Bone Creator Jeff Smith Responds to Netflix Cancellation With New Comic

On Wednesday, the news broke that Netflix had canceled its animated adaptation of Jeff Smith’s  as part of its broader reduction of investment in animation. The news hit Bone fans hard, but none more so than Smith himself, who has been through this process before with Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. while trying to turn Bone into a movie. Smith responded to the news on social media in the most appropriate way possible for a cartoonist: with a new comics page. Smith posted a new page with Bone characters Fone Bone and Phoney Bone. In the comic, the two Bones reenact the classic Peanuts scene where Lucy pulls the football away as Charlie Brown tries to kick it. You can take a look for yourself below.

Netflix first announced the . At the time, Smith said, “Netflix is the perfect home for Bone.” Smith had offered an update on the series in 2021.

“There were a couple of people that worked on some shows that I [asked about],” Smith told Polygon at the time., “because I watched a bunch of Cartoon Network shows and some Netflix shows. Is this person around? Can we get this person? What’s this guy doing now? Or what’s she doing? And thanks to the pandemic, I was able to get everybody I wanted.”

“I say thanks because there were people that were in contract, but we were delayed by like, eight or nine months because of the pandemic; [by that time] the contracts were up, and I got everybody I wanted,” Smith added. “I don’t want to really say who they are, because I don’t want to steal Netflix’s thunder but, yes. I got my dream team of animation people, and I’m pretty excited about it so far.”

 For a time, Netflix seemed to see value in classic indie comics. Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. It even recently saved the canceled Nimona movie. It seems losing 200,000 subscribers changed priorities for the streamer.

As for Smith, he is continuing to make comics. His latest project is , which ComicBook.com spoke to Smith about in 2021. The second volume of the series debuts this year. 

How do you feel about Netflix abandoning its plans for Bone? Let us know in the comments section. Bone is still in print in multiple formats, both in color and in the original black and white.