Staff Picks (December): BONE (COLOR) TRIBUTE EDITION BONE — OUT OF BONEVILLE

Publisher: Cartoon Books (Graphix/Scholastic Books)

Back in the days of the indie comics boom, titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to the eventual black and white comics glut which, along with rampant speculation, almost destroyed the comic market. After that time there was a perception that if a comic wasn’t in color then it couldn’t possibly be any good.  Fortunately titles like Cartoon Books' Bone and Abstract Studio’s Strangers in Paradise proved them wrong. Maybe it was the Wizard Magazine Ace editions or their time under Homage Studio, but they showed us that a good, make that great comic doesn’t depend on color.

After 55 issues and 9 volumes in black and white, the adventures of the three Bone cousins in 2005 became the launching vehicle for Scholastic Books’ Graphix line of graphic novels. Bone became the first title for this imprint solely dedicated to publishing graphic novels for children and teens, and to make it new to a new audience it was published in full color with terrific coloring by Steve Hamaker.

Now for Graphix's 10th-anniversary a special edition of Out of Boneville has been produced featuring 48 pages of bonus material and in hardcover for $14.95.  Just getting Out of Boneville at that price is already a deal, but now we get mini-comics and other artwork inspired by the series from creators like Kate Beaton, Kazu Kibuishi, Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier, Doug TenNapel, Craig Thompson, Dan Santat, and others.

I already have all the comics, the black and white trades, the one volume edition, and all the color editions, but this is one more I have to add to the book shelves. This is a series I’ve enjoyed, my kids have enjoyed and hopefully if I live long enough my grandkids will enjoy.

~ Steve Leaf