Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border (1998)

Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border Review

Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border is the fifth volume of Bone comics written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. It was first published in 1998.

Fone Bone and Smiley Bone travel to the mountains to return a baby Rat Creature back to his own kind. On the way, they are interrupted by Rock Jaw, a giant and enigmatic mountain lion. They spend the rest of their journey teamed up with a band of orphans to escape Rock Jaw. This was such a breath of fresh air for the series that until now has fallen into the regular pattern of similar settings and characters, but here the action is switched to a different locale and it focuses on a unique set of characters – both old and new.

The result is this very fun and dark installment that mixed both of those tones so well. I did miss the other characters at times, but this story was so good that it still functioned well on its own. The Bones were less memorable here as in this animal-centric book the creatures took center stage. I found the small guys quite endearing.

What they did with the Rat Creatures was very interesting. The two main ones switched allegiances at least for a short time. It will be interesting to see where they go next. The baby was a great plot device and Kingdok was a terrific villain as always.

But let’s talk about the titular Rock Jaw. I loved this character. This mountain lion was so expressive, so intriguingly mysterious and ultimately just a cool new addition to the roster that really worked. All of his scenes were great.

The lore was continued here to a degree, but for the most part we did not learn much that is new. The action-oriented tone was hectic at times, but that action was superbly realized thanks to the employment of stunningly detailed and memorable large panels as well as the idea of movement and danger expressed potently. The locusts sequence was my favorite and Smith should be praised for how much action and suspense he managed to wring out of this one location only.

Rock Jaw: The Master of the Eastern Border is absolutely terrific. It’s an action-oriented installment that forsakes humor and lore for suspense and epic set pieces and it largely worked. It was a breath of fresh air in its changed location. It utilized all of its characters and situations so well. It’s one of the best installments in the series for sure.

My Rating – 4.6