Juxtaposing Childhood and Adulthood in Jeff Smith’s “Bone”
The basic inconsistency of Bone – a series that takes slapstick cartoon characters & drops them into a nuanced high fantasy setting – plays a pivotal role in making the series an enduring classic, establishing poignant symbols of maturation for a generation of readers. #Bone 1/16
This approach worked well for Tintin by placing emphasis on the exotic locales of a comic (that was largely a travelogue) navigated by a character whose simple design allowed him to function as what Scott McCloud refers to as a “neutral mask” protagonist – easily relatable. 3/16
That embodiment is further reflected in the character attributes of the Bone family who evoke (almost constantly) a juvenile disposition and mindset, complete with a child’s understanding of relationships, commerce, and especially good and evil. 5/16
The valley, however, does not reflect such simplicity. It is populated by uneasy alliances, subjective morality, complicated loves and friendships, and even economical considerations that exceed the kind of greed exhibited by Phoney. 6/16
Bone can actually (yes really!) be read as diasporic literature with the cousins exiled from their homeland & forced to find community in the valley that they find themselves in. This mix thus dramatizes the path from childhood to adulthood as a diasporic journey in itself. 7/16
This approach is already a staple of the High Fantasy genre, as seen in Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Chronicles of Narnia, all of which portray young innocents (literally or metaphorically) on a journey through the allegorical horrors of the adult world. 8/16
Through Fone Bone and his cousins, the reader must learn to adapt to the adult environment that is presented to them, but this isn’t a one-way relationship; the text also celebrates the power and poignancy of the child-like spirit. 9/16
It is the innocence and naivety of the Bones that spurs the inciting force and, ultimately, its resolution in a story that celebrates the power of youth just as often as it subjects said youth to the existential horrors of the series’ analogue of the real world. 10/16
When paired with the books’ unparalleled success amongst a generation of young readers, it is especially interesting, then, to consider the impact of Bone on Gen Z or Millennials with regard to their collective cultural understanding of the value of childhood. 11/16
In the end, the Bones must return to their world, perhaps symbolizing a fundamental incompatibility between the two states of being. Fone (the most mature) hovers in uncertainty about returning with his cousins but he ultimately goes, his reasoning never actually explained. 12/16
His ending is circular, taking the boys (plus Bartleby) right back to where they started and with the same lighthearted tone. In contrast, the valley is irrevocably altered via the Bone’s adventure and the ascendancy of Thorn. 13/16
It’s a fitting ending, in that sense, for providing both resolution and irresolution – a chronicle of the need to mature and to find one’s place in the world as well as a testament to the importance of enduring innocence. As Thorn states outright: 14/16
“So much has changed since that day we met at the hot springs, and you walked out of the woods with your hat on fire. But not everything changes. Remember me when you’re back in Boneville.” And that is their goodbye. 15/16
This is again an example of something comics do extraordinarily well – juxtaposition. By juxtaposing innocent cartoonish characters with a brutal and realistic world, Bone creates a series of questions, symbols, and incongruities that add richness and complexity. 16/16