mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag. The volume starts with a Bone story which picks up at the end of the big ol' Bone One Volume edition. It's charming, funny, and completely unnecessary to the Bone storyline --- just a nicely appreciated piece of lagniappe. Then you get an essay from Jeff Smith on the history of Bone, complete with pictures and reminiscences on the self-publishing scene. (A fun read for me as the 90's was when I got into independent/alternative comics.) Finally, there's the Bone Companion, which is mostly just essays on the plot of Bone and influences. I found this fairly boring and overstated at times (the author wants to compare Bone to a ton of literary and comics classics).
If you really like Bone, I think you should pick this up. But be aware that you aren't missing much if you don't.
If you really like Bone, I think you should pick this up. But be aware that you aren't missing much if you don't.
ostrava's review against another edition
2.0
I only read the small chapter at the beginning. A cute aftertaste but not needed. Nothing was really gained from its existence other than proofing to the reader that yes, Bone is indeed over and you can now move on. And that's fine.
The essays I dunno, didn't read them, they looked OK I guess. In good faith, I wouldn't recommend buying it. I took this one from the library. It's a good idea to put money into Bone, it's maybe not a good idea to put money into the Coda, unless you're like, a HUGE fan.
The essays I dunno, didn't read them, they looked OK I guess. In good faith, I wouldn't recommend buying it. I took this one from the library. It's a good idea to put money into Bone, it's maybe not a good idea to put money into the Coda, unless you're like, a HUGE fan.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Did I really not write a review for this? Weird. I compose reviews in my head a lot of the time, I carry books downstairs, and when I carry them back upstairs the review is suppose to be done.
The short at the beginning was fine, a bit better than typical so basically a 3.5
The publishing history of the series with the story of the independent comics business with photos was great, I wish it was longer and with more anecdotes, so basically a 4
The portions of the rest that talked about the series was better - I didn't get much from the plot summaries - a little long, a little boring - but really not bad so basically a 3
So 3.5 of 5 and now maybe I'm done with Bone?
The short at the beginning was fine, a bit better than typical so basically a 3.5
The publishing history of the series with the story of the independent comics business with photos was great, I wish it was longer and with more anecdotes, so basically a 4
The portions of the rest that talked about the series was better - I didn't get much from the plot summaries - a little long, a little boring - but really not bad so basically a 3
So 3.5 of 5 and now maybe I'm done with Bone?
librarycobwebs's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
1_and_owenly's review against another edition
5.0
Oh! How I missed the Bone cousins. If you have read the original series, you will find much to love here. Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone and Bartleby are back and it is almost as if they had never left. This little adventure left me lusting for more! The humor was still spot on. The characterizations were tight. The linework was, as always, amazing.
This is not a book meant as an introduction to the world of Bone. The comic portion does not give any real spoilers beyond mentioning some of the characters like Thorn & Grandma Ben. But the essays which end the book give a critical look at the series overall and its creation. I recommend reading the previous adventures before picking this one up.
This is not a book meant as an introduction to the world of Bone. The comic portion does not give any real spoilers beyond mentioning some of the characters like Thorn & Grandma Ben. But the essays which end the book give a critical look at the series overall and its creation. I recommend reading the previous adventures before picking this one up.
jossarian4's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful little ancillary adventure for the Bones to go on just after the close of the real story - nothing changes, the characters end up exactly where they started, but that was kind of the point; no more growth is necessary, the story is over, and this is simply a coda.
verkisto's review against another edition
4.0
I could tell you a whole lot about the origins of Bone and how it went from a struggling self-published title to a phenomenon, but if I did, I'd spoil a lot of this book for you. It's not that I would spoil the story itself -- the story at the beginning of this book is just a lagniappe to the larger story -- but about two-thirds of this title is comprised of Smith's own recollections and The Bone Companion, a literary look at the entire saga. So the book is more nonfiction than fiction, really.
That being said, how much you like this book will depend on how much you like to know the background of endeavors like this. I'm very much a behind-the-scenes kind of guy (the first thing I do after seeing a movie is look up its trivia), so I thought it was fantastic. It didn't hurt that I started reading Bone with issue number nine or so, when I first got into comics, so a lot of what Smith talks about in his piece is stuff that happened while I was in that scene. It was pretty neat, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Weiner's piece has been published before, and how necessary you feel it is depends on how you feel about literature. Weiner draws comparisons between Bone and the other works that inspired it, and some of those comparisons feel like a stretch. Additionally, Weiner sometimes makes a comparison but doesn't support it with any additional detail, just expecting the reader to accept it. What I remember most clearly from my English classes is that you can draw any conclusion from a piece that you want, so long as you can support it with details from the work itself; Weiner bypasses this step a few times, but still expects the reader to agree with his conclusion.
It goes without saying that this book is intended for the Bone completist; even the short story at the beginning of the book adds nothing to the saga. At first I thought that it brought the entire story full circle, but that's not entirely true; the end of Bone ended pretty much as it began, and this story goes a bit further, showing us some of what could have happened on the Bones' way to Barrelhaven. Since we already know what the Bones' characters are like, and can expect some of what happens, there's nothing much new here. Still, it's entertaining, hitting the usual notes readers would expect, and I imagine this book will sell just as well as all the others.
That being said, how much you like this book will depend on how much you like to know the background of endeavors like this. I'm very much a behind-the-scenes kind of guy (the first thing I do after seeing a movie is look up its trivia), so I thought it was fantastic. It didn't hurt that I started reading Bone with issue number nine or so, when I first got into comics, so a lot of what Smith talks about in his piece is stuff that happened while I was in that scene. It was pretty neat, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Weiner's piece has been published before, and how necessary you feel it is depends on how you feel about literature. Weiner draws comparisons between Bone and the other works that inspired it, and some of those comparisons feel like a stretch. Additionally, Weiner sometimes makes a comparison but doesn't support it with any additional detail, just expecting the reader to accept it. What I remember most clearly from my English classes is that you can draw any conclusion from a piece that you want, so long as you can support it with details from the work itself; Weiner bypasses this step a few times, but still expects the reader to agree with his conclusion.
It goes without saying that this book is intended for the Bone completist; even the short story at the beginning of the book adds nothing to the saga. At first I thought that it brought the entire story full circle, but that's not entirely true; the end of Bone ended pretty much as it began, and this story goes a bit further, showing us some of what could have happened on the Bones' way to Barrelhaven. Since we already know what the Bones' characters are like, and can expect some of what happens, there's nothing much new here. Still, it's entertaining, hitting the usual notes readers would expect, and I imagine this book will sell just as well as all the others.