Review: Jeff Smith’s “Bone”—Book 4: “The Dragonslayer” Dedicates too Much Time to Subplots and Fails to Significantly Enhance the Main Story
by Nathan on September 21, 2019
J. Jonah Jameson.
That’s the image that continually popped into my head whenever Phoney Bone appeared the page. Nearly every time words were blurted from the mouth of that star-shirt-wearing, big-nosed buffoon, I could easily picture them coming from The Daily Bugle’s irascible publisher instead.
(come of think of it, would J.K. Simmons be a good voice actor for Phoney in a “Bone” movie? Hmm…)
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Review: Jeff Smith’s “Bone”—Book 3: “Eyes of the Storm” Kicks Smith's Epic Story into High Gear, Stumbling Only Slightly Along the Way
by Nathan on September 20, 2019
This third chapter in Smith’s “Bone” is where things begin to take off. Smith’s complete story is revealed piece by piece, chapter by chapter, but Book 3 promises at least more explanation that we were given in either “Out From Boneville” or “The Great Cow Race.” “Eyes of the Storm,” for me, marks a discernable shift in Smith’s narrative.
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Review: Jeff Smith’s “Bone”—Book 2: “The Great Cow Race” Stands Wonderfully on its Own but Adds Little to the Overall Narrative
by Nathan on September 14, 2019
Jeff Smith had a lot of worldbuilding to do in his first book, “Out From Boneville,” and was very successful in crafting a complex world with compelling characters. Despite some minor pacing issues, “Out From Boneville” was a thoroughly entertaining initial chapter in Smith’s “Bone” saga, one which not only introduced readers to Smith’s environment and world but also gave a hint of the epic narrative awaiting us in the rest of the book.
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Review: Jeff Smith’s “Bone”—Book 1: “Out from Boneville” is a Great Start to an Epic Fantasy in Comic Form
by Nathan on September 12, 2019
I don’t remember when I first read Jeff Smith’s “Bone.” That isn’t to say I don’t remember the act of reading the story; I just don’t remember what year, what age I was, pieces like that. I know I was young. I know one of my sisters was involved in soccer at the time, because I have a clear memory of sitting in a lawn chair on a hot summer Saturday, gaze glued to the pages of the massive complete collection my dad found at the library. My sister Anna read it, too, and though we only perused it once, it’s a story that has remained stuck in our brains over the years. We talk about it, we reference it. “Bone” became one of those nostalgic pop culture events for me, not necessarily a cornerstone I constructed my memories of childhood upon, but a story I could reflect upon fondly as a remembrance of an age gone by.
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"Hunted" vs. "Spider-Island"—How Nick Spencer's First Major "Amazing Spider-Man" Storyline Compares to Dan Slott's
by Nathan on September 7, 2019
I know the “Amazing Spider-Man” issues for Nick Spencer’s “Hunted” storyline were released several months ago, but as someone who’s been following the series’ progression through trades for the last year-and-a-half or so, I’m a bit behind. I honestly prefer this method; slapping down a single payment for five or six issues (or, in the case of the “Hunted” trade, a whopping twelve) after waiting a few months after a story completes feels a small price to pay compared to the several, meandering trips to comic book shops in the search of a single chapter of an overarching plot. Plus, trades store more easily on my shelves and will hopefully last longer than the flimsy, stapled single issues I have lying around.
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