COMIC DETAILS
|
Comic Description:
|
Bone 1 Modern
|
|
Grade:
|
9.8
|
|
Page Quality:
|
WHITE
|
|
Certification #:
|
4140543001
|
|
Owner:
|
DocGo
|
SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Label Notes
Jeff Smith story, cover, and art. 1st appearance of Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, Smiley Bone, the Great Red Dragon, and Ted
*1st appearance of the Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures*
Synopsis
The spectacular beginning to an epic saga! Split from his cousins in a strange land, Fone Bone must fend for himself while being followed by the Great Red Dragon as well as a couple of mangy rat creatures.
The Slab
Highest grade! Let’s just say that I was at the right place at the right time. I had just received my customized original art reward from the Tuki Kickstarter campaign when Tom Gaadt, a Cartoon Books administrator at the time, asked me if I’d be interested in one of the Tuki 5.
The Tuki 5 are the five Bone #1s that Jeff offered as a reward for the Tuki: Fight for Fire Kickstarter campaign in 2021. They were “plucked out of the box straight from the printer, boarded and bagged 30 years ago!” I wasn’t paying close enough attention when the campaign started and missed my chance at getting one. However, I did secure an original art reward that came out about a week later.
I got to know Tom a bit during the process of getting my art finished when a friend of his was looking to sell one of the Tuki 5 (upcoming nuptials). I jumped at the chance of course and couldn’t believe my eyes when it finally arrived: it was damn near perfect. The only problems were minor non-color breaking creases that could easily be pressed out. Best of all, I had the chance to read it which was the first time I had ever turned the pages of a 1st print #1. I enjoyed every second and prepared to send it off a week later.
I had CGC press it as well but I don’t think they pressed it as well as possible. They certainly didn’t damage the book but there are two indentations on the top third of the front cover that are probably keeping it from 9.9. Like I said, it is that great. I’ve honestly only ever seen one other scan/pic of a 1st print #1 that comes close (and it’s one of the Tuki 5).
I had it pressed and regraded in early 2022 as I thought it had a shot at 9.8 given my analysis of scans from other 9.8s in past auctions. It has no color breaking creases anywhere but I believe it’s the corners on the spine that keep it from NM/MT. Still a fantastic copy IMHO. Graded on March 21, 2022.
Inside The Comic
Twenty four pages of story with no ads. The inside front cover has an image of Thorn’s map in the dirt along with the only credit: By Jeff Smith. Obviously, there are no letters in this issue. The back cover has a panel from page 9 with Fone Bone shouting a warning to Phoney and Smiley.
It’s easy to forget that this was the first comic Jeff ever worked on given the fantastic quality of every page. He did a comic strip called Thorn when he was a student at Ohio State (which contained much of the existing Bone story) and worked as an animator at Character Builders. which he co-founded. Combining comic strip and animating skills helped him immensely in producing this finished product. He was 31 when the issue finally hit the comic store shelves.
Ad
The inside back cover is an advertisement for Bone #2 with a black & white image of the cover.
Estimated Print Run: 3000 (this number is from Jeff Smith himself who has made this claim in several interviews over the years)
Estimated Copies Sold: In a recent article about Disney Adventures magazine, Jeff said that #1 sold about 1,500 copies which was enough to pay for the printing and a little extra. The sales of #2-4 dropped, however, and #4 couldn’t pay for the printing.
Back Cover Collectible
Signed COA with Sketch
The Certificate of Authenticity is essentially what makes this book one of the Tuki 5. It’s similar to pedigree books that come with a COA. Though many comics from the more famous pedigrees have distinguishing features (like the Edgar Church/Mile Highs and Green Rivers), the certificate as well as the paper trail of ownership does its part to certify its provenance. The condition of the books themselves play their part as well, of course.
Why isn’t there a “From the Collection of Jeff Smith” on the label? To put it bluntly, CGC is a moneymaking operation. You can’t send in a single book and expect it to get a significant notation like this on the label (believe me, myself and another Tuki 5 owner have tried). All of them would have had to be sent at once by Cartoon Books and I’m afraid that ship has sailed. I still have its original bag & board but the only marking on these is from me so I never mix them up ;-)
|
|
|