Bookslut, Bonesharps....Bonesharps, Bookslut

As reported in the Beat, Bookslut has reviewed our graphic novel Bonesharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards.

http://www.bookslut.com/features/2006_01_007441.php

Of course it helps a lot when the books are illustrated as beautifully as Bone Sharps. The drawing was done by a group of artists known as “Big Time Attic.” Ottaviani presented the idea to the group in 2004 and subsequently they agreed to collaborate with him and draw the 160-page novel -- starting immediately. What they brought to the project was an impressive commitment to period design -- the books looks and reads like a 19th century novel -- and an important commitment to historical accuracy. There were many ways the crew at Big Time Attic could have made this book a cartoon, but there is no moment that the faces of Cope, Marsh and the others do not reflect the emotions that Ottaviani has written. As the author explains, “In Hollywood, they say you have to make sure everybody’s making the same movie; if you’re not you get something that everybody disavows… well, we were all making the same book, from the very first day to the all-nighter when we finished the cover design and layout.” That unified effort is clear in how seamlessly the story unfolds, and part of what makes Bone Sharps a pure pleasure for the reader.