Bone (The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume edition), by Jeff Smith

It took me slightly longer to read this entire series than it took Mr. Smith to write and illustrate it. I believe I picked up the first trade collection in 1994 or 1995, enjoyed it quite a bit, followed book one with books two and three in rapid succession and then just sort of petered out. I believe that book three was as far as the story went in collected form at that time and somehow I never came back around to the series once subsequent volumes were released. It wasn’t for lack of interest so much as due to competing interests.

Fast forward a few years to the release of the One Volume edition. Friends of mine who owned a bookstore carried the omnibus, and while I was tempted to throw the business their way, the $40 price point was always daunting. I never had objections to dropping a double double sawbuck on them at any given time, but faced with the choice between one big book or five to six smaller size books at the same price point, I somehow always opted for a diversified literary investment strategy.

Fast forward again. The store is gone (moment of silence), the One Volume edition has gone out of and back into print, and the recently completed gift card giving season changed the value proposition for this book. Between the largesse of friends and a deep online retailer discount, that $40 book set me back a grand total of $1.37. At that price, how could I refuse?

The story of Bone concerns the (mis)adventures of the three Bone cousins: Fone Bone (the hero), Phoney Bone (the rogue) and Smiley Bone (the not so holy fool). Physically, the Bones stand out among the largely human cast of the novel. They are the most cartoonish characters in the story. They are short, bald, pure white, with large bulbous noses and no externally visible ears.

Exiled from their home and lost in the desert, they find themselves in a valley (cleverly called The Valley) where they encounter dragons, monsters, magic, warriors, royals, and cows, among other things. They get caught up in a war, go an various quests, get separated, regroup, and (like good viewpoint characters since time immemorial) both witness and influence epic happenings.

While I remembered the general shape of the first three books, I was light on specifics, so I approached the story in something approaching a state of grace. The first three books encompass Act One of a larger story. There is a lot of set up, introduction of characters, establishment of the general characteristics of the players, hints at the larger plot, but the tone is lighter than what comes later. There is humor throughout the book, but in general, Mr. Smith limits the broad comedy and the outright slapstick to this first section.

As the book progresses, the tone gets more serious, and the art style gets more detailed. At the same time, there is a simplicity, even a gentleness to the story. Bone isn’t a fairy tale, exactly, but it’s also not a ponderous high fantasy. It exists somewhere in the middle, engaging and accessible and familiar. It’s appropriate for children without being childish. This is a strength; the story covers a lot of territory, both geographic and narrative, but moves at a good pace without getting bogged down with minutia and pretention.

This is also a weakness in some places. Bone is a Hero Story; in fact it is at least two Hero Stories intertwined with one another, specifically those of Fone Bone and his friend Thorn. One, Fone Bone’s, is a story about doing the right thing. The other, Thorn’s, is a story about identity, and about applying the lessons of self-knowledge and revelation to world-changing situations. The lighter tone and fast pace serves the first type of story well. Applied to the second type of story, this light tone occasionally results in a sort of narrative shorthand; if you know the storytelling beats of the standard coming of age/quest fantasy, it’s possible to fill in the blanks. If not, the story may feel like a gloss. On the other hand, readers who are not familiar with the conventions of the form may not recognize that they’re missing out on anything.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow

Future Disney World
Preserve the Haunted Mansion
Murder and intrigue

Dzur, by Steven Brust

Vlad Taltos returns
Interferes with the Jhereg
Enjoys a great meal

Write Stuff

It’s like this: The Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) strike doesn’t affect me directly. We don’t have cable, and have never bothered with an antenna, which means we don’t pull in broadcast channels either. I don’t care from award shows. I have several seasons and series worth of television to catch up on through the miracle of Netflix. My entertainment needs are covered for a good long while yet.

[In the interest of full disclosure, having caught up with the third season last month, I will beg, borrow, steal, or tape while housesitting the next season of LOST when it begins at the end of this month. But otherwise? I'm good.]

While I’m not affected by the strike as a consumer, I support the WGA 100% in this labor action. As many people more articulate and more invested in the issue have said already, the central issue behind the strike is perfectly simple: if someone makes a dollar from a created work, and a writer contributed to that act of creation, a portion of that dollar belongs to the writer. If someone finds a way to distribute that creation in another way, and that distrubution generates another dollar, guess what? A portion of that dollar belongs to the writer. That holds for every dollar, and every distribution channel. There is room for negotiation about the size of the writer’s share, but not about the existence of that share.

With their day jobs on hold, a couple of television writers started a blog for their peers. Why We Write is a forum for working writers, aspiring writers, and others to explain their chosen profession (obsession) to the world. The entries are interesting, and like all writing, some are better than others. The common thread through the entires is that writers write because they can’t not write.

Check it out.

“Stand back! I have powers! Political powers!”

I attended a Democratic Party political rally on Friday night. Strong remarks from Senator Kerry got things going.

My state representative offered a reasoned endorsement of Senator Clinton’s candidacy; he believes she has the ability and the knowledge to do the job*.

The gentlemen who spoke up for Senator Edwards offered a game but lifeless explanation of why he supports the candidate. The most charitable thing I can say about his endorsement is that it was marginally less damaging than having no one speak up for the candidate.

Any notion I had of giving my vote to Representative Kucinich during the primary was severely jeopardized by the gentleman who advocated for him. He took the stage with his little bound copy of the Constitution, and proceeded to explain to all us poor benighted poseur progressives the importance of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You know, phrasing that doesn’t appear anywhere in the the Constitution. Patronizing schtick is never going to get very far with me, and you lose all credibility when you @#$% up basic references.**

Finally, our state senator offered a powerful endorsement for Senator Obama. Despite his passion, and the passion evident among all of Senator Obama’s assembled supporters, I remain unconvinced. When you get past the candidate’s emotional appeal, I haven’t heard a satisfactory answer to the “Yes, and then what?” part of the Obama equation.

I went into the event with an open mind, and no clear favorite. I left the same way.

*If media coverage to date is any indicator, these qualities don’t seem to be playing much of a role in the campaign.

**This should go without saying, but it won’t, so let me be clear: this is a statement against the ineptitude of Congressman Kucinich’s proxy, and not against Mr. Kucinich, his candidacy, or his positions, except to the degree that the latter inspire the former.

The Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs

Marge, just about everything is a sin. [holds up the Bible] Y’ever sat down and read this thing? technically, we’re not allowed to go to the bathroom.

— Reverend Lovejoy, “Secrets of a Successful Marriage,” The Simpsons

A.J. Jacobs spent a year trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible. He took every rule, law, and precept at face value, and structured his life according to those dictates. The result is a deeply personal exploration of what it means to be a person of faith, or at least to inhabit the guise of a person of faith for a year.

Along the way, Mr. Jacobs wrestles with purity laws, dietary laws, laws governing clothing, child discipline, ritual, habit, and a host of other strictures related to conducting oneself in the sacred and secular worlds. He engages with a variety of Biblical faith communities from Orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians to snake handlers and progressive evangelicals. He approaches each group with an open mind (although he is honest about the places where he mind is less open), and finds something positive — sometimes something unexpected — in each encounter. And, like any man with a hobby, his alternately irritates his wife, and gives her reasons to take the wind out of the sails of his obsession.