The Art of Bone

Before we even get to the content, let me say that this is a gorgeous book - well bound, heavyweight paper, glossy.Open it and it just gets better. I always read the foreword of the books I read. And the dedications when present. Heck, I even check the copyright. I tend to wait until I'm done before reading mini-biographies of the authors because I prefer to read books without having first coloured my perceptions (too much). It is not a rule I always stick to however. Good thing.This book is a mini-tour of Jeff's mind. (I *can* call him Jeff you know. Like Stephen [King], he's slept next to me and been the first page I see in the morning). And what a lovely tour it is. Full of fertile hills and verdant valleys.And the scenery (the art people - trying to keep up the metaphor here) - stunning. There might very well be art that is repetitive of the books. I did not notice. My nephew surely will. But given the frequency at which he re-reads the Bone books, I don't think he will care.I bought this book for him (my nephew) who on Thanksgiving Day 2008 told the family he was thankful for "Jeff Smith writer of the Bone books". How does it better than that for any author?I'm thankful to Jeff Smith myself, for fostering a young boy's imagination. I am also thankful for what on December 25th is likely to be Smith's most recent achievement - making this aunt the hit of Christmas gift unwrapping.

The art of Bone is an amazing companion piece to the massive epic that is the complete Bone stories. If you're something of a process whore you'll love the behind the scenes looks at not only the art, but the origins of Bone. Bone stands under close review even after all these years. It doesn't matter whether it's in color or black and white, the Massive, one volume or the colored Scholastic volumes, it is truly a great read for young and old alike.

My son became "addicted" to the Bone series about a year and a half ago. I've never been a fan of comics but when my non-reader decided these books were what he wanted to read I was on a quest. He started by reading the color re-releases of the first few books and when Old Man's Cave had not come out yet I bought him the all-in-one book with 1000+ pages. My non-reader finished it in a short amount of time and was left with wanting more. When I came across "The Art of Bone" I was thrilled. It talked about how Jeff Smith created the characters when he was 9 years old. My son turned 9 last month so I got it for his birthday. As he was going to bed and talking about the day (which included 9 friends and The Reptile Guy) he said his favorite part was receiving "The Art of Bone"! THAT made MY day! It is a beautiful book and is very informative. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in this series, beautiful comic book art or looking for inspiration.

When I read about the Art of Bone, I thought it was a small collectors item that would work as a companion for the epic comic of Jeff Smith. My surprise came in the mail when I received this beatiful and lavish 200 page edition edition by Dark Horse.There really isn't any complaints with the Art of Bone. With it's gigantic size (12 x 8.9 inches), the quality of the reproduction of sketches, rare material and covers are top-notch. At the same time, the book is an interesting "behind the scenes" of the style of Smith. we can see a glimpe of the influences and evolution of the drawings and narrative style from the childhood years of the author, his wirk as animator and up until that the masterpiece that became Bone, became a reality by self-publishing. The book includes a lot of interesting material, like an earlier version of Bone as a syndicated strip (called simply "Thorn"), or sketches of key scenes in the plot. The reproduction of cover art and pages of the comic also have insightful commentaries of the development of the story, characters and environments.Considering the price and the quality of the book ($29 on amazon), this is by all means, a must buy.

Love the book, I've actually been looking for a copy that I could pay a decent price for. The art is amazing, not only that I know Jeff through other people. I have followed his career since the beginning of his joined efforts with Scholastic books. Awesome book, for an Awesome Price!!!

My husband loves Jeff Smith. I read the first few pages myself and teared up. It is really some inspiration stuff. Recommended for Bone fans~

Excellent artwork and a wonderful addition to my daughter's book collection.

Bigger and better than expected. this was a nice gift for my 8 yo. son who has read them ALL !

Son loved it : )

Hier ist endlich mal ein Artbook, das sich seinen Namen auch verdient. Ein tolles Format, hochwertig gebunden mit Stoffcover und schönem Schutzumschlag. Der Inhalt ist von Anfang bis Ende fantastisch. Viel bekannte Bilder aus dem Comic sind ganz- oder gar doppelseitig abgebildet. Die Flut der einzelnen Szenen und die Wucht der Grafiken erschlägt einen förmlich.Das Buch ist auf Englisch und bietet auch einiges an Infos über den Autor Jeff Smith und die Entstehung des Comics, der Geschichte und der Umsetzung, ohne jedoch zu theoretisch zu werden. Die Bilder und die Comickunst stehen hier klar im Vordergrund und das ist genau die richtige Mischung.Wer die Serie geliebt hat (der Band 1 kam jetzt genau vor 20 Jahren raus) wird dieses Artbook als Essenz des Bone-Universums lieben. Ich würde mir das Buch sofort wieder kaufen und kann es nur wärmstens weiter empfehlen.

A todo el que le guste "Bone" de Jeff Smith le encantará este libro donde desvela todos los entresijos de su gestación. Desde los primitivos dibujos de la infancia de Jeff, hasta las claras influencias del "Pogo" de Walt Kelly, los dibujos de Disney o "El señor de los anillos" de Tolkien, en esta fábula donde conviven animalillos al más puro estilo "cartoon" con seres humanos, dragones y estúpidos monstruos peludos en una aventura con tintes épicos, dramáticos y humorísticos "más grande que la vida".Además incluye diversas fases del proceso creativo de Smith desde el boceto, pasando por el lápiz y la tinta final con reproducciones de gran calidad. y una extensa galería de ilustraciones algunas inéditas a todo color.Este es el libro que cualquier fan de Bone que se precie debe tener en su estanterias junto a la obra maestra de este Jeff Smith.Este libro es como Mary Poppins, "Practicamente perfecto en todo"