Bone #22

Bone issue #22 was published in 1996 as part of the long-running independent fantasy series created by Jeff Smith. The series began in 1991, chronicling the adventures of the three Bone cousins—Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone—after they are exiled from Boneville. By the mid-1990s, the title had become a landmark of the self-publishing movement, lauded for its seamless blend of slapstick humor, high fantasy stakes, and a distinctive animation-inspired aesthetic that contrasted sharply with the gritty trends prevalent in mainstream comics at the time.

The visual language of the series was heavily influenced by Smith's background in animation and his appreciation for classic newspaper comic strips. With its clean line work and expressive character designs, the book sought to evoke a sense of timeless storytelling reminiscent of Carl Barks's work on Donald Duck or the sprawling epics of J.R.R. Tolkien. Issue #22 continued the complex 'Ghost Circles' storyline, deepening the mythology of the Valley while maintaining the character-driven charm that earned the series multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards.