RASL

Jeff Smith is no stranger to comics. His comic series Bone is one of the most critically acclaimed comics to date and has earned him a ton of awards and will soon be made into a movie. Bone was an epic series that ran 55 issues from 1991 to 2004. Time Magazine listed it as one of the Top 100 All-Time Graphic Novels and said it is, "The best all-ages novel yet published in this medium." Fans waited with bated breath to see what Jeff Smith would do next, and what they got was Rasl.

Rasl is about a guy who can travel in to parallel dimensions with the use of a mysterious machine he helped create. In most comics this might lead to some superheroy type themes, but Rasl travels to other dimensions to steal goods for the highest bidder. Things begin to get hairy when Rasl notices he's not the only one who can travel between dimensions and it begins to put people he cares about in danger.

Rasl comes with a healthy dose of mystery and plenty of nuance. This comic would fit in well on the bookshelf of Lost fans. Smith's art is just as unique as his Bone days and he is proving to still be a master of the medium.

In an interview with The Pulse, Jeff Smith was asked why he would chose to follow a critically acclaimed all-ages series like Bone with a dark and gritty science fiction book, he said, "...I wanted to do something different. Something that feels quick, simple and strong… like a cup of black coffee." And that's exactly what he's done.

The quarterly release schedule for the book could be a bit painful for a comic reader that are used to getting a monthly fix. The first trade has been released collecting the first three issues for those that have given up on floppies.

You can read more about Jeff Smith and his other comics at his site: http://www.boneville.com/