Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails (Bone Book) (Bone Book) | Jeff Smith

Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails (Bone Book) (Bone Book) | Jeff Smith | Anything Bone is worthy, but Bone is worthier.

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Stupid Stupid Rat-...

	Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails (Bone Book) (Bone Book) Jeff Smith Cartoon Books, 2000 - 104 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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Cartoon Books announces the release of the Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails graphic novel featuring the work of Jeff Smith, Tom Sniegoski and Stan Sakai. This 104-page trade paperback includes the compilation of The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero which was released as a three-part mini-series by Cartoon Books. Discover every hilarious twist and turn of the fast-paced story of Big Johnson Bone and his adventures in the valley. Find out why the rat creatures in BONE no longer wear their tails long. In addition, this volume will include the compilation of Riblet, a back up story initially released in five parts through the BONE series. The rat creatures meet their match in this fun-filled romp written by Tom Sniegoski and illustrated by 1999 Eisner Award winner Stan Sakai.

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A good tall-tale

I read "Stupid Stupid Rat-Tails" before I read the original "Bone" series (I randomly grabbed it off the public library book shelf and hadn't really heard of Bone yet) - so maybe this makes me a little less harsh in my review of the book. I think SSRT is a nice, quick, tall-tale of a story with a fun adventure, and humerous characters and dialogue. It wasn't meant to be an epic like the main series "Bone", just a quick romp to fill us in on a bit of history of the rat creatures.

Being that it is a prequel-esque story, no previous knowlege of the Bone series is required. And long-time Bone fans should be aware that when you boil it down this book has very little connection to the larger "Bone" story other than Big Bone Johnson and the rat creatures themselves; I don't think it was meant to be any kind of lead-in to the Bone series.

Anyway, good rainy-day read when you need a chuckle or two. :D

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Anything Bone is worthy, but Bone is worthier.

Jeff Smith, Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails (Cartoon Books, 2000)

Yes, folks, it's Bone: The Prequel! Here we have the story of Big Johnson Bone, explorer by trade and founder of Boneville, and (obliquely) how he came to do so. This, as to be expected if you've read the Bone saga (and if you haven't, what on Earth are you waiting for?), involves a lot of cute baby animals, a dragon or two, and a large, incredibly stupid army of rat creatures. It's chock full of the same kind of stuff that makes Bone such a treasure.

Also added, for your reading enjoyment, is a Riblet comic. Set in the same world as the Bone stories (i.e., a world inhabited by stupid, stupid rat creatures), the Riblet stories are concerned with, no surprise here, Riblet, a baby boar. In this tale, Riblet has been kidnapped by a couple of rat creatures with a taste for pork, and must escape. Which is somewhat difficult, if you're not actually smart enough to realize you've been kidnapped.

Everything that comes out of Cartoon Books is worth reading. You want it all. I'd suggest starting with some of the earlier Bone stories before this, but you will eventually get around to it. Trust me. ****

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Silly and fun

I've loved all the Bone stuff I've read so far, and this volume makes a great digression from the main storyline. It's extremely humorous, and very creative. Bone fans ought to read it, and those new to Smith's work might enjoy it as well.

This Book for Fans' Eyes Only

This volume will serve better as a treat for fans than as an entry-level series for those unfamiliar with Bone.

Two stories are contained in this one volume. The first features an adventure of "Big" Johnson Bone, founder of Boneville and ancestor of the three Bones from the original series. Jeff Smith's artwork is up to its usual beautiful standards and Tom Sniegoski's writing gives Smith plenty of opportunity to exhibit his predilection for adorable baby animals and hare-brained adventure. The story is a self-conscious "tall tale" depicting Big Johnson as a self-aggrandizing pioneer with a tendency to get in and out of dire situations. The story is nothing new and lacks the depth (and length) of the original Bone, but that is to be expected. No one can write rat creature dialogue quite like Smith, but the rats are still humorous. Less funny and even annoying is the uptight talking monkey, Mr. Pip, who serves little purpose to the storyline and never quite lives up to his intended role of comic sidekick.

The other story, "Riblet," features the writing of Sniegoski and the art of Stan Sakai. Related to Bone by the presence of talking animals and stupid rat creatures, the story follows the rats' unfortunate run-in with a sadistic baby boar. The antics that ensue are reminiscent of Woody Woodpecker cartoons and, like Woody, may annoy readers who find inflicting injury on others less than funny.

Bone fans hungry for more will likely enjoy Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails, but the neophyte may walk away underwhelmed and not overly interested in pursuing Bone further.

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Partially Disappointed

I wish you could rate each story rather than the book as a whole. That said, the first story that Jeff Smith illustrated was excellent. It was witty, had roots with the main bone comic books, and very enjoyable. However, the second story was horrid. I have never read a comic that was so god awful! I honestly felt like my IQ had dropped about 10 points just by reading the dang thing.

I would NOT recommend buying this book because of the second story. It pains me to say that too, because the first story is really good, but not good enough to fork out 15 bucks for a few pages.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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