Review of "Bone : One Volume Edition," by Jeff Smith

 Review of

Bone : One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith ISBN 188896314x

Five out of five stars

The complete series based on unusual characters

 There is a little bit of many genres in this graphic novel. There is the reluctant hero, wise and powerful elder leader, some swords and sorcery, a bit of the Three Musketeers, great evil manifest as controllers of locusts and rat creatures and some dragons thrown in.

 Fone Bone is one of the three Bone cousins, the other two are Smiley and Phoney Bone. Smiley is a bit of a simpleton while Phoney is a greedy shyster that is always looking for a quick and profitable score. He will not hesitate to scam any and all creatures they encounter. When the three of them are kicked out of Boneville, they travel across a desert and end up in The Valley. It is a medieval level society and one of the most prominent citizens is Grandma Ben. A beautiful maiden named Thorn is also present, Fone is quickly stricken by her beauty and charm.

 There are great dangers in The Valley, creatures of all types with some of the most dangerous buried deep in the past. There is also some hidden royal figures that must be returned if the creatures of the valley are to be saved from the evil.

 The best thing about this story is the dialog. It is crisp, humorous and occasionally a bit obnoxious. (Think quiche.) The artwork is simply black on white, yet that is not a weakness. This is a great story where none of the features dominates any of the others. Most of the evil creatures have the potential for good in them and the evil is defeated in the end.