World Famous Comics: Treasure Hunters (Bone, Book 8)
Treasure Hunters (Bone, Book 8)
By: Jeff Smith Publisher: Cartoon Books Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Cartoon Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: November 20, 2002
Product Description: In a strange roof-top kitchen, high above the crowded streets of ancient Atheia, the Bone cousins try to save the city from the clutches of a tyrant. They learn that whoever controls Atheia's fabled treasures will win the loyalty of the soldiers, but time is running out -- The Hooded One is drawing near, leading a legion of Rat Creatures bent on the destruction of the city and everyone in it!
Jeff Is Back! BONE's silly fun has returned! The one thing that bothered me about GHOST CIRCLES was the lack of humor, but Jeff Smith has made BONE hilarious again. Gran'ma, Thorn, and the bones have reached the ancient city of Atheia, which is now packed with the survivors of the ghost circles. However, they find out that corruption has taken hold even in the capital city. A new branch of Veni-Yan-Cari (holy men loyal to the dragons) has sprung up and refused to bow to the dragons. Their leader, Tarsil, has assumed control of Atheia and will not let anyone loyal to the dragons live in peace.
All cities have currency, and, of course, Phoney's just aching for a bundle. Once again using Smiley as his assistant, he's trying to locate Tarsil's legendary treasure. Packed with humor, horror (the scene with Thorn walking toward the shadow, oooh scary), and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you groping for CROWN OF HORNS, BONE is back with more!
Good as Gold!!! This was definately as good as all the others hands down 5 stars. The humor certanly rturned with book 8. I loved the part about the "blank sandwiches" (you should look at the expression on both Bartleby and Phoney's faces). All in all still one of the best comic book sieries. Only Problem...MAKE MORE
Putting the pieces in place for the climax And so with "Treasure Hunters," we take the final step before the end of the "Bone" series. In this, the eighth of nine volumes, we see a return to the humor that has run through much of the series ("Ghost Circles" was grim indeed).
"Bone" is an huge story about three "bone creatures" and their adventures in a quaint valley of peasants, hidden princesses, dragons and creatures. Like a dark cloud looming over it all is the menace of a great evil intent on taking over the world. The series starts off lighthearted, but grows to become an epic story rooted in fantasy, without the Tolkienesque elves and dwarves.
This installment bring us into a city rather than the valley that has been at the center of the series. The forward progression for the grand tale is small indeed here. Instead, Smith begins to position all of the pieces of the puzzle for the final climax, while unexpectedly adding a few new pieces - a religious tyrant and an underground rebellion - to make the climax all that much more frantic.
Most of the action in "Treasure Hunters" takes place in the city. Few side plots or diversions outside of the city show up. The result is one of the faster reads of the "Bone" series. This is the kind of comic tale that will appeal to a wide demographic. Smith combines the classic storytelling perfected by the likes of Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge) and Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) - characters with outrageous and expressive faces and gestures - with the epic plotting of a sweeping fairy tale. "Bone" manages to balance the two well enough to be something fans of both Donald Duck and Frodo Baggins can enjoy.
There is no doubt people will still be reading "Bone" 50 years from now. Broad and epic in scope yet personal and quaint, this is a charming story in every way that will surely outlast most other comic works on the shelf.
Less than expected This is the eighth installment of the Bone series. It continues to follow the adventures of the Bones and Thorn. The big change in this story is that it moves from the outdoors to the city. Nearly all of the action takes place in the city of Atheia. Thorn comes closer to understanding her role in the world.
Generally speaking, I love the Bone series, and I have rated all of the previous books with five stars. However there are some weak points in this book which prevent me from giving it five stars. One point is that the shift from the outdoors to the city gives this book a rather cramped feel. I believe that Jeff Smith has a certain talent for drawing outdoor scenes, and that talent doesn't seem to be in use in this book. Another point is that a lot of new characters are introduced, which takes away page space from the characters we already know and love, and what is worse, the new characters are not in the least bit interesting. They are all stock types. Also I cringed to see the appearance of dwarfs and gnomes in the city. One of the points I liked about the Bone series is the freedom it had from the typical swords and sorcery fantasy, but I guess he ran out of ideas.
Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad book. It's just not as good as the others. Of course if you're following the Bone story, you have to get this. Let's just hope that Smith regains his touch in the next book. Oh, and no more gnomes please.
Good, but... I love Bone, and I would unhesitatingly give every collection up to this one five stars. This was the first volume that let me down. Jeff Smith had previously concentrated on a handful of very well-developed, very likable, surprisingly complicated characters. In this volume, he expands the cast by about twofold, and most of the new characters are grotesques who aren't particularly engaging. Their most interesting characteristics are their funny-looking eyebrows/nose rings/beards/moustaches/teeth. The city of Atheiea is filled with hundreds of misshapen freaks who don't serve much purpose, and reminded me of Jabba the Hutt's palace. If the dark and intense "Ghost Circles" was the "Empire Strikes Back" of the series, "Treasure Hunters" is the "Return of the Jedi". And "Return of the Jedi" was awful.
I hope that Jeff Smith will be able to handle all the new plot lines and characters he's introduced here. Given that he's Jeff Smith, he just might do so masterfully, but for the first time in this series, I'm doubtful.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
