Bone graphic novels in order

The Graphix color edition has nine volumes: Out from Boneville, The Great Cow Race, Eyes of the Storm, The Dragonslayer, Rock Jaw, Old Man’s Cave, Ghost Circles, Treasure Hunters and Crown of Horns. They collect the original 55-issue run that Jeff Smith self-published from 1991 to 2004. Crown of Horns is the final volume.

Read the nine volumes in number order, starting with Out from Boneville and ending with Crown of Horns. It is one continuing story that gets larger as it goes, so skipping volumes will leave gaps. Our checklist lists all nine, remembers what you have ticked and shows the next book to pick up.

For most new readers, the color Graphix volumes are the easiest start, especially for children. The original black-and-white edition from Cartoon Books is a single large omnibus, and a one-volume color edition also exists. Choose by format and budget, and check the listing for page count before you decide.

We place Bone in our ages 9 to 12 band. It opens as a funny adventure and grows into a longer fantasy with real danger, and the later volumes are darker. Look through a volume with your child, and think about whether they are ready for the heavier moments in the second half of the series.

Some of it is. There are menacing creatures and a threat to the whole valley, and the story gets more serious as it goes. The early volumes lean on comedy. If your child is easily frightened, start with the first volume and see how they react before buying the rest of the series.

Try other fantasy adventures such as Amulet, the Wings of Fire graphic novels or Mouse Guard. For something shorter by the same creator, Jeff Smith also wrote Little Mouse Gets Ready, an early-reader comic. The Comic Finder can filter by age and genre to show more.