They say all things come to those who wait, and here's proof:  The complete Bone -- all 55 issues, which were heretofore collected in 9 volumes, retailing for a total of well over $100.00 -- in one 1344-page volume for one amazingly low price.

The eleventh volume in the immensely popular Bone series, Tall Tales collects previously published material along with an all-new framing sequence that weaves it all together, featuring Smiley, Bartleby, Ring, Bingo and Todd telling the "tall tales" that fill the collection.  The largest portion of the book is a now-colored-by-Steve-Hanamaker representing of the out-of-print, B&W collection Stupid, Stupid Rat Tales, which features the adventures of Big Johnson Bone, that was written by Tom Sneigowski and drawn by Bone-creator, Smith.  In addition there is a hard-to-find short story that originally appeared in Disney Adventures Magazine.  Technically, the story-telling framing sequence takes place after the conclusion of the Bone saga, while the stories that they tell take place before, making them prequels of a sort.  This volume will set snugly on the shelf next to the previous ten volumes in the Bone saga, and is sure to be enjoyed by all its fans.

This year's editor, Jeff Smith, famous for his epic cartoon fantasy, Bone, has – in addition to excerpting the latest from comics standard bearers like Alison Bechdel, Craig Thompson, Paul Pope, Terry Moore, et al – has scored some excellent work by some of today's most adventurous younger cartooonists, including Michael DeForge, Sam Alden, Jesse Jacobs, Laura Park, Sophie Goldstein and Malachi Ward.  And there is plenty more great work by others who fall inbetween these two camps, such as Sammy Harkham, Joseph Lambert, Leela Corman, Derf Backderf and many others.  It's simply another great Best American anthology.  Great job, Jeff!