COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Bone 30
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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0216070002
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Owner:
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DocGo
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Label Notes
Jeff Smith story, cover, and art
Synopsis
Fone Bone & Smiley meet up with a group of orphans as they look for a way to escape Rock Jaw. After finding a secret tunnel within their hiding place, they find themselves outside again but staring at a temple that looks like it was constructed by rat creatures.
The Slab
Highest grade Signature Series book! My raw copy signed by Jeff at the 2014 Emerald City Comic-Con. Thanks to dscott for facilitating. Officially graded by CGC on May 10, 2014.
Inside The Comic
Twenty pages of story, two pages of letters, a five page teaser for Tales from the Bog, a three page review of Pogofest, one page for an ad and a page for “You know you’re a Bone fan when…” The inside front cover has a drawing of Fone Bone and Smiley from page 15 with the black & white “coloring” reversed. The brief prologue is on the top left and the credits are as follows: Written and Drawn by Jeff Smith, Cover Color by Elizabeth Lewis. For Cartoon Books: Vijaya Iyer as President and Kathleen Glosan as Assistant. The back cover features a panel from page 5 showing Fone Bone and Smiley conversing with their new animal friends about Bartleby.
Bone-a-Fides
The Bone-a-Fides had letters from around the world in this issue including Germany, Belgium, and Mexico City. The German basically ripped Jeff a new one complaining about the story in #28 and the “derivative” Rock Jaw character who looked too much like Khan from the Jungle Book. He also said that the story was far too short for the cost since people in Germany have to pay freight on top of the $3 cover price. The Belgian tore down the entire American comic scene (with Bone as the exception) and the Mexican said that his fellow readers almost have to fight each other for new issues. Jeff always did have a sense of humor with his letter choices ;-)
In his final word, Jeff mentioned the comics/books he was currently reading which included: Tykes by Steve Weissman, The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan, Akiko #18 by Mark Criley, Astro City #10 by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, Stray Bullets #14 by David Lapham, Coober Skeeber 2 edited by Tom Devlin, and Sin City: Family Values by Frank Miller.
Pogofest
The Pogofest review was filled with pictures from the convention with Jeff, Vijaya, and other creators who made the journey. He said that it was “a three day event that included parades, a fair, a boat trip through the swamp, dinners, and…a great cow race!” Jeff received a star on the Cartoonist Walk of Fame and a giant cake featuring Fone Bone. Much of Walt Kelly’s family attended as did editorial cartoonist Sam Rawls (better known as Scrawls) who drew a cartoon of two alligators discussing Jeff Smith…after eating him.
Ads
The ad page is for the Pogofest t-shirt featuring Pogo, Albert Alligator, Fone Bone, and Smiley. The Smiley Bone/Mystery Cow statue by Randy Bowen was included as well (both items produced by Graphitti Designs). The inside back cover has the same Riblet preview from the last issue.
You know you’re a Bone fan when…
The final page was from an internet post by Redd, aka Kenny Wong, from the UK. It begins with the heading “You may be suffering from Bone Withdrawal Syndrome if you’re experiencing the following (listed in order of increasing severity):” Here are a few examples:
1. You keep asking when the next issue is going to arrive.
3. You start to see eggs at your local supermarket as potential currency.
4. You start to rub your hands together and cackle with glee when you benefit from a situation.
The rest of the list is mildly amusing and harkens back to many of the plot points in Bone up to this moment (January 1998). It’s also a jab at how long we had to wait for each new issue back in the 90s and early 2000s. The pain was real but ultimately worth it ;-)
Estimated Copies Sold thru Diamond: 24791
Back Cover Collectible
2025 Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook VIP Edition
The Baltimore Comic-Con does these every year for a particular guest’s property and in 2025 it was all about Jeff Smith’s Bone. Other guest artists submit illustrations and they usually include each artist’s own creations along with the Yearbook’s theme. There are 89 separate drawings in this one with most in full color. They also show the colored and black & white versions of Jeff’s cover drawing. It’s a well-produced hardcover that sold for $29.99. Attendees with VIP tickets could secure the aptly-titled VIP Edition while everyone else could purchase the regular edition with the colored Kingdok & Fone Bone cover.
The illustrations themselves are very interesting and definitely worthy of a look. Most are fairly well done but a few definitely look rushed (no idea how much time they were given). Other than Jeff’s, my favorites are the following: Khoi Pham, Charles Vess, Jim Cheung (in Pat L’s CAF gallery), Mike McKone, David Petersen, Steve Conley, Kelly Yates, and Chris Williams. Bios of all the artists fill the last few pages.
I won the inscribed-version in an eBay auction for way too much ;-) Didn’t think it would go for half what I paid but, apparently, several disagreed. Loved the quote so I’ll live with it. There is some handling wear on the book itself so I’d call it VF/NM.
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