RASL – Jeff Smith
I like Jeff Smith’s work. Of course, when I say “Jeff Smith’s work” I’m thinking of Bone, which he’s best known for, and I had completely missed the fact that he has another series for adults: RASL. The freebie issue they handed out at Comic-Con was Chapter 6, so it’s in the middle of the story, but I did hear Smith talk a little about it during his panel. RASL is an interdimensional art thief—he jumps to a parallel world, steals artwork, and then jumps back to sell it. That’s most of what I know about him.
What really got my attention is that in Chapter 6, RASL’s story is interspersed with the story of Nikola Tesla. It’s a bit like what the American Physical Society tried to do with their Tesla comic book, but in RASL you can see the difference that a master storyteller can make.
I’ve only seen a small glimpse of RASL so far, and it’s quite different from Bone—but still exhibit’s Smith’s superb drawings and seems to be an intriguing mix of sci-fi and noir.
