Netflix may have canceled the Bone animated adaptation. Still, at least we have one small piece of cold comfort: in response to the cancelation, Bone cartoonist Jeff Smith released a ten-panel, one-page comic featuring two of the main characters from the beloved series re-enacting the football bit from the seminal comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles Schulz, responding to the cancelation.

Jeff Smith on Netflix cancelling Bone’s adaptation from comicbooks

In the short reaction comic, the eponymous protagonist Bone stands in for the role of Charlie Brown, while his often avarice-motivated cousin Phoncible P. “Phoney” Bone steps into the position that is traditionally occupied by Charlie Brown’s thorny friend Lucy. As the one-page comic continues, Phoney and Bone play through a few iterations of the endless loop circled by Chuck and Lucy: the ball is proffered by Lucy to be kicked by Charlie Brown, only to yank it away at the last moment.

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In Peanuts, the frequently used format generally derives humor from the fact that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary and a heavy helping of dramatic irony, Charlie Brown either convinces himself (or allows Lucy to convince him) that this time, he’ll be able to kick the ball instead of being sent flying. However, Lucy inevitably yanks back the pigskin just before Chuck’s potato-shaped foot makes contact, and he is sent soaring across the field instead of the ball.

In the Bone homage reaction strip, which sees Phoney and Bone play through three iterations of the loop that Lucy and Charlie Brown ran countless times throughout Peanuts’ tenure, dialogue establishes Phoney as not just a stand-in for Lucy but also a stand-in for the different studios that have started a Bone animated adaptation but never finished one: first up is Nickelodeon, followed by Warner Bros., and finally, Netflix.

In each instance, just like Charlie Brown and the football, the opportunity is yanked away from the protagonist in the third panel, sending him flying and screaming, “Aaugh!” The one-page comic ends with a dose of self-awareness: while Bone swears he will “never again” fall for the ruse, he’s immediately approached by Phoney, who looks down at him in a sinister fashion and says, “Hello. Allow me to introduce myself…”

Could It Get Picked Up By Another Studio?

     Jeff Smith

Another studio can sometimes pick up animated comic book adaptations after being canceled. For example, Netflix recently announced that it subsequently picked up the Nimona adaptation canceled by Disney at Blue Sky Studios. However, given that Netflix is responsible for the cancellation, in this case, it seems unlikely that they’ll be coming to the rescue in this case. However, the public outcry in response to the loss of the potential Bone has been considerable, so hopefully, some animation studios will recognize the demand for the series and at least deliver one season.

In the meantime, you can support Smith by checking out his more recent comic, Tuki. Initially funded through Kickstarter, you can find the first volume at your local comic shop, with a second volume available soon (and is available for pre-order now).