Eyes of the Storm cranks the tension up a notch in Jeff Smith's ongoing Bone series.

A wager is made, dreams are shared and secrets are revealed in this, the third collected volume. There is still plenty of humor -- particularly where Phoney and Smiley Bone are concerned -- but old dangers begin to resurface in Smith's sleepy little valley. The beautiful Thorn learns the truth about her parents and her past from the resourceful Gran'ma Ben, but she doesn't have time to process the information before a growing army of hairy men, a.k.a. rat creatures, make it necessary for the two women and their steadfast friend Fone Bone to flee the farm. Meanwhile, Phoney and Smiley make a bet with barkeep Lucius Down that promises chuckles in town.

What's amazing about this series is the expressiveness Smith conjures from simple black-and-white art. The rat creatures in particular can be whimsical or fierce, and a late-night visit to the forest, complete with a torrential thunderstorm, is surprisingly tense and suspenseful as the rat creatures stalk Gran'ma, Thorn and Fone among dramatic flashes of lightning.

This series becomes more engrossing with every volume. Smith has created a masterpiece.

- Rambles
written by Tom Knapp
published 26 July 2003