Line #30 Creator/JeffSmith


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3	[[http://www.boneville.com Jeff Smith]] (born February 27, 1960) is an Eisner and Harvey-winning American writer, cartoonist and former animator, best known for the independent comic, ''ComicBook/{{BONE}}''.
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5	Born in Pennsylvania, raised in Columbus, Ohio, Smith grew up from an early age with an interest in cartoons and comics, most notably the work of [[ComicStrip/{{Pogo}} Walt Kelly]], [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charles Schulz]], Creator/ChuckJones, Creator/CarlBarks and [[ComicStrip/ThimbleTheater E.C. Segar]]. As he got older, he got a taste for the narrative complexity found in literature and film, most notably ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Literature/MobyDick'', which is Smith’s all-time favorite book and is referenced repeatedly in ''Bone.''
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7	After graduating from Ohio State University (where he wrote and drew ''Thorn'', a sort of first-draft comic strip version of ''Bone''), he co-founded Character Builders, an animation company that specialized in commercials and credits openings. In 1991, he founded the comic book house Cartoon Books and that same year began to self-publish ''Bone,'' to critical and commercial success. He completed the 1,300-page epic in 2004 and released it all as one book, commonly referred to as [[{{Doorstopper}} the brick.]] That next year, Scholastic approached Smith with rereleasing ''Bone'', this time in full-color.
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9	Smith has also crafted other books, including ''Stupid Stupid Rat Tails'' and ''Rose'', two supplemental books in the Bone universe, ''ComicBook/{{RASL}}'', a FantasticNoir about a universe-hopping art thief, the light-hearted ''[[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil]]'', the children’s book ''ComicBook/LittleMouseGetsReady'' and the paleological adventure book, ''Tuki Saves the Humans.''
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12	!!Tropes Associated with Jeff Smith include:
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14	* BeatPanel: Both PlayedForLaughs and PlayedForDrama.
15	* BodyHorror: As light-hearted as Smith's stories are, they occasionally have intense moments of these, like the devolution of Kingdok in ''Bone,'' the effects of radiation in ''Rasl'' or the monster transformations in ''Shazam!''
16	* CastOfSnowflakes: Has a remarkable skill for creating unique, specific character designs.
17	* CerebusSyndrome: Invokes it incredibly well. He’s even admitted that he designed ''Bone'' from the beginning to start out rather fun and get increasingly dark over time.
18	* ChekhovsGun: Used liberally in many of is works.
19	* CopiouslyCreditedCreator: Creator, writer, penciler, inker and publisher of comics that span multiple genres.
20	* DeadpanSnarker: ''Bone'' has the biggest offenders, but all his works have at least one.
21	* DecoyProtagonist: ''Bone'' and ''Shazam'' are the best examples.
22	* {{Doorstopper}}: ''Bone'' is the biggest example at 1,200+ pages, while ''Rasl''’s 400+ pages aren’t anything to skimp about either.
23	* FantasyAmericana
24	* {{Fantasy}}: Tropes and elements from the genre are Smith’s bread and butter. They’re usually paired with elements from other genres, like [[FantasticComedy comedy]], [[FantasticNoir film noir]] and {{Superhero}}es.
25	* GenreMashup: ''Bone'' does this to good effect, combining HighFantasy with old cartoon comics to make something that doesn't fit squarely into either category.
26	* GenreRoulette:
27	** ''Bone'' is a comedy-drama set in a HighFantasy world with a comic book equivalent of the RogerRabbitEffect.
28	** ''Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails'' is a {{Slapstick}} comedy and ''Rose'' is a dark, fantasy drama, both set in the Bone universe.
29	** ''Rasl'' is a sci-fi noir with elements taken from Native American culture and real-life historical events.
30	** ''Shazam'' is a light-hearted {{Reconstruction}} of Golden-Age Superhero tropes, with elements of political satire thrown in.
31	** ''Little Mouse'' is a short, comical children’s book.
32	** ''Tuki'' is a historical adventure book with humorous elements about a stone-age wanderer trying to leave Africa.
33	* GenreThrowback: While liberally mixing moods and genres, Smith's work harkens back to older forms of cartooning, genres, and escapism entertainment.
34	* TheHerosJourney: Smith's stories often follow this, ''Bone'' most notably.
35	* OneWordTitle: ''Bone'' and ''Rasl.'' While they do have surnames, ''Shazam!'' and ''Tuki'' are usually referred to as such.
36	* ProductionPosse: Most of his books are colored by Steve Hamaker, his business is managed by his wife Vijaya Iyer and the books he only provides art for are written by Tom Sniegowski.
37	* {{Reconstruction}}: Most of Smith's works qualify, as they tend to sincerely and masterfully use the tropes of his favorite genres and tones, like fantasy, noir, superheroes and golden-age cartooning, while also giving them more narrative complexity and mixing them together.
38	* RunningGag: Smith is fond of these, given that several of his works are long-running stories with strong continuity.
39	* SceneryPorn: His lushbrush work, luscious landscapes and great character design are examples of such, with Steve Hamaker’s color as the cherry on top.
40	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Firmly on the Idealistic end, but ''Rasl'' is fairly cynical.

Context Creator / JeffSmith