Customer Reviews

Rasl Volume 1: The Drift

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4 star:		(2)
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Anyone expecting "Rasl" to be anything like Jeff Smith's graphic-novel epic "Bone" is going to be really, really disappointed.

But taken by itself, it is a thoroughly solid graphic novel experience, and obviously the start to a very unusual sci-fi story. Though brief, "Rasl Volume 1: The Drift" introduces us to a very unusual thief who has uncovered a strange new power. Too bad someone's about to cause him trouble because of it.

Rasl was once an eminent scientist, but is now a master thief. He makes his getaways using the Drift: using a couple of engines, he can transport himself from one parallel world to another. But after one heist, he ends up in the wrong parallel universe -- and a strange lizardy man attacks him, making Rasl realize that someone is pursuing him.

Once he's gotten back to the right world, he stumbles into the arms of his prostitute lover Anne, who says he's never looked this bad before. But when Anne is murdered, Rasl sets out to the Compound -- and a bucketload of old memories -- to discover who the lizardy man is, and who is hunting him through all the different worlds...

"Rasl" is in many ways the opposite of Smith's prior work -- it's low on dialogue (whole pages go by in complete silence), the art is spare and sharp-edged as the deserts Rasl wanders in, and the entire collection is redolent of dusty roads, lonely nights, lost loves and a sense of paranoia that keeps you looking over your shoulder.

Admittedly this first collection is brief -- only three issues long -- and the first part is a rather slow-moving affair. But it picks up after Rasl arrives at Anne's house, and starts coiling into a tense, tight storyline with some stark fight scenes, a moment or two of poignancy, and the occasional side-trip to a run-down strip club.

And though Smith doesn't waste a word, he manages to convey the haunting, paranoid feeling of a wanted man. Particularly, a wanted man who can get lost in other worlds that are similar to ours, but have subtle differences. Example: a world where Bob Dylan records under his real name.

Rasl himself doesn't seem very likable at first -- he's a thief with a scientific gimmick, a sour outlook and some solid fighting skills. But flashbacks give us a bit of insight into how he used to be, and his investigations into the Compound and the lizardy-man (who's even creepier up close) provide some intriguing possibilities for the future.

"Rasl Volume 1: The Drift" is quite short, but packs a pretty hefty amount of plot into its pages. And it seems that it will only get better.

Yeah, nothing like Bone. Bone was a sprawling Lord of the Ringish epic for kids. This is a fast paced sci-fi mystery for adults. Its in that genre of suspense/thrillers that would get a regular novel onto the bestseller list. Plus its jumbo-sized which is cool for anyone who is a fan of Smith's art.

It must be a difficult challenge to follow your debut success, but perhaps even more so when you're talking about a long-running comic-book series. Jeff Smith must have been immersed in the world of Bone for, I don't know, ten years or more, so I'm sure the idea of moving on to something new and entirely different has got to have been a bit daunting. While it's early days, it does look like Smith has been able to make the transition fairly smoothly with Rasl.

The first episode of Rasl hits hard, Smith throwing the reader straight into a parallel universe where an unknown character with a device that allows him to "drift" between dimensions, is using his ability to commit art-thefts of alternative-world paintings by famous artists for unscrupulous clients. Actually, "drift" makes the transition sound a lot more smoother than it really is, the jumps taking a lot out of the young man making the crossings. The young man in question is Rasl, who we will discover was once a promising young scientist, but what has led him to become an outlaw isn't clear at this stage. All we know is that the people he has made an enemy of are called the Compound and, having finally found a way of chasing Rasl across dimensions, they have sent a ruthless lizard-looking assassin after him.

This edition, collecting the first three parts of the series into a large format, 112-page book, is an excellent introduction into Jeff Smith's new sci-fi/noir creation. It's a radical move away from the content of Bone (although in a perhaps unintentional parallel, one of the first characters Rasl meets in the Dylan-not-Dylan world , the President of the Street, bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dragon of Bone) towards a more mature style and content. The cover suggests a darker Paul Pope direction, but while Smith's artwork is more fluid here it's not as loose or as dark as Pope, coming closer to a David Lapham 'Stray Bullets' style that suits the more adult, real-world situation where it's already clear that our lead character is going to have some difficult choices to face. A very promising start.

RASL is everything comics should be. Pulse-pounding, articulate, character rich, plot smart, and, best of all, gorgeous. Jeff Smith proves yet again that he's the best there is at what he does.

For fans of Inception, this book is everything you could want from a comic.

Excellent art and story. The large book format is great. The story only gets more interesting in Volume 2. Probably my favorite graphic story in awhile besides Daytrippers. Highly recommended.

Yes, this is nothing like Bone. Its definitely made for a more mature audience.
However, anyone who is a fan of Jeff Smith's artwork and his amazing storytelling ability will love this.
The story line leaves you wanting the next volume right away! I can hardly wait for it to come out.

Rasl: The Drift should come with some kind of warning, something that would let the reader know right away that this comic is extremely addictive, a fun mystery/thriller with a great hook--and that the next installment in the series won't come out until March 2009.

A wait that long is just too unfortunate. Coming from the brilliant mind of Jeff Smith, creator of Bone, Rasl marks Smith's return to serialized comic fiction, and it's a treat. Smith paces stories with a deliberate purpose, never revealing too much at a time. Hopefully, then, Rasl will unfold over a lengthy period of time. It's so good that it deserves to stick around for a long time to come--but hopefully without so much of a wait in between installments. Rasl is published as a monthly, normal-sized comic book, but in Rasl: The Drift, it gets the oversized treatment--all the better for enjoying the artwork and getting lost in the story.

Here's the basic premise: Rasl is a high-priced thief who travels between dimensions to steal expensive art. He utilizes a special suit to open up something called The Drift, which he uses to navigate to parallel universes. Unfortunately, The Drift takes its toll on him, rendering him sick and a little helpless when he emerges on the other side. Not to mention confused: Where and when he reappears is not exactly up to him, so finding out which type of earth he has landed on takes some detective work. (Smith has fun playing with this in a clever way; one clue Rasl notices on a strange world is a CD in a bar jukebox by Bob Zimmerman--instead of Bob Dylan.)After completing one of his jobs, Rasl runs into someone who is after him--a spooky-looking killer. Rasl goes on the run and gets further into the craziness of The Drift, or at least the craziness of the alternate universes he stumbles into. It should probably be noted that, unlike Bone, which had such broad-appeal and was suitable for readers of all ages, Rasl is aimed at adults, with some graphic themes and sexual content.

Nice touches abound throughout the book. Smith teases readers with hints about Rasl and his back story. A quote from Nikola Tesla about the static and kinetic nature of energy throughout the universe opens the book and hints at where Smith will be going in the future. It's intriguing and full of promise.

Smith doesn't waste much time getting into the story. Three issues in, we know very little about Rasl, his life, his work, or The Drift itself, but it's enough for now. There's plenty of room for Smith to expand his story in here, and the richness of the content is not lost on the reader. It'll be nice when so much of the story has been written that several of the books can be collected, and the story can be enjoyed in a lengthy reading session.

-- John Hogan

I can't get enough of Jeff Smith. He is unique in his ability to create an amazing story and amazing artwork. This is a large format book that doesn't fit well on my bookshelf but it is a great read. Be careful, this is not like Jeff Smith's Bone series which is geared towards children. This does have sexual content in it. I can't wait until he produces more of this series!

Recap of my review from Issues 1-3 of this comic:
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The Drift Continues.., December 3, 2008
By William Hoffknecht "Worms in Utero" (Fernley, NV) - See all my reviews

From my reviews of the first two issues:

So Rasl is the new series given to us by writer and artist Jeff Smith (Bone, Thorn). This first issue is a must have for JS fans.

Rasl is a dimension-hopping ex-scientist who has many bad habits that hops to other planes to steal rare items for clients.

This first issue leaves you wanting more. With excellent drawing and a good base storyline, Rasl teaches us that JS can write more than just childlike fantasy. This is a completely different direction for Jeff to head in, but still a great one. His storytelling and background images set up another world and his use of comic panels has shown the world that a comic book can be more than just superheroes. It can be epic and beautiful, you can love the characters just like a novel.

This second issue starts to explain a bit more, but Jeff seems to enjoy delaying his reveals for awhile, full explanations will come later if you are patient.

I recommend this comic for comic fans and almost anyone (Be careful, this series is a little racier, Rasl has a tendency for smoke, drink, and women, not for children I am afraid, but check out his BONE series for the little ones.)

In issue three, Jeff Smith tantalizes us even more, answering some questions, but that only opens the door to even more. The only problem I have with this series is that I wish he released them more often. It is sometimes hard to follow the storyline after months since reading the first two.
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This collection may only be the first three issues, the first chunk laying out the mysteries and raising many more questions, and if you have the issues, you may be asking yourself, "Why do I need to buy this TPB?"

The answer is this:
1. So that you can read them anytime without ruining your comics.
2. This tradle also adds extra pages of storyline that never made it into the comics. I cannot tell you much more about those pages, you have to check them out, but any extra to this already strange storyline plus extra Jeff Smith art is always welcome.

Check it out!

Writer and artist Jeff Smith, of Bone fame, returns with an original concept in Rasl. In The Drift, Rasl is a classic young tough guy who's been messing around with magnets and magnetic fields and has invented a way of traveling across dimensions into parallel universes. It takes a lot out of him each time he drifts, explaining his alcoholic ways. For his occupation, Rasl is an art thief, stealing art from other dimensions to sell in his own. But in this first volume, something is terribly wrong. There's an assassin out to get him, following him somehow across the dimensions. It's nonstop action for Rasl, as he tries to save his skin, while continuing to research the powers of magnetism that make it possible to cross the dimensions of space. Rasl is a great new story from Jeff Smith, who will be publishing two more volumes in the series.

Originally written on February 3rd, 2009 ©Alex C. Telander.

Originally published in the Sacramento Book Review.

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