Why you should still read BONE

[@Tuvella1]

I appreciate how you brought up that getting a movie/ animated adaptation doesn't have to be be-all and end-all for a book. Sometimes we don't need more "content". Sometimes the original piece of art is perfect in its flawed beauty. There as a lot of fantasy stories I love and I'm still glad they have ended and more isn't coming (like the tales of Earth Sea books). I already have this finished thing I can analyse and think about - I don't need more. Still, I completely understand why someone would want to see Bone animated. The characters would definitely look so cute and fun in that kind of medium

[@HenryKathman]

Yeah the earthsea comparison is quite apt considering the two adaptations we got

[@raphaelbrown6314]

I don't know dude jeff smith really wanted to make it Animated which i don't blame him for plenty of reasons and some people don't like reading books so an animated adaptation would be good for everyone who don't read or know bone but it keeps getting screwed over by people who don't the see eye to eye with with the creator and also people didn't think it would be the be all and end all books we all know they ended but like you said they just wanted to see bone be animated wish you could tell if i had potential to be

[@dogewood5499]

“Bone” is like “Berserk”, but with less violence and an absence of rape, and if a character like Puck was the main one and he had cousins. Also, if Guts was a 20 year old redheaded girl with superpowers, a complete set of limbs, and was way less angry and homicidal.

[@HenryKathman]

And both kick ass

[@ChillaxingJay]

To me, if you put Calvin and Hobbes and Berserk in a blender, you get Bone.

[@Danheron2]

@@ChillaxingJay the author described it as Bugs Bunny meets lord of the rings 😂

[@Talami771]

Bone was the most enthralling comic of my childhood its literally PG Berserk

[@LoneWolf20213]

I read this series, and I can personally attest to its quality and story telling, it balances serious, jokes, and world building

[@azanimates]

The first half of bone was like. oooh mystery??? The second half was just ONE BIG BOSS BATTLE LIKE, IT'S AMAZING!!!

[@zarico6157]

Bone will always be near and dear to my heart. Its what inspired me to pursue art in the first place! Disappointed we’ll probably never see an animated adaptation, but Bone has totally earned its place in the comic hall of fame regardless of anything. Ill have a phobia of locusts for the rest of my life.

[@HenryKathman]

Valid, them locust are freaky

[@AuroraSilverFox]

The second half was fantastic for non bone readers as well! It was mostly talking about how throughly Netflix and others have failed Bone.

[@HenryKathman]

Plenty of large media companies fail their creators like they did with Bone, I this is why it’s important to support creators outside of the realms of these corporations

[@tarrencerichard8196]

​@@HenryKathman creators go to corporations for the business side of things. They could produce their work as indie passion products but they don't have the business or financial know how. Netflix and other companies didn't fail Bone or anything else. They made a business decision but our fanboy, and man child glasses make us forget that it's a 2 sided coin. 🤦‍♂️

[@jmachero5852]

@@tarrencerichard8196I don’t know when. But I hope an animated adaptation can happen.

[@Nortarachanges]

@@tarrencerichard8196 yeah, why doesn’t Jeff Smith spend the next fifty plus years living as a hermit eating wild locusts and honey so he can animate a multi episode epic by hand alone? He would do it if he really cared about art! /sarcasm, if that isn’t clear -.-

[@Jwolf0]

@@NortarachangesI didn’t know it was sarcasm for a little bit I was mad as hell tho when I saw “if he actually cared about art!” Lol

[@Tomurow]

I'm one of the original b&w comic readers. Waiting 2 months at a time for an issue to come out was torture! But the art was so good, I used to think, 'that's okay Jeff, take your time...' I got a letter published in one of the issues, so i feel like I'll always be tied to Bone's epic legacy - ha! It's my greatest/only achievement... 😜

[@jikorijo4516]

What issue was your letter published in?

[@AuroraSilverFox]

I didn't know anything about this and would have been turned off by the American comic strip style. But you brought so much depth to this! Thank you for sharing the library comic app! Thank you. 🥰 Maybe I'll read it some day.

[@HenryKathman]

I mean that day could be today lol, but I’m glad you’re interested

[@AuroraSilverFox]

@@HenryKathman I need to get a library card ; w ; and since I don't have a car in the USA this is a pretty involved side quest. So not today. But someday! ✨

[@Caine7ify]

We WILL get an animated serries one day, we can't give up hope.

[@dogewood5499]

Why? So Netflix or some other similar platform can butcher and pervert it? I hope it never happens: if it were gonna happen and be somewhat decent, 2011 - 2015 would’ve been the perfect window of opportunity.

[@wm2429]

Really good video! I had never realized how much Bone’s jokes resemble newspaper comics but it makes sense so much sense in retrospect!

[@HenryKathman]

Thank you! It’s honestly something that I didn’t pick up on more until seeing the original Thorn comic strips and how similar it was to the series in some areas

[@ExactlywhyImfree-vt2fw]

I remember reading my uncle's Bone comics back when I was a child. I'm not a native speaker and I wasn't really old enough to understand most of the english (though "stupid, stupid rat creatures" became a staple phrase for me and my siblings for a while), but even then, together with my siblings we managed to piece enough of the story together to invent the rest. I have some very fond memories of this series. I might have to reread it, now that I'll actually understand what it's about.

[@Caine7ify]

Don't lose hope, Bone WILL have an animated series, we just need to be patient.

[@lukenstein7019]

I agree. It will one day, no reason it won’t. Netflix just made their choice at the moment, which sucks.

[@elmono6299]

​@lukenstein7019 hopefully another network or streaming service such as Amazon Prime or Hulu picks it up. Or he'll, maybe an indie animation studio can adapt the series and upload it on KZbin.

[@GalacticGoober]

Not even finished with the video yet, and its already wowing me. As a long time fan, thanks for giving this series the love it deserves with such a well crafted video. I'm proud to have our zine cover art used for the thumbnail 👏

[@GalacticGoober]

Finally finished it. Incredible work with this, you did this series justice!!

[@miilexthemii9353]

After finally finishing bone and this video... I will say this: sometimes, all ya need is just some image and text and let ya imagination run wild and bone is the best example of that ideal and why i love comic books so much!

[@Their_is_no_game]

I’m loosing my mind!! I love-love BONE. It is one of my favorite graphic novel, as a kid and as an adult. I’ve been watching your videos for 4 years now and loved every single one, but you making a video about BONE is such a blessing to me thank you! BONE really inspired and formed me as a person I just adore everything about these books- And thank you so much, for posting another great video, I really love listening to people talk about the things I love and I am quite happy that you have been one of them.

[@aguythatscool]

bone is a masterpiece through and through

[@bridgeofsand]

This is an incredibe overview man. I love your approach to speaking about this work. Its a very sacred thing and you touched on all the narrative elements especially the expert tonal shifting that made it so enjoyable as a kid. Really liked your reference to how people value lore more then references to realism in fantasy, as a huge star wars guy too this was also appearent to a scary level. Anyway, major salute my friend🙏🏾

[@dizzymichal]

if scott pilgrim can get a anime then bone should too 🤷‍♂️

[@TheManFromJupiter]

God no not an anime , just regular American animation that can encapsulate that fantasy and comedy aspect, anime is getting so saturated these days

[@theugo]

This is like, the definitive Bone video on KZbin. As a longtime fan, this is so cathartic and well thought out.

[@AncientBag]

Really great analysis of one of my favorite stories! Like many others, I read those Schoolastic editions of the series way back and it was a great experience, it made me appreciate reading a lot more and got me further into other comics and novels. Also, I loved hearing your thoughts about the series' struggle to receive an adaptation. I'm in the same boat, while I would love to see proper adaptations of Bone and other fantasy stories like Berserk, it won't be the end of the world if they never have one. The original stories are still there, still existing in the medium they were initially designed for, and will forever be remembered in my life for how much they resonated with me. The video by kaptainkristian on Watchmen comes to mind; adaptations aren't meant to replace the source material, but to compliment them (and they help these stories reach wider audiences which is always a plus, at rare occasions it might also improve the original). Btw, that intro at the beginning was incredibly nostalgic as someone who watched PBS growing up. Thanks for that. :)

[@chiefblacklung1120]

I was just randomly thinking of this comic at 1 am so I looked it up and damn this is dope I might have to pic this shit up again

[@dakotaloven1362]

This shit is a literal masterpiece its the one graphic novel I grew up with that I'd give almost ANYTHING to see a good proper animated adaptation to this series the entire thing (well that and amulet which I didn't grow up with but still was awesome)

[@gingersnip]

I just discovered your channel and I’m immediately in love! I started with your OtGW analysis (which was AMAZING) because it’s one of my favorite animated series of all time, and then seeing that you’ve made a video on Bone is absolutely crazy. The bone series was such a incredibly motivating series to me as a kid, because I was obsessed with newspaper comics and never saw any get appreciation- but reading the series and loving it, and then finding out Jeff Smith’s inspiration for it stemmed from newspaper comics, was so incredible. I hope your channel gets so much more attention! Your essays are some of the best out there.

[@sarahkay923]

I used to be obsessed with this as a kid. Buying the complete volume to reread 15 years later. Very excited :)

[@djungleskxg]

Bone defined how I view comics AND fantasy. I recently started buying individual volumes and sharing them with my younger brother. Its been awesome seeing him enjoy them as much as I do, and I hope I get to keep sharing Bone with people because it deserves the love.

[@boxman7044]

Those comics were my childhood and bone holds a special place in my heart Along with the weird wendigo rat creatures

[@DrawpinionDump]

Bone isn't very popular where I live, so all I knew about it until the last few months (basically until the whole Netflix thing happened) was that it had some funny little guys in it. When I picked up a copy I saw for the first time at a local bookstore, the fantasy setting and human characters caught me completely off guard! Somehow, it had never made its way into my radar. Even as someone who has yet to read the series, the thing you said about subverting expectations makes a lot of sense - I never expected those two worlds to collide, but seeing what could be done with that premise, it just made me all the more excited to explore it! (also, as someone recently going through a Nancy phase, I honestly cannot wait for the 3 hour Nancy deep dive)

[@HenryKathman]

Oh you have no idea how long I could talk about the evolution of nancy

[@maxleroux]

I don't blame you for being angry at Netflix. I was steamed when I found out they canceled production on the Wings of Fire animated series. I was looking forward to that. 🐉

[@juliantownes2052]

LOWER DECKS HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Didn't expect to see that in this video XD

[@sajinkahnalt]

I just found my 1-9 collection today after moving some storage. Very good day.

[@cousinted]

An amazing video about a work that is uniquely intrinsic to my own experience with comics. I first discovered Bone in the mid 90s when excerpts from the first volume were reprinted in Disney Adventures Magazine and it captivated me almost immediately - It was a property I had no familiarity with, but as I read it I was drawn in my the comedy and mysteries contained in the narrative. Unfortunately, the magazine reprints would only go up to the end of what would be the first collected Volume, out from Boneville, with a lot of the larger mysteries of the story being left unanswered for young me. Flash forward to my senior year of high school in 2005/06 when I discovered the newly released colorized versions of the first two volumes in my school library. Immediately memories came flooding back to me of the strange comic series that had captivated me almost a decade ago. I immediately set to reading those volumes, learned this was actually a nine volume series that had run through most of the nineties, and bought my own copies of the two colorized volumes on a senior field trip into Toronto that year. When I got my first part-time job in college, the one-volume edition of the comic was the first thing I bought with my own money. Beyond that, this series was the thing that ended up sparking my lifetime love for comics, particularly those outside of the typical Marvel and DC faire. It was also the series that inspired me to draw and write comics of my own, something I've still been pursuing to this very day (I stumbled on this video while looking for things to watch in the background while working on a comic). I'd even get the chance to meet Jeff Smith when he exhibited at fan expo in Toronto around 2011/12 and got him to sign that copy of the single volume edition that meant so much to me. I really appreciate how you bring up Vijaya Iyer and her importance to the series' realization: When I met Smith, I asked him if there was any advice he could give to an aspiring comics creator and he immediately said "Marry someone like my wife" and went on to talk about how important her managing the business end of things was in getting him to where he is today. While she's often overlooked I know Smith brings up how important her contribution to the series was every chance he gets.

[@endometendo2775]

Bone is really important to me as an artist. I wasn’t comic obsessed when I was young, but I did small angrybirds comic stories in preschool. I discovered bone in middle school and was fascinated but the story and art. So much so I wanted to mimic it, I wanted to make a story just like it. I wanted to make a graphic novel story. I love bone so much that I carried one trait in design in my art, I draw eyebrows like the bones. I had attempts in making comic stories, but either due to forgetting or money and time constraints, I couldn’t achieve them. But now, I’m trying to run a call of Cthulhu campaign with my friends, and I’m trying to make a WEBTOON recreation of those stories. Looking back now, I think bone taught me something; either make it, or move on to something else. I have many stories that never made it, but I wish to bring back. Sorry for rambling

[@robybalde5742]

I’m so grateful to have this series as part of my childhood. Still am.

[@elmono6299]

Bone is truly a masterpiece, and I enjoyed reading them throughout my childhood. I seriously hope one day another streaming service or channel decides to adapt Bone onto the screen but faithful to the source material.

[@Futureman321]

Jeff smith is so talented

[@ngchloe4877]

I spent so much time reading Bone when i was a kid. It took over a good portion of my School years. Alongside early Amulet as well(though that one sadly didn't pan out as well)

[@toasty9670]

holy shit this is so cool i think this shouldve blown up

[@HenryKathman]

As long as folks share these vids with people they think would like it, that's good enough for me.

[@StormVII]

Bartleby is the best and Smiley's adventure's in parenthood with him are so wholesome.

[@terranova1203]

I still can't believe Netflix was stupid enough to cancel the animated series. It would have been awesome!

[@JackJackKcajify]

we dont know that for sure

[@borkiee]

Read these in 5th grade over a decade ago... loved Bone to death.

[@greenarrow.]

So many movie companies tried to make an adaptation of this comic book that I low key would love to see

[@graymabesadoxography1700]

thank you for making this video- i've never read bone before, and honestly, i barely had knowledge of it's existence before hearing news of it's netflix cancellation. (which is kind of a travesty, tbh, given how much i adore comics and graphic novels!) i'm going to see if my local library has a copy this week (i do better reading physical books), and am excited to read it! a part of me is sad about the netflix cancellation- though, it's not out of love for the series (again, barely know anything about it!). most of my sadness comes from how i know the animators/artists working on the show suddenly lost all of their work, in addition to all of the other lost animated shows with recent corporate bs. it feels like industry-wise, it's all been awful news for animation, and as someone who has always loved animated works it hits hard. sorry for the dour note at the end there- but still, thank you for this video, the editing was beautiful, and i'll leave another comment to let you know my thoughts on bone! have a nice day!!

[@HenryKathman]

Heck yea! I hope you enjoy it

[@IcefisherTenacity]

Kingdok’s story was very interesting to me as a kid. The dude was all hype and took L after L. Then later on he gets a few pages showing that he endures but grows more deranged. Then to come back at the moment of climax

[@HenryKathman]

You could honestly write a whole essay about Kingdok's arc throughout the series.

[@UNR3D]

My first introduction to bone was crown of thorns and that made me interested in the series but I remember wanting to talk about it with friends but nobody was interested I recently bought the full volume but this video really got me invested into bone again

[@DagmaraDevour]

Thank you so much for this. I read the first chapter when I was a kid, but I think I had it taken away from me. I had a feeling it would make it's way back to me, though. Guess it's time to hit up the library.

[@HenryKathman]

Heck yea!

[@Godzillaguy_129]

This series is partially why i am now writing my own webcomic

[@RaspberryPastry]

I remember very distinctly being in my rebellious streak of criticizing everything relentlessly, but still finding myself undeniably drawn to these books at the fair. I wouldn't admit it at the time but I wanted nothing more than to sit down right there in the middle of the scholastic traffic to read them, but also I didn't want to admit the rat creatures drawing style being so heavily contrasted against the bones simple cute lil designs kind of terrified me. I always regretted letting my cynical and cowardly nature win out there because I just know I would have treasured the shit out of this series

[@theratchinchillaanddog]

Kirby made me afraid of butterflys, now BONE is making me afraid of locusts, both have cute characters but also very sinister plots, I think I am sensing a pattern.

[@Matsnat64]

this video is brilliant. bone is one of my favorite book series ever.

[@E-Chap]

Just got the black and white complete series book and I'm excited. I was torn between the b&w and color versions but can't beat the $30 pricetag for the whole series and its how it was originally intended. If I'm a huge fan I'll get the colored on a second reread.

[@Felixman128]

I'd love a remake of the original bone comics from Jeff's middle school days

[@noirangel6416]

With the success of "Invincible" in terms of storytelling, animation, cultural significance, & adapting lesser known works, i believe now is an exelent time to adapt Bone.❤️

[@aeh5109]

Bone is absolutely amazing!!! Ome of my favorite Graphic Novels of all times

[@TheForeverMan]

HIII, any BONE by JEFF SMITH collectors here? Do you have an Issue #12 that shows #11 in the indicia , on the inside front cover ? Please and thank you .

[@samwilson5058]

I lived a very sheltered life growing up in the early 200's. I spent a lot of my time in bookstores and libraries, my parent's were very anxious and introverted and were scared of tv and video games so age friendly books only. Finding BONE in the my local bookstore changed my life. Everything from Power Rangers to superhero comics were banned in my house because "violence" but somehow BONE slipped through. I cannot recommend BONE enough I'd love to see it get animated but who cares it's still a masterpiece and when I have kids I'm gonna make them read Harry Potter, BONE, LOTR, Hungers Games, etc. Seriously I must've read this comic 5 times over.

[@HuskyLemur]

After looking back on the Bone Saga since I decided to buy the complete omnibus book of Bone with it’s original Black and White Indie Comic style format a year ago now after I decided to move whole Color Series collection of the Bone Saga’s Color style format into my family’s second storage shed, and ever since I watched both the Willow Movie and it’s amazing but unjustly short lived sequel Streaming TV series on Disney+ too after having reread the complete omnibus book of the Bone Saga in it’s Black and White Indie Comic style format first. I’m starting to realize now after all these years that not only does the whole bone saga’s story remind me of Jeff Smith’s Lord of the Rings and Pogo mashup inspiration that he’s talked about being two of his batch of inspirations for his Indie Comic Saga’s storytelling style for so many years since before and after he completed the Bone Saga itself, but now the roles and relationship between the Bone Cousins and Thorn Harvester are starting to remind me of Willow and Elora’s Guardian/Ward relationship too, so… is Thorn Harvester actually like the Elora Danon to the Bone Cousins’ Willow Ufgood after all these years? Y’all can say that I’m wrong, because what if maybe I am wrong, I know that some Willow similarities weren’t really referenced in the Bone Saga’s then ongoing continuity since the Willow TV show made by Disney+ today didn’t really exist around the Bone Saga’s time when they haven’t reached their series finale yet then, but in retrospect: had the Willow TV series and it’s sequel storyline existed around the Bone Saga’s then still ongoing continuity years back then to begin with, we’d have started comparing Thorn and the Bone Cousins’ relationship to Willow Ufgood and Elora Damon’s surrogate father/daughter relationship just for fun of it after all these years in hindsight already.

[@dizzyclown7131]

JUST FINISHED READIN' THIS LESGOOOOOO

[@forthefiends]

Great video yo

[@morganus1360]

Finally read Bone. Good stuff.

[@HenryKathman]

Heck yeah! You love to see a call to action answered! Whose your favorite character?

[@morganus1360]

@@HenryKathman Tricky. Smiley is an easy answer, Ted became so relevant it was surprising, and Phoney was such a skeeze at times it was almost endearing. I even became fond of Kingdok and his continual refusal to die. Shoot. I always have trouble with favorites. I'm simple. Gun to my head, I'd have to say Fone. I remember so many moments with all the characters, but it still sticks with me the moment he turns his head and there's a bloody wound. Even though I knew things would get serious, seeing him wounded like that set a small pit in my stomach, both because it was him and because it felt like the true turning point of the story.

[@AuroraSilverFox]

This kind of reminds me of Moonin, I think it would do really well as an anime.

[@Jwolf0]

When I was younger I was looking for something to get from the library quickly so I just picked up ghost circles and I was genuinely confused, I had no idea what was going on so i just gave up the book. 3 years after that i asked the library lady for a comic book and she gave me the first book of bone then i just fell in love with the series, i saw the bone cover on upandcoming in netflix and i had no idea what it was then when i finished the series i remembered that and searched why it wasnt on netflix and now im just mad. fuck netflix, this would’ve genuinely helped them but nah they hate getting money for some reason and go for the stuff that give them the least amount of money thinking it’s a better choice

[@Samswordst]

I am still trying to get ahold of it again, this shit be the best

[@JackJackKcajify]

Got the books in my closet right next to me. They are classic. I would still read them if i was not occupied with other recreations or readings, but they still hold up. I still remember the time they are at the city with those eye dreamer cult guys and the vibe and feeling was just so hopeless feeling whenever the bones werent on screen with their comic releif ! Great books ! lets not forget tarsil the usurper and briar ! and obviously thorn is just a cutie. Im pretty sure the author said the comics werent even intended for children at first !

[@benjaminsnderstrup1761]

This is so good!

[@Revanxbone]

This convinced me to buy a collection of the comics

[@HenryKathman]

Hope you end up enjoying it!

[@brub1738]

This series and berserk have so much in common for example: neither series can get a modern adaptation to save their lives.

[@HenryKathman]

@@brub1738 I have a soft spot for the 97 anime but yea

[@lolk7726]

god damn i love bone

[@series_green2628]

That football part came from the peanuts

[@trunksvert8766]

Let’s face it as much as I loved bone it was my childhood comic i now believe it will NEVER be animated ..even if another studio tries to pick it up I won’t believe it until I see a preview or trailer I knew something was up when Jeff didn’t show any updates on the series not even a scene

[@gideonhorwitz9434]

When I saw that story that Netflix would be cancelling a BONE animation project I was relived I would have the IP stay as it is is bing somewhat obscure except for us who read it as kids as than have garner more attention and be it ruined by a corporation that cares nothing for source material or being a faithful retelling Netflix would have twisted the story into its image to a extent I wouldn’t be recognizable as bone.

[@washingmashine921]

It just hit me that after all this time...dude...they're the edds

[@mario167100]

Bone was my Game of Thrones as a middle schooler.

[@HenryKathman]

Bone deffo has a lot more personal appeal than game of thrones lol

[@Doodoocacaok]

BONE IS THE BEST!

[@derpherp1810]

I for one, hope this never gets an adaptation or atleast if it does the adaptation is so far and alien from the source that it doesn't feel like a BONE adaptation.

[@juliantownes2052]

37:20 What do the captions say???

[@HenryKathman]

Uh oh, gonna have to fix that

[@meanderaround964]

I just started Cerebus…

[@oscizod]

Never watch a review if it’s not at least 30 min

[@otisrulling1090]

Don’t even need to watch the video. YES!!!

[@HenryKathman]

I mean, it'd be nice if you still did lol

[@otisrulling1090]

😂 Done! Btw, I remember reading Bone when I was 7-8 ish. It was an amazing experience, I spent months scouring through public libraries looking for the next volume. Thanks for bringing it to the attention of your audience. And thanks for unearthing such an amazing memory.

[@Talami771]

Netflix did 9/11

[@HenryKathman]

I don’t know about this one chief

[@kavenski]

My school actually have soem BONE Books but sincd i live at montreal , quebec its in french

[@Tuvella1]

oh no I wish I had an American library card!

[@HenryKathman]

If you live outside of the US, plenty of libraries have similar programs, so I’d encourage you to look into your local library if you haven’t already

[@Tuvella1]

@@HenryKathman Yes I gotta look into it! I know my local library has similar services for audio books and movie streaming- maybe they have (or will have) something like this for comics too

[@jmachero5852]

Sorry, but after many years of adaptations I’m not reading it anymore.