-written Bone book in my opinion. Phoney Bone is at it again. This time he and Lucius are definitely not seeing eye to eye. They are at each other's goddamn throats. The whole plot about the "Dragonslayer" is frickin genius and involves almost everybody and affects everybody providing in one of my personal favourite endings to a comic. I remember the rush of amazement I felt when Wendell says "What have we done?." My favourite bits of dialogue come from the scenes with Phoney Bone, Lucius, and all of Lucius's friends. Just like Bone Vol. 2 The Great Cow Race The Barrell Haven is a place of great and mature dialogue-driven scenes. Thorn is going down-hill mentally and emotionally and it is kind of hard to see her in her current state. Fone Bone, Thorn, and Grandma Ben's scenes in the forest are frickin bad-ass. I rarely read such a great blend of violence, humor, and grittiness. The two Rat Creature comrades, are hilarious as always, but they are not the only Rat Creatures we get insight too. The inclusion of Bartleby was a very smart one and gives the reader yet another reason for everything to work out. Smiley and Fone Bone's final scene in the book can be seen as an annoying cliff hanger, but it really just made me want to read more instantly. The Dragonslayer just might be my favourite in the series. Letter Grade: (A)

[Skip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fone Bone, Thorn and Grandma Ben come under attack from the rat creatures, including their leader, the huge Kingdok. The lovely Thorn continues to suffer from nightmares about her youth and true identity. Back in Barrelhaven, Phoney Bone pretends he is a Dragonslayer to take advantage of simple townspeople and to make himself wealthy. Finally, Fone Bone and Smiley discover an abandoned baby rat creature cub, and decide to return him. I was disappointed by this book, which I expect is a bridge to the next set of adventures involving the Hooded One's attack on the Valley.

[Ritika · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're ever lost-- remember, there are dragons in the earth.

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
I simply love the dragon!
The bug, Ted, is such a mysterious creature , that I strongly feel he's an agent of the Red Dragon, always popping up in the most unexpected fashion, at the most unexpected time.
Phone Bone literally got on my nerves this time, with all his scheming and deceitful tendencies. This idiot just doesn't learn!
The plot is getting real good and I'm loving it!

[Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still going strong with the Bone at my house. G is nightly all, "Maybe we should do our weading now?" and who am I to tell him no? We are very interested to see who's under that hood. He has also assembled a Lego Bone set. It has a Thorn, those two rat creatures who fight about quiche, and the hooded guy, but strangely, no Bones.

[Damon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant mystery in a fantasy land world that is not here.

[Maija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phoney's scheming in this frustrates me so much that it brought my enjoyment level down. Also clearly a middle volume.

[Jim Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really is an enjoyable series. Some mystery, some heroic doings, some dragons. They are a fun little read if you are looking for something light. The only real question is will Thorne ever return Fone Bone’s love for her?

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally reviewed here.

Why I Read It: The third volume really kicked it up a notch, so I'm now willing to stick it out for the long-run. No spoilers ahead.

Volume three elevated the series from "not bad" to "pretty frikken good" for me, so I was really hoping that this fourth volume would continue to pick up steam. Thankfully, my wishes were answered. :) The third volume had its light moments, but it definitely darkened the series -- this volume takes it even further and glums things up even more, but definitely not in a bad way.

Thorn is pretty torn up emotionally in this volume. Along with finding out her true identity in the previous volume, she finds out even more in this one: she's important because her dreams gain her access to the "hum" of the earth, which is the key to freeing the unnamed and unmasked Lord of Locusts who has been present in the story thus far, which is why the Rat Creatures want her (since they are led by the Hooded One who is under orders from the Lord of Locusts.) It doesn't help that everything she's ever known to be true has all been a lie and that her grandma has been lying to her her whole life. So she was understandably quite angry and upset.

Despite all the doom and gloom though, there is a little ray of happiness in it all: Fone Bone finds the most adorable little baby rat creature who was left behind when the Rat Creatures were run out of the valley in the previous volume and I loved him to pieces. SO CUTE.

Phoney Bone continues to be up to no good as usual, and I wanted to throttle him (as usual.) He takes a VERY clear path towards being a complete and total douche and it honestly made me mad for the entire volume. A part of me was even angrier at the people of the Village though. How stupid can you be? They're all herded like sheep and I think that annoyed me even more. Maybe my anger is indicative that I'm emotionally invested in this series? I'm definitely invested in the series, but I don't think that's quite what got me so riled up about that plotline...

The Red Dragon continues to be awesome. I especially loved his scene at the end of the volume when Phoney was supposed to "slay" him -- I thought it was quite funny, though that scene does end the volume on an extremely grim note in the end.

Final Verdict: This fourth volume took it up yet ANOTHER step and I loved almost every minute of it. I say "almost" because Phoney Bone continues to consistently piss me off, along with the stupid villagers who keep getting taken in by his schemes. We're privy to more revelations about Thorn's true identity and we get to see the Big Baddy a little more closely in this volume as well. There's a much darker tone permeating the entire volume and the stories continues to be more serious, wide-reaching, and to garner more age cross-over appeal (even though it's a largely simple Good vs. Evil plot.)

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

2015 reread

Vol 4, in which Thorn freaks the &%!$ out, and Phoney sets off to slay a dragon.

"Should I blow on it? Would that help?"
"Blow on it? He's gushing blood, you idiot! His arm is off!"

---

"Again the with quiche?! What kind of self-respecting monster would eat a dainty pastry dish?! STEW is what we will make of their bones!"
"Don't get greedy on me! There's THREE of them! I just want the little one for my quiche!"
"It has nothing to do with greed! It's a matter of principle! Monsters do NOT eat QUICHE!"

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sve bolje i bolje. Akcija se sprema i prica krece u pun napad.

[Tatiana Zhandarmova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this nonchalant-ass dragon

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Jeff Smith’s Bone series. In Bone 4: The Dragonslayer, Phoney Bone is busy preying on the villagers’ fears and lack of wits. He has the whole village convinced that dragons not only exist, but are lurking in the darkness, waiting for the best time to eat them all. Lucius, of course, knows this is nonsense, but he also has to pretend dragons don’t exist (even though they do) because it’s a secret having to do with the war between the Lord of the Locusts and the Kingdom of Atheia. While Phoney is on the verge of causing a fear-based riot (all to enrich himself of course), Fone Bone, Gran’ma Ben and Thorn are attempting to return to the village but are attacked by the rat creatures (the squabbling quiche/no-quiche companions) and Kingdok himself. The Hooded One is raising armies and commanding Kingdok to take the valley back from the humans. To add further complications, Fone Bone discovers an abandoned rat creature cub. He hides the cub in the barn, thinking he’ll return him to the other rat creatures later but Smiley Bone takes a liking to the cub and eventually names him Bartleby. The book ends with the villagers horrified, the village possibly on fire, and Thorn and Phoney Bone running off to get help.

I can’t help it, I’m going to use the word charming to again describe this series. I love the drawings, love the characters, love the humor and love the addition of Bartleby the rat creature cub. He’s so cute. These graphic novels are layered with meaning and smart and funny. I just learned that the Bone series is also routinely on the list of books banned by morons who love to ban books. What the fuck? Banning books is the absolute nadir of stupidity. And arrogance. Who are these assholes who decide that if their kid can’t read the book, no one’s kid should read the book? Who died and left them boss? Banning book is banning thought, creativity and expression. Book-banning-people=anti-intelligence, pro-fear and ignorance.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review #1 (2024): Book number 4 is a beauty. Absolutely loved this one. It had action, plot progression, introduction to Bartleby, and escalation regarding the war. Also, the battle of Kingdok and Thorn cutting his arm off was such a badass moment. I also enjoyed learning more about Thorn’s “awakening” abilities, along with the hooded individual trying to lure her through her dreams.

Such a great story, by far the most action filled one yet!

5/5

[♡ Dajana ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

☆ 4/5

[Samuel Felton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too invested to stop 😤

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granma Ben is the best

[Teague Hannes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took way too long to read, but it is a book so that's a plus

[Mariangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel: I do not like Phoney’s idea of killing the dragon. Lucius is very angry with Phoney because all the people believe his stories. Thorn cuts off Kingdok’s arm. Thorn is very angry with her grandmother because she lied to her about dragons and her childhood.

[Gigi Morali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorn is in her depression arc :(

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parádní, za mě akčnější než poslední díl a jsem ráda za ten posun v ději. Ale upřímně, začínám trochu hladovět - možná je to účel? - po nějakém slušném plot twistu. Možná v tomto ohledu nejsem objektivní na základě toho, že Kůstek pro mě není takovou novotou, takže s nějakým hrubým náčrtem děje seznámena jsem, ale nemohu se zbavit dojmu, že to jede po takové té řadové linii fantasy zápletky. Hlavně co se týká osudů Trnky (na které se možná až příliš zvědavě zaměřuji?), kdy Kůstci samotní spíše jen podněcují lokální dění a taktéž fungují jako komické prvky (zejména Švanda a Podfa a do jisté míry možná i ten Ferda právě tím, jak kladně vedle těchto dvou působí), nemluvě třeba o brouku Tedovi (jeho první setkání s Ferdou rozhodně patří k mým nejoblíbenějším dialogům z toho, co jsem dosavadně z celé série přečetla), což z celého příběhu možná právě dělá onu ojedinělou fantasy - originální autorské postavy, některé silně spadající do osobnostních archetypů (Podfa), ale jejich vnitřní význam není hluboký - což je vlastně dobře, on ani nemusí! Jen čekám, zda je to ten důvod, proč je Kůstek tak kultovní, nebo přijde právě k nějakým větším dějovým zvratům v té válečné linii. Každopádně mi tento díl přišel skvělý, plný humoru a akce. A doufám, že v tom dalším přijde nějaký posun, přičemž se čtenář dozví nějaké nové šokující informace. Nebo se dostatečně nakrmím zajímavými dialogy, we will see.

Měla jsem dilema, zda dát 4 nebo 5 ☀️, ale ráda bych díly co nejvíce hodnotila jako samostatné celky, což samozřejmě vzhledem k návaznosti nelze brát v potaz stoprocentně, ale v rámci možností bych ráda brala ohled na individualitu jednotlivého dílu. A tomuto zajímavá zápletka rozhodně nechyběla. Z Podfukia už nemůžu a zrovna to, co provedl, odvedlo pozornost právě od skutečného problému, což podle mě demonstruje to, co píšu výše o tom, jakou roli Kůstci v komiksu vlastně hrají.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is getting near the point of the series that would be considered the "MIDDLE", which in some series we know is when the story detours or the writer has to try to draw out story because they do not want to reveal everything yet. In some realms you can tell that this is a volume full of that "trying to draw it out", but it never takes away from the overall feel of the franchise. There are moments that are funny, sweet, and some that are even terrifying. Yes I said terrifying. This is one of the first graphic novels where there were moments I felt fear because I found myself caring about the characters and honestly feeling that they may be in harms way. It is rare for me to be drawn into a series this much, so I know that Jeff Smith has continued to do something right with this series. It makes a lot of sense why this is a beloved comic book series for many people. This particular volume really plays up the personalities of specific characters in a comedic tone. It also creates tension as the plot moves forward in directions that we may not have seen. Overall if you have read the other books in the series you will not be disappointed by this one because it keeps the momentum going. This book also reveals enough of the overall plot to be fine for a first time Bone reader, though I would still recommend reading from the first volume. I am definitely pleased that I have started reading this series and I am well into the next volume, so shortly I will be reviewing that as well.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The saga of the people of the valley, the monsters of the mountains, the dragons, and the Bones continues. I was both delighted and repulsed by Phoney Bone's charlatan efforts and the villagers willingness to believe his lies. I suppose their naiveté isn't hard to understand when we look at our own world - our own politics. My favorite line in this volume is when Fone Bone confronts Phoney Bone about his lying and Phoney Bone explains that the villagers like being victims, "People like to be victims! There's a certain unassailable moral superiority about it..." Horrible, cynical, hilarious, and kind of true. I also enjoyed the author's willingness to poke fun at the familiar premise of a simple girl discovering she is a princess. Fone Bone is explaining the revelations to Lucius & Smiley Bone and Smiley says, "I mean, who'd have thought that our little Thorn -- living in a cottage with her Grandmother out in the middle of an old, dark forest -- would turn out to be a princess." I love it when author's don't take themselves and their work too seriously. Finally, here I thought the rat creatures couldn't get cuter and then Smith introduces a cub. You're killin' me, Smith.

[Shinysheensean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth in it's series, written by Jeff Smith, is a story of three brothers who go through a great ordeal of adventures as they try to survive in the valley. The main characters in this graphic novel are Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, Thorn, The Hooded One, and Fone Bone. The setting takes place in the valley, and The perspective swaps from the Bone brothers and thorn to the Hooded One and the lord of the locusts. Basically in this novel, Phoney Bone comes up with another scheme to hoard the few items of wealth the villagers have bying proposing a dragon threat. While this is happening, the rat creatures break the treaty and war breaks out between those of the valley and the stickmen against the Lord of the Locusts and his legions of followers.

This could be both bad or good, but the author chose to do the classic good vs. evil story. However, he twisted it in such a way that it came out as a original and fresh story. Intriguing readers, Smith will continue to draw in readers with his creative and innovative stories

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Dragonslayer’ is the 184-paged fourth book in Jeff Smith’s gripping graphic novel series ‘Bone’. Having previously read the first three books in the series nearly two years, I was a bit apprehensive to start again fearing I wouldn’t love the series as much as I did before. I decided to take a chance and read it anyway and I loved it! In this volume, the story truly begins to evolve. The ever-growing plot thickens as the rat-creatures evacuate the valley, secretly planning to attack the valley villagers. Grandma Ben goes missing. Thorn’s dreams get worse and tension between her and Fone Bone. Phoney Bone, the con artist of the three Bone cousins, continues to swindle the villagers by claiming he’s the almighty Dragon slayer who will eliminate all of the mystical dragons in the land. This was a great read and has kept me wanting more of the nine volume series which I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a fantastic story with an out of this world plot that continuously layers itself with every book!