Bringing Home the BONE, Part 3

Creator Jeff Smith brings his celebrated fantasy saga to an end

By Arnold T. Blumberg     September 11, 2002

After pulling out all the stops for BONE#50, you might think Smith won't have any excitement left for the final installment of the saga five issues later, but Smith had always expected the story to have a quieter conclusion - an approach similar to that in his favorite epic.

"The important thing about going on an adventure is coming back," says Smith. "Whatever's at risk and whatever you learn, it doesn't do any good if you get lost or stay there. You've got to come back, so I think that part of LORD OF THE RINGS is one of the most crucial parts - bringing everybody back from the adventure and reinserting them back into their real lives with the experience they've had. There will be a more intimate conclusion."

Just as readers will be bidding adieu to the Bone brothers and their Eisner and Harvey Award-winning title next summer, their creator will also be saying goodbye to a 12-year project that has consumed all of his creative concentration. He's a bit nervous about the prospect.

"In some ways I'm terrified," says Smith. "Even though I have outlines telling me where to go and what's going to happen, I'm discovering that I don't really know exactly. The story tricks me and spins on me even now, so I'm worried that I'm even going to pull this off!"

Smith also fears the post-BONE era somewhat.

"I wonder [if] anything I do after this will sell," says Smith. "[BONE] was a pretty lucky thing. You get one, so I'm ready for whatever's next to be smaller."

Despite the trepidation, Smith is excited about seeing his story in its final form. In fact, he hopes the series will soon transform into the novel it was always meant to be.

"I can't wait to see the thing up on the shelf and have that sense of completion," says Smith. "That feeling is driving me much more than any fear of being done and not having anything to do. I'm actually very hopeful that it is going to get a lot of new readers. I wanted to have a giant novel in comics form, [and] I think the technology exists in the printing world for me to print a black-and-white, thirteen hundred page, all-in-one BONE book."

For Smith, this is indicative of a general trend in the industry that sees comics becoming a true source of literary entertainment.

"It's a new notion as far as comics are concerned," says Smith. "It's been coming for 15 years or so. 'Graphic novels' is the name that's become accepted. I don't like that any more than I like 'young adult' or 'all ages' - it sounds like a pretentious attempt to not be a comic book or something, but I think we're stuck with 'graphic novels.' But this is the new era we're going into where hunting down the books is very different than hunting down the back issues. I'm very happy - that's the way comics should be, and it's clearly the way they're going to be."

But with the grand adventure finally coming to an end, could there be another tale of the Bone brothers? Smith doesn't think so, but...

"I don't see a big sequel story to BONE," says Smith. "But the Bone characters themselves are so much a part of me - almost to the point of being alter egos - I can't imagine not drawing them anymore. I'm sure that I will find some way to draw the Bones again in short stories or something, and if I come up with a sequel...I'll be back!"

Smith has even had some interest from the big boys in Hollywood, but don't hold your breath for that BONE feature film just yet.

"There's actually been a lot of talk," says Smith. "Some of it was just talk; some of it was more than that. I was in development with Paramount and Nickelodeon for two years, but ultimately I've decided to finish the book, because it's extremely time consuming to try to nursemaid it through the Hollywood process."

As for Hollywood horror stories?

"I have them just like everybody else. I have wounds," laughs Smith.

In the meantime, our advice to fans of the series is simple: get as much BONE as you can while you can.

Next time, we conclude our celebration of BONE's 50th issue and the conclusion of the saga with a primer on all things BONEian. Stay tuned!

TO BE CONCLUDED