Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Guilded Age of Paleontology Paperback – October 1, 2005

Rendered in beautiful artwork, full of fascinating historical figures as well as an intriguing critique of the competitive nature of science & academia.

Jim Ottaviani and Big Time Attic’s “Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology” focuses on the two titular paleontologists, their rivalry, and the ethically-dubious practices of government-funded scientists in the late nineteenth century. They portray Cope as ambitious, but put-upon and Marsh as something of a huckster among his fellow academics; an interesting choice as Marsh frequently encountered P.T. Barnum, as Ottaviani and Big Time Attic depict. The artist Charles R. Knight, who was the artist of choice for depicting Dinosaurs and their reptilian contemporaries, serves as something of a middle ground for the two extremes of Cope and Marsh, while allowing the authors to introduce other people who played a role in early paleontology.Like Jonathan Fetter-Vorm’s “Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb” or his “Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War,” Ottaviani and Big Time Attic’s book offers a good introduction to the subject of science in the Gilded Age for both high school and introductory college readers as well as general science enthusiasts. Though the book fictionalizes some events for dramatic effect, Ottaviani and Big Time Attic helpfully include a “Fact or Fiction?” section where they offer additional details about the facts and discuss where they fictionalized events as well as how those literary licenses were based on actual events. The book closes with a list of further reading for those interested in learning more about the subjects discussed. Educators, students, and casual readers will gain a greater insight into the world of the Gilded Age through the events Ottaviani and Big Time Attic portray and from how they recreate the language of the time, both in direct quotes and through the font choices for speech balloons.

This is a fantastic little book, or graphic novel. The basic story is well known to bone hunters and collectors but not to the general public. The author may have taken some artistic liberties with the actual story but it is an exciting read that illuminates late 19th century American thinking. The art is fantastic. For those of us who never outgrew our fascination with dinsosaurs and comic books, this is a must read.

This is a mostly made up version of the famous "Bone Wars" between Marsh and Cope and would have been more interesting if they had stuck to the facts (see "The Gilded Dinosaur" by Mark Jaffe). More art work of the dinosaurs would have been a bonus. One of the few dinosaur books I've given away rather than kept.

The title sold me! Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunderlizerds is a fun and informative read about Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh who sabotage each others digs and reputations. I only knew a little about these two Paleontologists (more about Marsh) before reading, like the huge collection of bones they obtained.There are also some cameos from other well known historical figures like Buffalo Bill Cody, P.T. Barnum, famous artist Charles R. Knight (The Lost World Painting ) and many more. This graphic novel was entertaining and I felt sorry for Drinker Cope at the end. I went on to read more about them and early Paleontology, so I would give this book thumbs up for re-sparking my interests even though it's fictionalized a bit. I picked it up at the 2008 MOCCA convention in New York and Jim Ottaviani was fun to talk with. Kevin Cannon was a nice fellow as well. I liked the Sepia colored art work and layout. An enjoyable read! Thanks for the story Jim!

In the graphic novel Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards, Jim Ottaviani and the folks at G.T. Labs take on E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh and the Bone War. In the last third of the 1800's, geologists were exploring the West, and two of those geologists, Cope and Marsh, were looking for dinosaur bones. These rivals discovered and named many of the most famous dinosaurs while carrying on the most famous [sometimes violent] feud in geology. Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards is a fine book, but didn't impress me to the level that the earlier graphic novels Fallout and Suspended In Language did. I still highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, the old West, dinosaurs, and is willing to give the graphic novel format a try.

Book was very confusing. I did not finish it.

My son (10) is a dinosaur fan and reads all dinosaur related books. Unfortunately he didn't found this book exciting. Lots of potentially great plots, not very clearly or interestingly written.

Very cool book!

At age 7, my son is still fascinated by dinosaurs, especially rocks and bones. As he also loves graphic novels, this seemed like a great idea. The idea of taking the Bone Wars between March and Cope and turning them into a graphic novel is absolutely brilliant. Children can learn about science and history and have fun at all the same time. The execution however, was less than brilliant. The art work is black and white but it is good - no complaints in that department. The pages are well laid out and easy to follow. I had the impression while reading this, that the writer had less background in these characters than my son had though. He felt the need to write in a fictional sub plot which really made things confusing and both my son and I struggled to keep track of what was going on. I really wish he had left that part out and instead included some of incidents that were actually reported at the time, such as sabotage and the use of dynamite to destroy fossils rather than let the other get their hands on them. Even the eventual social, financial and academic ruin suffered by both men as the result of their feud is difficult to understand going solely by this book.In short - you will need a good background in the fossil wars between these rival paleontologists to understand what is going on this book. But if you already know the story so well - do you really need the book? Nice pictures but not much in the way of content. I could still recommend this simply because it is so unique. It is something different on a paleontology oriented bookshelf especially for a child with a combined love of paleontology and graphic novels - but it will not be for everyone.