Yet through the increasingly dark tone of the "Bone" saga, Smith manages to keep things friendly for all ages, a truly commendable task in this era of R rated comics.

"Bone" is an expansive story about three "bone creatures" (you'd have to see them to understand) that find themselves in a valley peopled with an assortment of crazy and interesting characters. Looming over it all is the menace of a great evil, revealed slowly over the course of nine volumes. The series starts off lighthearted, but grows less so as the story unravels itself.

"Old Man's Cave" is a good example of that. The tale is compelling and dark, letting unfold the tale of Thorn, grandma and the bones, showing us the rising tide of evil in the valley, and ultimately leaving us with a thrilling conclusion filled with despair and hopelessness. It is a great climax to the second of three interwoven trilogies, and without question a perfect end to the second act of this series. When finishing this, you'll reach for the next volume right away.

It all works because Smith combines the kind of classic storytelling perfected by the likes of the legendary Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge) and Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) - gleeful cartooning with outrageously expressive faces and gestures - with the epic and engaging plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" walks a tightrope and walks it well, managing to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Bilbo Baggins can enjoy.

Comic readers able to look past the lack of men in tights (superheroes) and color artwork will delight in this series. So, too, will those generally not accustomed to comics. Little doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will surely outlast 90 percent of other comic works on the shelf.

Jeff Smith's "Bone" series is a critically acclaimed but criminally overlooked epic. And that's too bad, because this deserves to be read.


A Great Leap Forward in the Saga   June 21, 2000
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

If you've gotten this far, you know what a kick the Bone series is. Strong, stylish and effective graphics (think Alex Toth) merges with writing that mixes grand epic fantasy with strong character work and riotous slapstick humor. What you need to know is that volume six carries more than its weight in the saga-- a whole raft of mysteries are cleared up here including yet more info about the royal family, the hooded bad guy, and the search for the one who bears the star. It's a masterpiece of plotting-- nothing is expected and yet Smith doesn't pull any of his solutions out of left field. Buy this (and any of the others you're missing), plunk down in a comfy chair, and read straight through all six!


Does anyone else agree . . . . ?   July 12, 2006
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

When I read ROCK JAW and DRAGONSLAYER, I thought nothing could compare.
I was wrong.
This book seems to be the most severely underrated of the whole series. I found it thrilling and heart-wrenching (the whole part about Thorn hating and not trusting Gran'ma Ben)even though the comedy was not truly up to Jeff Smith's usual. I also found myself satisfied at the amount of information (the identity of the hooded one, what makes the baddies think that Phoney will get them, and why Phoney was so stingy and moneystruck.) I loved this book and I can't see why others didn't.


3rd book of the second trilogy of bone.   October 7, 1999
 2 out of 7 found this review helpful

bone is great! be sure to get every bone book, you don't want to miss out on the greatest comic ever made.


Old Man Cave   November 29, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Very vivid and strung with haunting points. This appealing tale cuts into polished humour. Nor young or old it caputers a promising audience. Many unanswered mysteries of the heroic series are unraveled in a solved puzzel. Linked colorful pictures are a delighted bounus.

A experienced reader will still run into suprising corners of the epic comic. Wild fansty creatures dominate the whole action terrain. I say this is a wonderful gift to present to someone.