Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville

Zero at the Bone Reviews

• 
  the elala

  for a second i lost my humanity at the end of this webtoon. (actually i did died) 💕💕 anyways talking about dying, i thought my daddy issues were dead?? 🤯🤯 excuse me Paul??? i don't want to be annoying but i wish we had him as the main interest.
  
  overall, i loved the art style ! it's like cute little comic (does it count as comic?) 🪿🪿 also the back information of characters were nice too. tho there is a 'but', but the story was a little boring for me haha, one page was about being on mission the other was somewhere else.
  
  but it was worth the art style so no worries
• 
  Valerie ❈M/M Romance Junkie❈

  Though I’ve enjoyed other mm graphic novels, this book did not lend itself to the medium very well in my opinion. It has taken me a month of fits and starts to realize it just wasn’t working for me. No rating.
  
  12/21/2019 I decided to try this again. The graphic novel cuts quite a bit of the book out. I wasn’t able to feel any connection between D and Jack. The emotion was kind of lost in translation. Still no rating.
• 
  Libra

  Guys, when I found out there was a graphic novel adaptation of one of my favorite books of ALL TIME, I was squealing! Reading this reminded me how much I freaking love this book and I almost want to reread it right away.
  Now, the original book is looooong and there's a lot of stuff happening, a lot of back and forth, a lot of tension and development between D and Jack. I knew going into this that they had to condense the story a lot. I actually liked some things that they cut out, because they weren't all that important or just character development scenes that just wouldn't have fit into such a visual medium. I'm sad about other things that they cut, and because this was very focused on the plotpoints, D and Jack go from "We're just working together to survive." to LOVERS very quickly, with pretty much no struggle or arguments between these two. D's struggle with admitting he had feelings for Jack was such a huuuge part of the book that I was a little sad to see it condensed like this, but I do understand why they made this choice.
  
  There were also some changes that I plainly just didn't understand. Why did they change Josey into a guy? Why did they change X's name to Stan? And also, because they cut some (aka a LOT of) things from the ending, certain thingsa that they left in didn't quite make sense. They pretty much cut out the entire epilogue of the novel, which, again, I understand, but because of that, things were wrapped up rather quickly. I would have liked just a little bit more.
  
  Let's talk about the characters for a moment. While I LOVED seeing D and Jack in a visual format, because so much of the story was condensed and cut, they didn't feel like the D and Jack I know from the book. Jack was a little too upbeat and smiley for me and D was not really the brooding, depressed, closed-off assassin that he was supposed to be. He opens up to Jack about his past rather quickly, which took a looong time in the book. A lot of their struggles to come together and trust each other were, unfortunately, cut from this novel.
  
  On another note, I really really loved the art style! I think it fit the story really well and seeing D and Jack in this was just awesome!! The only things that bothered me a little were the action scenes, because I could barely tell what was going on. And, like other reviews have already mentioned, the written out sound effects were WEIRD. I mostly tried to read over them, but I just felt they were pretty unnecessary.
  
  I know I criticized a lot of things about this graphic novel, but I understand what a struggle it is to bring a long book into a visual medium and trying to stay true to it, while having to change and cut a lot of plotpoints. So I still really enjoyed my time with this!
  
  If you're a fan of the book, I definitely recommend this. I can't comment on how much sense the story makes if you haven't read the story before, but I'm pretty confident this could also stand well on it's own. And if it doesn't, just another reason to read the book!
• 
  Elaine White

  I'm sorry to say that I'm not a fan of this "adaptation."
  I had it on good authority that the novel for this was amazing. It was rec'd to me a dozen times or more, and since I had 2 hours to spare and had already bought this, I thought it would be a great lead into the novel. I could get an introduction, of sorts, to the plot and the concept, to see if it was something I'd be interested in, before committing to a 300+ page novel.
  
  I was a bit bored and disconnected from the characters immediately. There was no attempt at characterisation, or background, or setting the tone. The artwork was perfect for the gritty type of story, but it lacked a finesse that would have brought the characters to life.
  The sound descriptors were a hindrance and a frustration.
  
  Plot-wise, I was left floundering a lot, because there was a complete lack of context and thought-process. There were places where I was meant to feel for a character and I felt nothing. The first sex scene came out of left field and left a bad taste in my mouth, because the complete LACK of storytelling, description and context left it feeling like a rape scene. I had to ask my reliable friends who rec'd this to me if that was how it was supposed to come across, and they said no. So, I have to admit that the entire plot was probably suffering the same misconceptions.
  
  Not only did the sex seem like a rape that was instantly dismissed, and there was NO chemistry between the two MC's, but there's a moment when Jack asks D if he's had a gay relationship before and he comes out with this cock-n-bull story that is more about how a guy in the army gave him a BJ then attacked him and went crazy. The way that plot twist was told gave it ZERO context, meant it had little relation to the question asked, and left me colder than an iceberg when I was supposed to be melting for this tough-guy who had a questioning side.
  
  I still have no idea what the title references, which is always my favourite part of any story. I'll be ditching the graphic novel and going into the novel with caution but hoping to erase this reading from my mind beforehand. I wish I could get my money back, because this was one adaptation that failed on all points to grasp any essence of what should have been a touching and action-packed story. Instead of getting my heart racing (for two reasons) I was left stone cold.
• 
  Michelle

  ★★★★★ = *Fan girl squeal* I loved it! Straight to the favourites list!
  
  I was over-the-moon happy when i saw this. I even went as far as buying the audiobook to listen too while i waiting for this to arrive in the post. I love comics in any form and was excited for this adaptation.
  
  The novel of Zero at the Bone is a once-off read. I read this back in 2014 and I hadn't revisited since, but, after learning about the comic I listened to the audiobook to refresh my memory and it reminded me how great the story really is. Once the book arrived in the post I got to enjoy the story once again and loved ever minute of it. Sure, a lot of scenes got chopped up, cut out and altered a little bit but I understand that to make a graphic novel these things happen. I enjoyed the comic for what it was: an adaptation of the novel.
  
  The art is superb! And...AND I just found out that Son Gaepi also did THIRDS Hell & High Water *squeals* Please give me more
• 
  Antonella

  
  Zero at the Bone was one of my favourite books, so I *had* to buy the graphic novel. It is inevitable to make comparisons, and I would still recommend people to read the book: the complexity of the characters comes out better there.
  
  A problem was the reproduction of sounds in words. I had already seen it done in other graphic novels, but here this device was used too often IMO. It took me out of the story.
• 
  Rainy-Night-Reads

  #graphicnovel #mm
• 
  A.E. Bross

  I really, really enjoyed the manga, to the point where I will more than likely be investing in the actual book. This had a whole lot of softness, despite the harder subject matter, and the passion and attraction between both characters was really something I needed in a read right now.
• 
  R.J. Sorrento

  I loved this graphic novel adaptation of an mm romance novel. Good balance of grit, heat, and softness and the art is fantastic. Thank you to my dear friend Addy for gifting me a copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
• 
  Dig

  I was slightly disappointed w/ the graphic novel version of my favourite m/m book.
• 
  Amanda

  I quite enjoyed this and it makes me want to read the book.
• 
  simp4fictionalcheracters

  Dnf rn not really feeling it
• 
  Sanjana

  I read the novel for Zero at the Bone and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I was so excited when I found out there was a graphic novel for the book and it was adorable and didn't want it to end at all.
• 
  Mitchell Dufrin

  “Zero at the Bone” by Jane Seville and art by Son Gaepi. All I can say honestly is WOW. So well written, the art is amazing, the story line is just amazing! Like if this was made into a movie and did it right I’d wait in line to see it. The characters…dear lord D and Jack…holy crap.
  
  D is this hit man for hire, Jack is just this sweet doctor. D is hired to go after Jack and kill him, but he doesn’t. It turns in to this hunt for D and Jack. You see Jack be the kind human that he is, and you see how he’s falling for D. Then D is this hard man with a rough and interesting past, but you see him get soft for Jack. I won’t tell much more, you HAVE to read it yourself.
  
  To be honest I’m not sure what it’s classified as. It’s gives me a good mix of graphic novel and manga. Also there’s a lot of death and blood, and a lot of sex. So 18+
  
  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🏳️‍🌈
• 
  Jeff

  The novel version is my favorite book in the gay fiction genre. I have a review for that if you’d like to find it on my page.
  
  As far as the graphic novel, it was amazing. The artwork was fantastic and it made me reminisce about my experience reading this story a few years ago. The sexuality is there and is definitely a MATURE story.
  
  The story and artwork gets an A- on my grading scale! I had such a fun time revisiting D and Jack! They are my favorite couple in world of gay fiction.
• 
  Sara

  While the novel is a favourite of mine that I've re-read often, this comic adaptation did it no favours. The story felt severely rushed and a lot of my favourite lines and character moments were missing.
  
  The art was decent but rough looking. On purpose, I think. Didn't really work for me but might for others.
  
  For those reasons I'm "only" giving 4 stars.
  The story is still really good but the novel will still be my go to.
• 
  Danny Nelson

  Zero at the Bone (longform version) is one of those books I forget I've read, pick up, realize I've read, and then finish anyway despite its flaws. I am, for good or ill, a sucker for these kinds of romances. This graphic novel adaptation was compelling in its artistic interpretation and a nice taste of a genre I don't usually partake in. A very quick read.
• 
  Marker

  5/5 estrellas (y si pudiera le daría más)
  
  Me encantó, me fascinó el dibujo, la historia, el desarrollo de los personajes, el trasfondo en D y el personaje de Jack se me hizo tan humano que bien merecido tuvieron ese final.
  
  Definitivamente estará en mi top 3 de libros favoritos en este año 2020 pandemico.
• 
  Curious Madra

  This is a really good Yaoi about a hitman named D and kidnaps a doctor surgeon Francisco who is awaiting trial for a crime he wasn’t involved in. I really liked the character development like it wasn’t just about the couple together, they really went as far as explaining about Stan and how they got to be an assassin in the first place. Also you get steamy scenes so there ya go xD
• 
  Tornado

  Très sympa de lire la bd après avoir lu le livre, je trouve les dessins un peu brouillon par contre mais sinon ça fait super plaisir de voir les personnages !! Ils sont superbes !! L’histoire est bien décrite. J’ai beaucoup aimé.
• 
  Aniya

  unpopular opinion: I liked this adaptation so much more than the actual novel
• 
  Sarah

  The sfx are hilarious/stupid/literal
• 
  Cesco

  3.5/4, but I’m not rounding it up because the plot is relatively bland and doesn’t have a chance to be fully explored. Regardless of what little plot we do get here, it’s totally forgettable and anticlimactic. It really just played as a vehicle to get the characters to meet, and at that point it became a character focused story which is where I was invested. It isn’t until the bad plot comes into play again where I lost interest and had to skim the dialogue and explanation of said plot.
  
  The characters are great, relatively cliche and cookie cutter for this kind of story, but there’s never anything wrong with that. I enjoyed this a lot.
• 
  Rebecca

  This was a great outline of a potentially great story. By that I mean that it felt severely underdeveloped and had some gaps in the story and characterization that threw me. I know the source material was a novel and I'm sure that would fill everything in for me, so if I can get my hands on a physical copy, I may read it. That being said, I did enjoy the concept and the art. The relationship between the leads also had some sweet moments, even if I didn't feel the chemistry as much as I wish I had.
• 
  Nicole

  Por mais que seja um manwha, tem um "q" estadunidense. A disposição dos quadros e a história em si não se parece com a maioria dos manwhas BLs que já li.
  Depois conferi com quem me indicou e esse manwha é baseado num livro homônimo da autora Jane Seville. Fez sentido, pq ela é estadunidense. That's a bingo! Hahahaha
  Ele têm 24 capítulos, arte boa, bem rapidinho de ler. Gostei da experiência, só achei ele rápido, acho que tinha margem para fazer mais alguns capítulos e desenvolver mais algumas partes.
• 
  Kat

  very good. hot, tense, nerve-wracking, emotional, and super gay. I loved seeing D open up. the courtroom scenes were super satisfying (jack f*cking took that shitty lawyer down!). their cabin scenes are 🔥🔥🔥 (*fans myself*). I did not love this the way I loved hell & high water, but it was v compelling and exciting.
• 
  Cassie Martinez

  It was a good story.
  
  D was hired to “kill” Francisco but end up falling in love with him and protecting him before the trail. I was not expecting the son of his friend to want revenge for his father death, and who the son was. It was a little shocking. Also who Stan was a girl. It was cute.
• 
  Raj

  Generally, I am not a fast reader and I get distracted by every other thing when I am reading, but Zero at the Bone got me so invested right from the first chapter and I finished the whole webtoon at one sitting.
• 
  ͟͟͞͞➳❥Shaikha♡︎

  ⭐2.5\5⭐ I am a little disappointed.
  the Zero at the Bone Novel is so good I even give it 5/5 but, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL did not go as described in the novel in the GRAPHIC NOVEL things were going so fast that I wouldn't say I liked it.
• 
  Undercover C.

  Tre stelle molto generose.
  La graphic novel non è riuscita a trasmettere le stesse emozioni del libro. Un libro al quale avevo dato cinque stelle piene…
  È stato divertente, comunque, anche se forse non all’altezza della storia.