Watching nature specials about evolution as a child with his father, trips to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to experience the dioramas of Homo erectus and the 1974 discovery of the 3.2- million-year-old fossils of Australopithecus afarensis all influenced his fascination with prehistory. “TUKI” was inspired by Smith’s lifelong questions about humanity’s origins. Smith reflected on the parallels between the role technology plays in his publishing career and the role it plays in the plot of “TUKI,” which “follows the misadventures of a small band of early humans who controlled fire in an epoch when gods and giants were real, and fire was taboo.” Our sales tripled compared to what we probably would have gotten through more traditional distribution systems.” But it’s a more direct connection with our readers and our customers. “It’s not that has made it easier to work in the comics industry. “We’ve had to adapt so much,” Smith said when discussing the use of Kickstarter. As Smith has always preferred to follow his own path, he elected to self-publish his second major project, “RASL,” and to use the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to finance “TUKI.” Technology has substantially altered the comic industry since Smith first produced “Bone” over 30 years ago. Smith said that Route 66 is a part of every American’s imagination and that he saw the release of “TUKI” as a reason to answer the call to adventure across the country.

New York Times bestselling graphic novelist Jeff Smith, creator of “Bone” and “RASL,” stopped by the Sedona Public Library on April 26 as part of his “Dawn of Man” Route 66 tour to promote his new series “TUKI.”

Bone, Vol. 3 by Jeff Smith