Bone is possibly one of the best fantasy series ever told

See sample pages from this book at Wink.

Bone: Coda (25th Anniversary Special)
by Jeff Smith
Cartoon Books
2016, 136 pages, 6.4 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches (softcover)
$13 Buy a copy on Amazon

If you havent read Jeff Smiths Bone series, just stop. Stop reading right now, mid sentence, and go pick up his masterpiece. Its wonderful. Quite possibly one of the greatest fantasy stories ever told. Once youve read that and fallen in love with Smiths humor and characters, then you can appreciate this follow-up that gives you a reason to revisit the Bone Brothers.

If you arent familiar with the Bone series, this coda wont interest you. Its a companion piece that includes interviews of Smith, an oral history by comic historian Stephen Weiner, and early illustrations of the Bone characters. I found it compelling to hear that Bone was a story that almost wasnt. But through determination, some luck, and careful maneuvering, Smith was able to get the comic off the ground. Its great inspiration for any independent artist out there.

But the best part about this book is that theres a new Bone story to be had! The brothers and Bartleby are still in route back to Boneville, when in true Bone fashion things go awry. Its not a long story, or a deep one, but its a reminder about everything that was so great about this series. Its a little heartbreaking that Smith makes a point to define coda as the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the base structure. Hopefully well see more from this world, but for now this is a pretty good sendoff. If youre a completest, youre going to need to pick this up. JP LeRoux

August 26, 2016