With one foot in the world of DuckTales and another in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, Jeff Smith’s Bone is so confident and assured from its very first issue that it seems to have arrived fully formed, but it was actually the result of years of refinement. Syndicates balked at Smith’s creative vision for a four-panel comic strip version of Bone, but their loss was comic books’ gain, as the series became an indie darling in single issues and eventually blazed a trail for today’s YA graphic novel market. In this episode, we take a look at the first collection—Out from Boneville—learn about Smith’s surprising creative influences, and discuss what made Bone a true “all-ages” comic beloved by kids, librarians, and old-school comics fans alike.