Rasl: The Drift: Volume 1

by Jeff Smith

Book Overview

From the New York Times best-selling author of Bone comes a stark gritty sci-fi series about a dimension-jumping art thief -- a man unplugged from the world who races through space and time searching... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888963204
• ISBN13: 9781888963205
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Cartoon Books
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.0" x 12.0"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 10 and higher

Customer Reviews

RASL

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.

It's so good that it deserves to stick around for a long time to come

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

A very quick read

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.

The Latest Adventure Story From Jeff Smith

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. Reviewed by Alex Telander

Awesome Start...

Recap of my review from Issues 1-3 of this comic: -------------------------------- 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. ------------------ 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!