Out from Boneville (BONE #1)

This is my favorite comic. This story is about three brothers (Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone) who have been chased from their hometown because of Phoney's overpowering greed and quest for political power. These brothers are little while creatures call Bones. These Bone brothers get lost and separated as they flee their hometown. Individually they stuble into a fantasy world populated by humans. After the brothers get separated, the story focuses on Fone Bone. Fone adapts to living in this new world. During his long winter stay, he runs into Thorn, a human girl. He instantly falls in love and becomes friends with Thorn, but he finds it impossible to express his love. Fone eventually moves in with Thorn and her grandmother. While staying at their house, there is a terrible crisis. They are attacked by the mysterious and terrifying rat creatures. Can they survive? Read it and find out.
The art in this book is simply a pleasure to look at. The story had a simple sweet touch, but really livens up when the action starts. I was especially moved by the love between Fone and Thorn. I'm hoping that Fone will build up his courage and confess his love. If you read only one comic, this is the one you have to read. Don't miss it.

The authors name is Jeff Smith and this book takes place in Bonneville were a lot of adventures and action happen. The setting is a disappeared world with a lot of mountains and valleys. And there they live weird creatures called bones .There are three one is fone bone phoney bone and smily bone and they are all cousins.
These three little kids went out of the village because of one of the three little cousins wanted to be millionaire. Suddenly a whole bunch of bees blocked there site and fell into a gully. They fell into a lake and for you to find out what will happen read it. It is fun believe me.
I liked it a lot because there are a lot of funny things and very very gooooooooood adventures, like what happened at book number four, six, nine. Like they fight against Roses sister Brair they are grandmas but they are good at fighting. Phoney said," Came one dodos or I am tired of this. He is always whining.

The first Graphic novel I ever read was some Pokemon one from Japan not the best to start out with...But kept seeing Bone: Out From Boneville and eventually bought it. It's a delightful tale about the wonderfully cartoony "Bone" Cousins who are dragged into a more serious and entricately drawn world filled with Rat Creatures and a "Hooded One." The main charcter Fone Bone is usually nude except for his cloak. He is seperated from his cousins in the desert while running from rioting villagers and locusts and soon finds himself in a mysterious valley with the help of a Map. He must survive the winter from Rat Creatures with his friend the dragon to find the Mysterious "Thorn." The other 'Bones' included are Phony Bone who wears a shirt with a black star and is a spoiled rich Scrooge without the Christmas bashing and Smiley who is just like Goofy from Mickey Mouse. The trio lead seperate adventures eventually crossing paths outwitting rat monsters (Stupid, Stupid Rat Monsters!), pulling cow racing scams at the local tavern and trying to get too Boneville desperately. I would recommend this to those of all ages, Graphic Novel fans and those interested in the art of it. This series is off to a good start.

Bone is the gold standard for kids graphics novels.We have a library of graphic novels for kids, and the Bone series is hands-down the best we've found. These books are the work of a master storyteller: well written, funny, clever, suspenseful, with superb artwork, excellent dialogue, and a plot so compelling that I found myself looking forward to reading a chapter each night to our six-year old son.. There are nine books total, and a prequel ( Tall Tales ) that isn't quite as good as the core nine books that make up the main series but still worth purchasing. I would recommend reading the nine in the series first, then read the 'Tall Tales' Prequel. We didn't purchase the 'Rose' prequel or the 'Quest for the Spark' series because they were only co-authored by Jeff Smith, and didn't seem as compelling..

This is a beautifully colorized version of the original black and white underground comic of the early nineties. In this first volume, the reader is introduced to three Bone cousins who are on the run and lost in an uncharted desert. The three are separated and the story mainly follows Fone Bone, who stumbles into an unknown gully filled with interesting characters, an escalating storyline, and captivating visuals as he continues his search for his cousins.

I had heard great things about Bone, and so I was prepared to be slightly disappointed in case it did not live up to the hype. This preparation was unnecessary because this little book turned out to be everything that people have been telling me it was.

It's a Scholastic imprint and marketed toward the 9-12 age group, but I think its appeal is much broader. Any adult who likes Harry Potter could easily come to love this series for its humor, interesting story, clever dialogue, and lovable (if slightly stereotyped) characters. It was a fairly quick and enjoyable read for me, and I only regret that I must wait to read the next volume.

This would be an excellent book to encourage reluctant young readers. (The most sensitive of parents should be aware that there are mild references/depictions of smoking, a tavern serving fine ales, gambling, and an off-page/implied co-ed bathing scene in a hot spring. It's all quite tame.)

There is a very affordable compilation of all nine Bone volumes available in black and white, but if you (or the recipient) of this comic collection appreciates art to some extent, I would recommend spending a little extra for the separate colorized volumes. I lingered over these pages longer, enjoying the landscapes and character details in top-notch digital color. The story is the same, but the experience is richer.

'Bone: Out From Boneville,' collects issues #1-6 of Jeff Smith's seminal Fantasy-Humor comic series that first kicked off in 1991. Anyone with an appreciation for top-notch comic book storytelling will quickly appreciate Smith's keen sense of compelling, exciting narrative blended in with keen-humor and characterization in every panel. For those not sure what this series is actually about, in a nutshell it can be described as a fantasy epic with strong overtones of humor and adventure populated with compelling characters of human, animal and mythic-being variety. Whether or not you're a fan of the fantasy genre you will nonetheless find yourself compelled with the story from the get-go thanks to Smith's wonderful storytelling ability. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

My eight year old grandson 'is not into books', as he puts it. Getting him to read (anything!) is torture, for both of us. I purchased the first in the Bone series from a comic book store that also carries some graphic novels. On the way home Robert read three chapters and took the book to school today! Every little bit of success is so very sweet!

Set your expectations properly and you'll find a fair story here. They're simple characters in simple, kid-safe adventures. There's Smiley, the tall guy with a very short brain, Phoney with his inane get-rich schemes, and Fone Bone, the protagonist, an all-around nice guy trying to do the right thing for everyone. We also have bold dragons, ineptly evil rat-beings (but I like rats!), a beautiful maiden for chaste and silly romance, and other characters that are easy to identify and to identify with. Then, behind them all, there's the mysterious bad guy, plotting against ...

Well, just see for yourself. The plot and characters work well for unsophisticated readers. Still, the text doesn't talk down to a young reader with an artificially stripped-down vocabulary. If you or yours are in the target demographic, it could be a good bit of fun.

-- wiredweird

At long last! Jeff Smith's epic high fantasy comic masterpiece is being produced in color.

Fans of Bone will be pleased with Steve Hamaker's crisp coloration, which frequently adds shadow and texture without overloading the panels and really brings out the details of the art. Numerous atmospheric effects have also been added, as is evidenced by the first panel, in which Smith's starkly shadowed mountains have been faded to a rich purple with a haloed sun glowing overhead. Fans familiar with the one-volume edition will be glad to see additional artwork filling the spaces between chapters, including some illustrations from the original black and white nine-volume series.

This first volume suffers a few drawbacks, though the quality is much higher in Volume 2: The Great Cow Race. It's obvious the color was done by computer, and some of the panels are not as crisply digitized as others, and so some of the black outlines are pixelated. The inconsistency of quality is curious; perhaps some of the original artwork for the first volume had gone missing. Some of the computer effects are excessive. For example, a snow flurry has been added to an early action sequence. At first attractive, it becomes distracting clutter after a few panels. Most of the other visual effects are more natural. Also, this is the second time this comic has been shrunk. The one-volume edition was smaller than the original nine volumes and the new color volumes have been shrunk again. Surprisingly little detail is lost, considering the intricacy of Smith's art, though Thorn's eyes are occasionally crowded.

It's good to see Bone in color, and in such sharp color, too! Don't let the pixelation dishearten you; the sequel is much better.

In the first Bone book Phoney bone gets into trouble in his own town causing him and his cousins Fone Bone , and Smiley Bone to get chased out of town. After they stoped running a huge sworm of bugs chased all three cousins off a clif and got them seperated. In the search of his cousins Fone Bone mets a girl named Thorn and her Granma Ben. Also some ugly creaturs called rat creatures that want to eat him and capture Phoney Bone. King Dok is the king of the rat creatures and the Hooded one is the master of the rat creatures. Granma Ben let Fone Bone stay with them. Then Fone Bone finds Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone and granma Ben does not like Phoney Bone she thinks that hes a cheap scap and gets into too much trouble. Will the rat creatures capture Phoney Bone and eat Fone Bone?

Hah, hah, hah! BONE will surely have you laughing out loud. Jeff Smith has managed to conjure a bunch of great characters, all with their different pros and cons, and thrown them all into a wonderful world of childish fantasy. The three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, have been run out of Boneville (due to Phoney Bone's many scrupelous schemes) and, much to their dislike, soon finds themselves in a battle against The Lord Of The Locusts, who is threatening to take over a peaceloving community in a quiet and peaceful valley. Moments of Laugh. Moments of Suspense. Moments of Joy. Moments of drama. And many, many, many moments of sheer magic.

In this wonderfully drawn comic we are introduced to three characters, each with a different personality - the responsible one, the greedy one, and, well, the dumb one. They are on the run due to the misdoings of the greedy one, escaping through the desert into the land of rat creatures, talking bugs, beautiful girls, and mysterious grandmothers. The style of the art reminds that of Carl Barks - plus it's definitely a classic. A must for enthusiasts of good fantasy and graphic novels. I highly recommend it for the art, the story line, and the well-developed characters. Hats off to Jeff Smith.

I like Bone because it's a funny adventure series, but the author could tell us more about Boneville. My favorite characters are the two rat creatures that we see a lot. They're funny to me. If you make another book please make more cute characters. They don't have to be the main ones.

I loved this middle grade graphic novel. It is full of adventure, great graphics, and a great plot. Oftentimes, I have found that graphic novels can have very simplistic plots especially for a middle grade graphic novel, but Out from Boneville has wonderful plot progression at a great pace. The illustrations are colorful and keep your attention. Perfect for any age!

This is my favorite series of all-time. there are nine books and i love every single one. I got the first book at a school book sale and i read it like 300 times, not even exaggerating. I would recommend this book/series to anyone who likes fantasy, and can easily follow a complicated storyline. the ages are (in my opinion) range from about 9 to 15. Great series. Definitely deserves 5 stars.

The book Bone - Out of Boneville is about three cousins that get chased out of town by a mob of bones (bones are little creatures that look like ghosts). The cousins get separated in the woods and try to find there way back to each other.

The book is laid out like a comic book. It has colorful pictures and very detailed graphics which make it fun to read.

My favorite part of the book was when the Locusts attacked and they all fell down into a canyon and bumped their heads. It made me laugh to think of them rolling down and down.

I think that other kids my age would like this book because it was fun to read and I can't wait to continue with the series to see what other kind of trouble the cousins get into.

I liked Fone Bone because he was brave and adventurous. I liked that he made friends with the Red Dragon. I think that Bone liking a human named Thorn is weird because he is not a human. I think she’ll come to like him though.

It was a great book with adventure, action, some funny parts, great story and really good characters and really good drawings. I’m excited to continue on with this series.

I would recommend this book to anybody who like funny adventure comics. Especially my mom and dad.

This book is extravigent, vivid, and bright, but it is cliffhanger too. It is about 3 bones Smiley, Phoney, and FoneBone (he is talked about a lot) are chased from their hometown Boneville and stuck in the mountains. They are seperated in a swarm of locuses. FoneBone manages to get thro life in the woods but not Phoney. Fone is chased by these rat creatures but is saved. The rest you will have to read but listen to me...It Is Halarious!

C.C.

The book was about three creatures that left their home (I'm not telling you why) But I will tell you if you like adventure stories you should read this book. My favorite character in this book was Smiley Bone because he's funny and he'll do anything. I liked this book because it's an adventure into a new world. You should read this book because it's an exciting, funny, scary adventure.
Jw4a

love these books. They have reead and reread them like 10 times. After reading the review of someone who gave the series a "one" though, I will be sure to discuss with them the drinking, smoking, and nudity scenes. It is hard to proof every book my kids read but this particular content does deserve a discussion with the kids I think.

Jeff Smith is a wonderful writer/artist and spins tales of adventure like no other. His stories are filled with action, humor, love, sorrow and every other emotion while keeping the stories simple and easy to follow.

His artwork is wonderful and he draws his characters emotions beautifully. He doesn't bog the series down with unusual or hard to follow camera shifts as is common with many comics these days.

I highly recommend any of the books in the Bone series. They are interesting enough for the older readers and fun enough for the little ones. If you are a fan of comics/cartoons at all - or even any type of adventure - give these books a shot. You won't be disappointed!

Bone, by Jeff Smith, is an adventurous book about a lost trio that got split up in a dessert. Fone Bone has to find his friends before two furry monsters eat him! If you like funny comics and strange adventures this is your book! 138 pages of eye-pulling comics are a hysterical way to start your day. If you like this book you will LOVE Jeff Smith's others. Matt Groening (The creator of the Simpsons) says Bone is a great read! Heads up Garfield, you've got a rival!

To say too much spoils the surprises that await readers at every turn. But I must confess up front that my early impressions of the artwork were wrong. While these black-and-white pages might look simplistic at first glance, I quickly discovered that the book is packed with detail -- and the expressiveness of Smith's characters, shown through face and body posture, is exquisite.

Ok, whimsical sort of comic, at times. I can see where this would be quite popular with kids, with its cross between Disney comics and the look of casper the ghost, wendy the little witch, hot stuff, and all those sort of gohst line of characters. This is what it reminded me of, anyway. Not enough to want to read any more though.

These books are a huge hit with almost all readers ages 7 and up. My second grade daughter LOVES them. My high school students dove for them when I brought a few to class (I had to make a sign-up sheet). They're surprisingly popular, and I love it that they are such kid friendly graphic novels. I believe much of the appeal is in the odd but fun illustrations and humor. The reviews on Goodreads are very positive, too.

This is the best comic book ever written. Bone pulls together fantasy and humor into a great read. Jeff Smith's art is even better. The story moves through magic, dragons, swords and armor, and........cow racing. Jeff Smith is one of the best writers out there and Bone is a treasure that everyone can enjoy.

Awesome books, for the love of gosh these books are soooooo good that there should make a movie. Yeah sure it could be rated PG-13 but please be rated PG. If moms are reading it to there kids they should probably know that there is some blood in it but it is still a good funny book. Good job Jeff Smith.

The reason I like this book because the comedy, the pictures and the characters.I like books like these because they get boring in the beginning and,in the middle it gets interesting .The reason that i like bone is because in other books people get bored but with bones they dont but I just love bone so much and,the characters are so funny.You inspire me so that I want to write my own book.The reason I gave this book 5 stars because it is creative hot, slamin, and funky. From; Marva, Nick

Jeff Smith has a great style of illustration. The book can go from serious to comical almost faster than you can move from one frame to the next. The characters are well thought out and stay very true to form throughout the book. No single character serves as the straight man (woman/bone?), or the absolute hero. I havn't finished the series yet, but the plot gets better every time somthing else is revelaed.
WARNING: Watch for running gags (some of them are really bad!)

Sure, sure, the art and the story were great (even full of enough suspense to choke you), but the main characters, especially Fone Bone (and ESPECIALLY the cigar-chomping Smiley Bone) look very much like long-lost Casper ghosts of certain well-known characters from an ancient comic strip that met an unfortunate tragedy in the modern funnies. Not even the presence of Bone's corrupted, money-hungry twin or the nubile young girl that he befriended or the whole swarming army of so-called "Rat Men" would be enough to distract the reader from such an open fact. Even the organizers of Pogo Fan Club seemed to accept - and even warmly embrace it.
So what's next? Felix the Cat in prehistoric setting with roaring dinosaurs and busty cavewomen and Betty Boop in a futuristic anime with slimy tentacles?

My family loves the Bone books and we just downloaded the Bone game. It was great, but it also encouraged the kids to go back and read the book again for themselves. Great to see the kids so engaged in reading

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!I FINISHED THE ENTIRE SERIES AND WAS GREAT. THE 9'TH BOOK IN THE BONE SERIES, CROWN OF HORNS, WAS KINDA SAD. MY FIRST BONE BOOK CAME FROM MY COUSIN. HE ALSO GAVE ME BOOK 2 AND 3. THEN AFTER I FINISHED THE SERIES I GOT A FONE BONE PLUSH. I GOT IT FROM A STORE IN NEW YORK. BOOK 1 I LIKED THE BEST IN THE SERIES. I HOPE OTHER PEOPLE WILL LIKE THE BOOKS!

My son says, "Great adventure story." He loves the characters and plans to read all the installments in this series.

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville

Completely inappropriate for young kids. My 8 year old son said he was really enjoying this book. He doesn't love reading so I was eager to see what he was reading. I was sickened the more I got into the book. I couldn't believe this was for kids. Page one, there is already a guy smoking a cigar. Then later he says he hopes that "Smiley doesn't run out of cigars before I catch up to him." The dragon is smoking as well. Then he's screaming for a beer at the bar.

Then when he gets introduced to the main girl in the story, he is spying on her in the woods. She then takes off her pants. She's covered but they use 3 full panels for her to get her pants off and there is a lot of leg showing. The next scene shows Bone's hat catching fire after seeing her undress. Way to sensual. Later she takes a bath in the river and Bones once again is sensually drawn to her, and she has him bring her soap. I don't think my little guy caught what was going on, but it's an introduction to that type of thing. Inappropriate at 8 years old.

Later as they run away from these creatures of nightmares, her dress falls off progressively more and more with a full cleavage, and exposed leg shot in there. These just are things I'm trying to protect my little guys from as long as I can. Pornography is way too prevalent in this world as it is.

Unfortunately, I was unimpressed by Smith's highly popular graphic novel. My previous 4th graders and middle schoolers (especially the boys) adore this series, so I was willing to give it a go, but I found the humor and storyline unappealing. I forced myself to finish this first book in the series--I was uninterested by the tribulations of three 'bone' characters, cousins who journey into the unknown, become separated, and eventually reunite. But clearly more trouble is headed their way as this first book in the series concluded. But I will not be reading on to find out what that trouble is! I can see why this plot and humor would appeal to middle grade readers, but it just didn't do much for me. Would not recommend this to many readers, except my most reluctant student readers.

I was completely shocked and horrified that this book is marketed to young children by Scholastic. My eight year old son received the first Bone book as a gift. I could not believe that the content contains characters smoking and drinking beer. This is NOT a book that should be given to a child for that reason alone! After doing some research I read that Scholastic at first did not want to include the inappropriate content, however they decided to leave it in the book anyway. As a parent I do not think any child should be reading a book that "glamorizes" smoking. I am also disgusted that Scholastic, which is a name parents trust, would allow this series to be marketed to young children.