DocGo

The other two (9.4 #3 & 9.4 #4) should be interesting as well. It's been almost a year since a 9.4 #4 (or anything higher) has come to market and only the 9.8 of #3 has been on the auction block for over a year and a half (9.4 and above). Good luck Colin!

The Hooded One only appears on three first print covers and this was the last. Every one of those appearances have been difficult to find in ultra high grade too, so I was happy to acquire this one. What is Jeff's obsession with darkly colored covers (not to mention those darn black back covers)? It continues into RASL too. Ugh...

This 10th Anniversary book came out between #44 and #45 in the summer of 2001. It was the first time Cartoon Books depicted the story portion of Bone in a full color comic book (Disney Adventures magazine reprinted Bone #1-6 in color during the mid to late 90s). The back of the book contains an interesting eight page analysis of Jeff's storytelling style that includes pics of early drafts of the opening splash drawn on yellow college ruled paper. When you bought this issue at a comic store, you also received a " free" PVC figure of Fone Bone (sorta explains the $5.99 price ). Not many of these were printed so it can be a struggle to find one in ultra high grade. The one below was purchased as a slab from Grails then autographed by Jeff at the Flying Colors Comics signing (witnessed by Joel Elad).

The following are my keepers from NYCC via EvilAsh & MutantKeys:

Huge KUDOS to both EvilAsh & MutantKeys for my Watchmen SSs! I'm very happy with the services they provided! Pics to come...

Here's yet another mschmidt 9.8 that I was able to wrangle. If I remember correctly, it's the only cover in the series without a character featured in the art (the impression of Phoney is from the interior). The design of the ancient city of Atheia was inspired by a trip that Jeff made in 2001 to Katmandu. He delves into these details in an interview included in the letters section of the book. Note: The crack on the bottom of the slab occurred in an accident that I caused. The book doesn't appear to have been affected.

So you have the other #5 & #6? Nice work!

After the final chapter of the second act of the Bone saga (Bone #37), Mr. Smith went on a short hiatus with two prequel minis: Rose and Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails. Rat Tails was the first to publish and it's a pretty good series. I really like the character of Big Johnson Bone while some of the others can be a little annoying (I believe the story was geared more towards a younger crowd). There's always been talk of a second series but nothing beyond that. I purchased the book itself raw from mschmidt and sent it to Joel for the December signing.

The Holiday Special was polybagged with the December issue of Hero back in '93. The five page story at the beginning of the comic has the cousins celebrating the Winter Solstice with Gran'ma Ben & Thorn while Fone, filled with the holiday spirit, brings a freshly baked quiche to a pair of rat creatures in the nearby forest (which they gladly accept). There's also an interview with Jeff and a few reprints of the old Thorn comic strip from his cartooning days at the Ohio State University newspaper, The Lantern (early 80s).

One of the great Phoney covers! Once again, this was a raw that I sent to Joel for the Flying Colors Comics signing. Jeff went much smaller with his signature back in the day which I will always prefer (you can see what I mean on some of the Qualifieds that float around), but I can't argue too much when he includes a little Ted sketch.

I love this issue. Gran'ma Ben storms into the forest after eavesdropping on Fone and Thorn tell each other about their dreams of the Great Red Dragon and Phoney and Lucius make their infamous wager where they split the bar in two to see who can make the most profit. The weird thing about the cover is at no point in the story are Phoney & Smiley washing dishes. Perhaps it symbolizes their present state of affairs with Lucius and how Phoney is desperately trying to get out of his debt (see The Great Cow Race for how they fell out of favor with Lucius). Anyway, I challenge anyone to find a better dishwashing cover. This comic was a raw that I sent to Joel for an SS. Mr. Elad was nice enough to ask Jeff for a little sketch of Ted the Bug as well.

This is another great cover in the series. I've had bad luck with raws of this particular book but mschmidt bailed me out by selling me this slab (and it happens to be one of the best 9.8s I've ever seen). Does anyone else like covers with rain?

Here is the first of my recent additions to my registry set. This was not my slabbed 9.8 but a raw that I picked up early last year. Graded it as a structural 9.8 but there is a mark on the "B" that I was a little worried about. I'm assuming the graders saw it as a printing error of some sort and didn't downgrade the book . Joel handled it perfectly and Mr. Smith graced it with a Ted doodle (I know it barely qualifies as a sketch but that's simply what Ted is). The "Phoney as Captain Ahab" is a recurring theme in the series but this is his only cover.

They're all spectacular! It must have been a fun time opening the box! It was great! I'm sure you know what that feeling is like.

Posted the books I got done at the recent Jeff Smith signing in the Infinite Signature Thread. I'll probably post the ones I'll be keeping in this thread with the individual stories behind them later next week.

Alright, here's my haul from the Jeff Smith signing on December 6th. All of the below were raws that were witnessed by the great Joel Elad. Most of these also include sketches of one of my favorite characters in the series: the one and only Ted the Bug. Enjoy!

Huge Kudos to Joel Elad for my batch of Bone SSs with sketches!!! :headbang: Pics will go up later tonight in the Bone Appreciation Thread (will post a link in the Infinite Signature Thread as well).

:o ...

, love the Crown of Horns black covers.