‘Never Again’ Jeff Smith Responds to Netflix Cancelling ‘Bone’ Adaptation

The animated adaptation of Bone may have been canceled by Netflix, but in response to the cancellation, Bone cartoonist Jeff Smith just issued a ten-panel, one-page comic portraying two of the beloved series’ key characters re-enacting the football part from the famous comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles Schulz.

In the brief reaction comic, the titular protagonist Bone takes over for Charlie Brown, while his avarice-driven cousin Phoncible P. “Phoney” Bone takes over for Charlie Brown’s prickly companion Lucy. As the one-page comic progresses, Phoney and Bone go through a few variations of Chuck and Lucy’s infinite loop: Lucy offers the ball to Charlie Brown to kick, only for him to grab it away at the last second.

Animated comic book adaptations can sometimes be picked up by another studio after they have been canceled. Netflix, for example, recently revealed that it has picked up the Nimona adaptation that had been canceled by Disney at Blue Sky Studios. Given that Netflix is to blame for the cancellation in this situation, it appears unlikely that they will step in to save the day. However, given the public anger over the cancellation of the potential Bone series, some animation studios may see the desire for the show and produce at least one season.

In the meantime, you can show your support for Smith by reading Tuki, his most recent comic. The first book, which was originally funded through Kickstarter, is available at your local comic shop.