Bone: 2011 Wall Calendar

If Lord of the Rings were much funnier and pervaded with humor, it would be very much like Bone. Not that Bone isn't a serious work, because it is in every way - It's probably one of the comic book masterpieces of our time. Only that the story sometimes twists and turns on laugh out loud plot devices. Many of the characters are funny (Phoney Bone, the stupid stupid rat creatures, Smiley Bone, Bartelby, Gran'ma) but also have a downright serious side (Gran'ma has one VERY serious side; don't mess with her and definitely don't mess with her cows). The story itself is even funny in ways, but it amazingly maintains tension with some horror and shock mixed in. It's adventure, comedy, horror, and fantasy wrapped in a shell of great comic artwork.

Hidden beneath the adventures, jokes, and great artwork also lies some social commentary. When Phoney Bone convinces the townsfolk that dragons are an immediate threat to their safety and, since he's a dragonslayer, they should give...Read more

i have already bought the bones series volume by volume and love its take on mixing fantasy, humor and pogo-like characters. i would wholeheartedly recommend getting the series.

my only problem is with the ONE VOLUME EDITION, and that is only if you are INTERESTED IN THE ART. the volume is smaller in size but even that isn't a real issue. the problem is with the THINNESS OF THE PAGES, the artwork from the other side shows through (kind of like the wording shows through on many bibles). this hurts smith's beautiful black and white inked drawings (to me at least), and since graphics are what makes it a graphic novel, it might be an issue for someone that doesn't get to flip through the pages before buying it.

but it is a GREAT DEAL FOR THE PRICE. and i would still prefer the cheap volume over not having it at all. (BTW, i had to have the last 2 volumes ordered through a bookstore and they came in hardback instead of softcover and they are beautiful with a map...Read more

This is buy no means a review of the series itself, my review here is regarding the quality of the pages that this is printed on.

You will be very disappointed by how THIN the pages are. You can see the artwork on the next page! It is extremely distracting to try to read this book when you can see what is happening on the next page. It's cool to have this in it's original black and white incarnation, but do yourself a favor and buy the colored versions from Scholastic. The paper quality on the scholastic versions is now graphic novel thick almost semi gloss paper. The colors pop off the pages, they look amazing. The color adds even more depth to the story.
So please don't order this...order the more expensive but totally worth it color versions.

TIP: If your kids bring home those Scholastic book flyers from their school, they are selling the complete 9 books for $50!

Hope this helps anyone on the fence...