Warner Bros. has picked up rights to "Bone," the acclaimed independent comic book series from artist Jeff Smith. Dan Lin will produce.

The fantasy series followed three cousins from the Bone family who are small, white and bald humanlike creatures with big noses. The trio are run out of their hometown and find themselves in a mysterious valley where they are separated and hunted by other creatures. They are taken in by a girl named Thorn and her grandmother, and find out that the valley is threatened by an evil force called the Lord of the Locusts.

The series ran irregularly from 1991-2004. Scholastic has been publishing the collected stories in graphic novel format since 2005, selling more than 1 million copies so far.

Smith, who will executive produce, was influenced by classic cartoonists Walt Kelly, Charles Schultz and Will Eisner on the series, which won several comic awards. Smith went on to become a noted artist whose work will be exhibited in the spring at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Ohio.

A decision on what kind of format "Bone" should take -- live-action or animated or both -- will be based on filmmaker meetings.

An animated version was in development at Nickelodeon Films but fell through, partly because Smith was displeased that the studio was aiming it for kids and wanted the film to include pop songs.

Jon Silk at Lin Pictures brought the project in and is a co-producer. Jessica Goodman is the studio executive. Smith is repped by Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Harris Literary Agency.

Telltale, Inc. is pleased to announce the immediate availability of its first interactive tale based on “Out from Boneville,” from Jeff Smith’s acclaimed Bone series. Visitors to the Telltale website can also download a free demo version of the game.

Telltale, an emerging pioneer in interactive adventures and entertainment, is making this title available through its direct-to-consumer Telltale Now™ channel, for downloading titles over the Internet. This can be accessed at the bone.telltalegames.com URL.

The Bone adventures begin with three cousins – Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone – who become separated in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures and new mysteries that await them.

Hailed by reviewers and educators alike as engaging for all ages, the Bone books have become the anchor for a series of graphic novels from Scholastic’s new Graphix imprint.

“I’ve worked very closely with Telltale as they’ve been developing this title and have been very impressed,” says Jeff Smith, creator of Bone.

“They’ve done an amazing job capturing the essence of my story and adapting it for a new medium – with great animation, voices, and fun puzzles and games worked into the story in a very natural way.”

“We’re finding that Bone plays really well as an interactive tale,” says Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale. “It has terrific characters, an interesting setting and a story that hits on many different levels. It has something for everyone, with an approachable narrative for kids; fun mini-games and puzzles; and deeper elements for fans of classic adventures and epic sagas.”

Telltale has created innovative tools, designed specifically for rapid development of high quality, space-efficient titles for digital distribution. With this approach, Telltale has the ability to publish new Bone episodes regularly, with the next one scheduled for early 2006.

Those interested in Telltale’s “Out from Boneville” can download a free demo from bone.telltalegames.com and other popular download sites. They can un-lock the full story for $19.99 without any additional downloads.

press release:
Spirit of Will Eisner Lives on at Eisner Awards

The 17th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were bestowed on Friday July 15 in a gala ceremony in the ballroom at the San Diego Convention Center. The awards event was dedicated to Eisner, who died in January. His presence was felt throughout the evening, as presenter after presenter shared thoughts about the late comics giant. The ceremony was preceded by a slide show of Eisner’s career and a video with taped tributes from many creators who couldn’t attend, including Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, and Dave Sim. Will’s widow, Ann, appeared briefly on stage to welcome everyone.

The Eisner award winners were spread out among a variety of creators and titles, with only a few projects winning two trophies. The multiple winners were Kyle Baker and Plastic Man (Best Writer/Artist Humor; Best Publication for a Younger Audience), Eric Powell and The Goon (Best Humor Publication, Best Continuing Series), Brian K. Vaughan and Ex Machina (Best Writer, Best New Series), Fables (Best Serialized Story, Best Cover Artist for James Jean), and The Complete Peanuts (Best Archival Project, Best Publication Design).

Dave Gibbons’s The Originals (Vertigo) took the Best Graphic Album–New category, while Jeff Smith’s massive Bone One Volume Edition was named Best Graphic Album–Reprint. The Best Single Issue award went to Dan Clowes’ Eightball #23, following in the footsteps of the 2002 win for Eightball #22. Similarly, Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha vols. 3-4 was awarded Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material, the category won by vols. 1-2 last year.

Comic Book Artist won the Best Comics-Related Periodical for the fourth time, while the Best Comics-Related Book award went to Gerard Jones’s Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book. The first winner of the award for Best Digital Comic was Brian Fies for the autobiographical "Mom’s Cancer," and many members of his family were on hand to see him accept. Writer Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place, Mary Jane) took home the trophy for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.

Among publishers, DC Comics and its imprints had seven (plus five shared) winners, led by Plastic Man, Ex Machina, and Fables. The Best Penciller/Inker category was a tie between two DC artists: John Cassaday (WildStorm’s Planetary, along with Astonishing X-Men for Marvel) and Frank Quitely (Vertigo’s WE3). DC creators also took home the honors for Best Painter (Teddy Kristiansen for the graphic novel It’s a Bird . . .) and portions of Best Coloring (Dave Stewart) and Best Lettering (Todd Klein—his 12th win in the category). The Best Limited Series award went to Darwyn Cooke’s popular DC: The New Frontier.

Dark Horse can claim five winners along with shares of two others. Besides Powell’s The Goon, Dark Horse winners included Best Anthology (Michael Chabon’sThe Amazing Adventures of the Escapist), Best Writer/Artist (Paul Chadwick for Concrete: The Human Dilemma), and Best Short Story (Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s "Unfamiliar").

The Peanuts and Eightball wins gave Fantagraphics three awards. Marvel shared in three awards (Penciller/Inker, Lettering, Coloring), but no other publisher had more than one winner.
Sergio Aragonés presented the Hall of Fame Awards. The judges’ choice awards went to the Golden Age artist Lou Fine and to the Asterix team of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The four elected inductees were Johnny Craig, Hugo Pratt, Nick Cardy, and Gene Colan. Both Cardy and Colan were present to accept their trophies. Adele Kurtzman accepted for Craig.

Besides Aragonés, Eisner presenters included Denis Kitchen, Jill Thompson, Scott McCloud, Joss Whedon, Michael Uslan, Michael Chabon, Pia Guerra, Dave Gibbons, and Jeff Smith. All made introductory comments about Will Eisner, from amusing anecdotes to heartfelt gratitude.
Among the other awards given out over the evening were the Comic-Con’s Clampett and Manning awards. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Bob’s daughter Ruth, went to George Pérez for his donation of artwork to raise money for several charities, especially A.C.T.O.R. The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to Chris Bailey, writer/artist of the all-ages title Major Damage, published by Sky Dog Press.

New this year was the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The chair of the awards jury, Jerry Robinson, presented the first Bill Finger Awards to Jerry Siegel (accepted by his widow, Joanne) and to Arnold Drake, who roused the crowd with a hilarious a caeplla song about the San Diego Comic-Con.

The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award was presented by Joe Ferrara. This year’s winner was Night Flight Comics of Salt Lake City, owned by Mimi Cruz and Alan Carroll. CBLDF board member Greg Ketter presented the Fund’s Defender of Freedom Award to Denis Kitchen, founder of the Fund, who spoke about the fact that 20 years after its inception the Fund is needed more than ever.

The major sponsor for the 2005 Eisner Awards is mycomicsshop.com. The principal sponsors are Century Guild, Diamond Comic Distributors, Gentle Giant, Isotope, and Odd Lott. Supporting sponsors include Alternate Reality Comics (Las Vegas), Atlantis Fantasyworld (Santa Cruz, CA), Comic Relief—The Comic Bookstore (Berkeley, CA), comicsunlimited.com, Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff (Concord, CA), Quebecor Printing, and Star*Reach. Ballots were tabulated by Mel Thompson and Associates.

Following is a complete list of the 2005 award winners. More information on the awards can be found at www.comic-con.org.
Winners, 2005 Eisner Awards:

Best Short Story: ""Unfamiliar," by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, in The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft (Dark Horse Books)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Eightball #23: "The Death Ray," by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics)

Best Serialized Story: Fables #19-27: "March of the Wooden Soldiers," by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series:The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)

Best Limited Series: DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)

Best New Series: Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Fesiter (WildStorm/DC)

Best Publication for a Younger Audience: Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)

Best Humor Publication: The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology: Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, edited by Diana Schutz and David Land (Dark Horse)

Best Digital Comic: Mom's Cancer, by Brian Fies

Best Graphic Album—New: The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Bone One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project: The Complete Peanuts, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material: Buddha, vols. 3-4 by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC); Runaways (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist: Paul Chadwick, Concrete: The Human Dilemma (Dark Horse)

Best Writer/Artist—Humor: Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)

Best Penciller/Inker (tie): John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Planetary (WildStorm/DC); I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun (Humanoids/DC); Frank Quitely, WE3 (Vertigo/DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): Teddy Kristiansen, It’s a Bird . . . (Vertigo/DC)
Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Six, Captain America (Marvel); Conan, BPRD (Dark Horse); DC: The New Frontier (DC)

Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Promethea; Tom Strong; Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales (ABC); Wonder Woman (DC); Books of Magick: Life During Wartime; Fables; WE3 (Vertigo/DC); Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Green Arrow, Batgirl (DC)
Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition: Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place; Mary Jane; Inhumans; Sentinels)

Best Comics-Related Periodical: Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon B. Cooke (Top Shelf)

Best Comics-Related Book: Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones (Basic Books)

Best Publication Design: The Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth (Fantagraphics)

Hall of Fame: Judges’ choices: Lou Fine; René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo; Voters’ choices: Nick Cardy, Gene Colan, Johnny Craig, Hugo Pratt

Other awards presented:

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: George Pérez

Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Chris Bailey (Major Damage)

Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Writing Award: Jerry Siegel, Arnold Drake

Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award: Night Flight Comics, Salt Lake City; Mimi Cruz and Alan Carroil, owners

CBLDF Defender of Liberty Award: Denis Kitchen