Bone Volume 1 Out From Boneville [Hardcover]

Thank goodness for trade paperbacks, which have allowed new readers unaccustomed to weekly stops at the comic store to follow this marvelous, epic, enchanting series.

Those new to "Bone" should know this: Throw away the term "comic book." It's a term that for many has become defined by superheroes, but Smith's "Bone" is much more than that.

Timeless is every way, "Bone" is an expansive story about three "bone creatures" (you'd have to see them to understand) that find themselves in a valley peopled with an assortment of crazy and interesting characters. Looming over it all is the menace of a great evil, first glimpsed by the ferocious (and funny) rat creatures, but later revealed to be something much more disturbing.

Smith combines the kind of classic storytelling perfected by the likes of the legendary Carl Barks and Bill Watterson - gleefully funny cartooning with outrageously expressive faces and gestures - with the epic and engaging plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" walks a tightrope and walks it well, managing to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Bilbo Baggins can enjoy.

"Out From Boneville," the first volume of nine, is in the grand scheme of things little more than an introduction to the people and places that make up the "Bone" epic. We meet Thorn, the sweet girl who our protagonist Fone Bone pines over, the unnaturally tough grandma, the grumpy bar tender, and, of course, the bones themselves. It's a light-hearted introduction to what becomes a more serious tale, and it's good fun to read.

As a first chapter "Out From Boneville" is hardly representative of what "Bone" becomes, but then neither is "A Long Expected Party" in "The Lord of the Rings." Both ease the reader into what becomes an increasingly compelling, tense tale. It's a nice way to introduce us to these characters.

"Bone" is essential reading that no lover of the comic artform should skip. Little doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will long outlast 90 percent of other comic works on the shelf.

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?

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.