Eyes of the Storm (1996)
Eyes of the Storm Review
Eyes of the Storm is the third volume of Bone comics written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. It was first published in 1996.
In this volume, Fone Bone and Thorn are troubled by strange dreams and then Gran’ma Ben’s reveals long-kept secrets and warns of great danger. Thorn, Fone Bone, and Gran’ma Ben may have to leave the farm forever. Whereas the first volume was a mix of serious and comedic and the second was almost wholly comedic, this one is entirely serious with very little comedic elements. It worked as it led to a more eventful and suspenseful story.
Well, there are amusing elements to be found here and those are fully devoted to the pages with Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone. The tavern scenes were overlong for what was a very simple story and purpose, but they still worked because they were witty and so well written. Lucius was so memorable here and I loved his dynamic with the two Bones.
But the bulk of this particular volume focuses on Thorn, Fone Bone and Gran’ma Ben. She finally reveals everything to Thorn and we realize that she is a princess and that her parents were killed by the Rat Creatures. This was a crucial moment in the series that finally pushed the plot forward and gave it more momentum, but it also opened up the world and its history, effectively making it feel richly expansive. It’s a full epic fantasy at this point and I am loving every second of it.
This is a gorgeous-looking volume as expected. The colors palette is beautiful, the forest felt eerie and creepy, and the character designs are still phenomenal. There is a lot of emphasis here on atmosphere and that led to such a dark and intense read. Thorn finally having a purpose was a great development and the story is becoming quite ambitious. There isn’t much action or humor to be found in this volume as the story came first, but it was crucial to move the plot forward and the author did just that.
