Crown of Horns (comic)

Crown of Horns

First US edition cover
Author	Jeff Smith
Illustrator	Jeff Smith
Cover artist	Jeff Smith Steve Hamaker (colourist)
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Bone
Genre	Fantasy, comedy
Publisher	Cartoon Books
Publication date	April 25, 2004
Media type	Hardback and paperback
Pages	184
ISBN
OCLC	416123389
Preceded by	Treasure Hunters

Crown of Horns is the ninth and final book in the Bone series. It collects issues 50-55 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comic book series. The book was published by Cartoon Books in 2004. The color version was published by Scholastic Press and released on January 21, 2009.

The chapter starts with Thorn's dream of Briar, Queen Lunaria, and Lunaria's husband the king at Dragon's Stair, where Thorn is given to her grandmother, Rose Harvestar/Gran'ma Ben, who delivers her to the Great Red Dragon; almost at the same moment, Thorn's parents are killed. Thorn rides the dragon underground into the cavern containing a bright light. The Great Red Dragon asks Thorn to look into the light, whereupon she mentions a frozen waterfall. After trying to see past this, she sees her mother, who asks her to seek the Crown of Horns. Thorn then wakes, and readers learn that Tarsil's soldiers had beaten and imprisoned Thorn and Fone Bone; each losing a tooth in the process. Meanwhile, Gran'ma Ben, on the city walls, throws an interfering Vedu off the wall and two Veni-Yan monks immediately recognize her and re-enter her service. Briar's army arrives at the main gate and Tarsil defies them. In the conversation, Tarsil reveals his scars to Briar, who instead distracts him with an image of his former appearance and cuts him into two halves (possibly a reference to the manner of her own death), and declares the attack. Gran'ma Ben immediately takes charge of the city's army and orders the defense. In the dungeon, Fone Bone hears the fight and shouts for the guard; but learns that Smiley and Phoney are in the next cell, while all the guards have all gone to fight. At the wall, Gran'ma Ben oppose the invading hordes of Pawa soldiers and Rat Creatures when the Venu warn her of an attack on the weaker left flank, whereupon she orders them there as reinforcements. She is then pinned down by Pawan soldiers. Thorn tries to break the iron bars imprisoning herself and her friends, but fails. Fone mentions that in using the Crown of Horns, Thorn might destroy both the Locust and herself; whereupon she promises not to use the Crown of Horns. Taneal, a prophetess-like child featured in the previous collection, brings them a hammer by which to break their shackles while she tries to break the bars of their cell. Her brother then frees Phoney and Smiley. Tarsil's soldiers gather, causing Taneal to hide. When they have gone, Taneal, her brother, Phoney, and Smiley find Thorn comatose. As Smiley tries to break the bars, Taneal tells the others that Tarsil was killed and Gran'ma Ben is getting overwhelmed by the Pawa soldiers. Hearing this, Thorn suddenly wakes and displays superhuman strength by tearing apart her chains and her prison wall bars to escape. On the wall, the dream masters use illusions to scare off the Rat Creatures and the Pawas from climbing over the wall. Thorn, Fone Bone, Phoney, and Smiley rejoin Gran'ma Ben. They watch as the attacking army retreats, and Thorn reveals that ghost circles are surrounding the city.