Bone
The three Bone cousins — the hapless Fone Bone, the greedy Phoney Bone, and the lazy Smiley Bone — are exiled from Boneville and wander into a mysterious valley inhabited by humans, a giant dragon, and creatures called rat creatures who serve a mysterious evil force. What begins as lighthearted physical comedy gradually reveals itself as an epic Tolkien-influenced fantasy narrative of kingdoms and ancient prophecies. The visual contrast between the cartoonish Bones and the realistically rendered human characters is deliberate and striking.
Bone is one of the most successful self-published comics in history, sold by Jeff Smith through his own company Cartoon Books before being collected by Scholastic, where it became one of the best-selling graphic novel series in school libraries. It proved that independent creator-owned comics could achieve both critical acclaim and mainstream commercial success, and its combination of Peanuts-style cartoon character design with epic fantasy storytelling influenced a generation of graphic novelists.
Smith self-published Bone beginning in 1991 as the direct-market comic shop system was supporting a wave of independent creator-owned titles. His choice to retain all rights while distributing through Diamond Distributors established a model for creator ownership that contrasted sharply with the work-for-hire practices of DC and Marvel.
Phil Seuling's creation of a direct distribution system — selling non-returnable comics directly to specialty shops — broke the newsstand monopoly and allowed small publishers to reach dedicated readers without national distribution. This infrastructure enabled the creator-owned revolution and made possible the publications of titles like Cerebus, Elfquest, and eventually Maus and Watchmen.