For those heading to San Diego Comic Con, be sure to visit Jeff Smith and check out the Bone deluxe 20th Anniversary edition (pictured below). Be prepared to shell out $350. I believe that you can go to his website, purchase the book and then pick it up at one of the cons he’ll be at.
He’s also releasing BONE One Volume Slipcase Edition in October which looks like the deluxe addition without the accessories. No pricing on that yet.
Visit his site for details and what comic-cons he’s attending to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
I wish I had expendable cash…I would love to own a copy of this. My own volume is in terrible shape from being read so much.
I love BONE, and think Jeff Smith’s an amazing talent. But I don’t get all these reissues. Just like I don’t get books reprinted w/ a little new material an older version didn’t have, or the Star Wars movies being re-released (Gold version! Silver version!) on DVD ad infinitum. You sold us the old stuff, already. Give us something new, please.
Jeff,
This reissue set is the first time the series has been printed in full color in a single volume. I love the black and white Bone stuff, but the color Bone is absolutely stunning. I would agree that the $350 price tag is excessive, even with all the “extra” goodies included in this special edition. I would expect that this is a precursor to a release of a more affordable full color edition somewhere down the road.
I think asking for “newer” Bone material from Jeff (outside of his brilliant RASL) is akin to asking for more Lord of the Rings from Tolkien. You can’t and shouldn’t add anything to a classic. It dilutes the genius of it all.
Drew, I check your website out on a regular basis. Good resources there.
Sorry, I didn’t mean more Bone, I meant more Jeff Smith. RASL is his only new project since Bone (other than a kids’ book or two). He can afford to do as much or as little as he wants, and has earned the right. My point is, how much more money do you want to earn off your fans for something that’s essentially a fancier version of the same thing?
I’d read somewhere a color Bone single volume was coming out. I was mistaken thinking it was a paperback, like the b&w single volume.
Bone is a wonderful creation, and deserves anniversary editions, but there’s a limit in my opinion. Again, believe me, I say this as a huge admirer of Smith’s work.
“Standard Operating Procedure” for some comic companies is to sell something more expensive and unique (hard-cover plus DVD plus etc.) for the FANS first, and then sell the softcover to the general public at a much lower price some months later…
I’ll be patiently awaiting the softcover.
For those unhappy with the price of the Bone deluxe 20th Anniversary edition, please remember: Jeff published it on his own. Do any of you have any idea as to how difficult and expensive it is for a guy with a staff of only four people-two of whom have no extra time-to publish and manufacture something as elaborate as the deluxe edition ON THEIR OWN?? They aren’t Disney or Marvel or DC. It’s five people total, and everything that Jeff creates has to pay the bills for all five of them. Jeff and his staff of four had to find a resource for every last item in the deluxe set, from the pewter figurines to to envelope that holds the lithograph. When you aren’t a major corporation with bulk purchasing power that can get very, very expensive. Publishing the color one volume edition alone costs them a bloody fortune; they aren’t making much money off of any of it. They are doing it because their fans asked them to, and the deluxe edition is selling quickly. They’re even trying to be green about it by planting trees to offset the carbon footprint of the products-and that costs money too. Tell their fans “there should be a limit”, tell their manufacturers that the price tag is “excessive”. Cartoon Books is giving the best they can to those who demand special editions, and Jeff is working as fast as he possibly can on RASL. Five people can only do so much.