The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone, and the Changing Face of Comics

Millions know about the fantastic adventures of Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone, the bald, big-nosed cartoon characters created by Jeff Smith. The Bones appeared in black-and-white drawings in a series of 55 irregularly issued, self-published comic books over 13 years before being published by Scholastic, with newly added color, as a highly successful graphic novel in 2004. In this film directed by Ken Mills, Smith says he learned to read because he wanted to know what was going on in Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strips. He drew his first version of Fone when he was in kindergarten, and viewers get to see those early drawings, plus plenty of his Bone work, as well as examples from the seven years he spent as a commercial advertising animator. Other cartoonists—including Scott McCloud, Colleen Doran, and Harvey Pekar—contribute commentary, and the film features excerpts from an on-stage discussion between Smith and McCloud before an audience at Ohio State University, where Smith was a cartoonist for the student newspaper. DVD extras include the full 82-minute OSU conversation, and a featurette about Smith's post-Bone work on RASL, which he describes as “sci-fi noir” featuring an “interdimensional art thief.” Sure to be appreciated by Bone fans—and would-be cartoonists—this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P (F. Zoretich)