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RASL #1-4
RASL
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 who races through space and time searching for his next big score and trying to escape his past. Known only by the four letter word found spray-painted at the scene of a crime, RASL stumbles across a mystery that spans centuries, and not only threatens to expose his illicit activities, but could uncover one of the world's most dangerous secrets.
Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith explores a world of violence and corruption, mixing murder, passion, and folklore, with cutting-edge physics.
Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith explores a world of violence and corruption, mixing murder, passion, and folklore, with cutting-edge physics.
468 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2013
26 people are currently reading
853 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Smith
619 books1,426 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comic book BONE, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards helped propel Cartoon Books and BONE to the forefront of the comic book industry.
In 1992, Jeff’s wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as partner to handle publishing and distribution, licensing, and foreign language publications. In the Spring of 2005, Harry Potter’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. entered the graphic novel market by launching a new imprint, Graphix with a full color version of BONE: Out from Boneville, bringing the underground comic to a new audience and a new generation.
In 2007, DC Comics released Smith’s first non-creator owned work, SHAZAM! Monster Society of Evil, a four-part mini-series recreating a classic serial from comic’s Golden Age. Between projects, Smith spends much of his time on the international guest circuit promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.
Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comic book BONE, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards helped propel Cartoon Books and BONE to the forefront of the comic book industry.
In 1992, Jeff’s wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as partner to handle publishing and distribution, licensing, and foreign language publications. In the Spring of 2005, Harry Potter’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. entered the graphic novel market by launching a new imprint, Graphix with a full color version of BONE: Out from Boneville, bringing the underground comic to a new audience and a new generation.
In 2007, DC Comics released Smith’s first non-creator owned work, SHAZAM! Monster Society of Evil, a four-part mini-series recreating a classic serial from comic’s Golden Age. Between projects, Smith spends much of his time on the international guest circuit promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
January 13, 2022
RASL is the story of a scientist who has created a way to transverse dimensions based on Nikola Tesla's scientific work. He's become an interdimensional art thief to support himself after sabotaging his life's work, once he realized the military would use it for nefarious purposes and didn't care about the massive death that would result from the energy going out of control. Meanwhile, the government has figured out how to track him and an agent is pursuing him across dimensions to retrieve Tesla's lost journals.
I really liked how Smith incorporated Tesla's actual scientific theories and history into the book along with urban legends like the Philadelphia Experiment. Smith does get way too bogged down though with Tesla's theories, turning the book into a drag for a large portion of the 3rd act. This is about as far as you can get away from Bone. It's got lots of sex and adult situations along with some really unlikeable characters. This edition has been fully colored by Steve Hammaker and it brings a whole new look to the book. His colors are outstanding.
I really liked how Smith incorporated Tesla's actual scientific theories and history into the book along with urban legends like the Philadelphia Experiment. Smith does get way too bogged down though with Tesla's theories, turning the book into a drag for a large portion of the 3rd act. This is about as far as you can get away from Bone. It's got lots of sex and adult situations along with some really unlikeable characters. This edition has been fully colored by Steve Hammaker and it brings a whole new look to the book. His colors are outstanding.
February 23, 2014
Extraordinarily disappointing.
After the full characterizations and detailed world of Bone, I have been looking forward to reading the complete RASL since finding the first book five years ago.
Now I have it, have read it, have a profound sadness.
The bones of the story are sound. A research scientist playing at the fringes of Nicolai Tesla's last research finds a path into the Drift, a portal into other parallel worlds. At that moment he realizes the danger his other research poses to our world and all of the others. This sets our hero off into a life of crime and into a Sci-Fi noire plot of great promise.
So far so good.
Now for the bad:
The book is weakly assembled and sketchy, the characters are (forgive me)cartoonish and vaguely defined. Too much goes unexplained, and Smith's drawing style when it comes to women has taken a sharp turn into 1990s superhero porn.
To be specific:
So, because it is Jeff Smith it is readable and well paced. But the story is just a mess and silly when it isn't offensive.
After the full characterizations and detailed world of Bone, I have been looking forward to reading the complete RASL since finding the first book five years ago.
Now I have it, have read it, have a profound sadness.
The bones of the story are sound. A research scientist playing at the fringes of Nicolai Tesla's last research finds a path into the Drift, a portal into other parallel worlds. At that moment he realizes the danger his other research poses to our world and all of the others. This sets our hero off into a life of crime and into a Sci-Fi noire plot of great promise.
So far so good.
Now for the bad:
The book is weakly assembled and sketchy, the characters are (forgive me)cartoonish and vaguely defined. Too much goes unexplained, and Smith's drawing style when it comes to women has taken a sharp turn into 1990s superhero porn.
To be specific:
So, because it is Jeff Smith it is readable and well paced. But the story is just a mess and silly when it isn't offensive.
September 13, 2013
There once was a giant comic book called Bone that I read and thought "holy crap snacks, that is one awesome book, but I'm a little ashamed to admit it because the main character is a little white bone creature and that's pretty childish and/or dorky." It really is awesome. It's like the Lord of the Rings of comics. And you probably thing I'm a childish dork for thinking it's so awesome. But it's awesome.
Now there's a pretty big comic book called RASL. And it's a lot of fun. It's got the same impeccably detailed art. But it feels like the author of Bone, one Mr. Jeff Smith, thought: "holy crap snacks that was one popular book I wrote about a weird little bone creature, but it seemed kinda childish and dorky so what I'm gonna do now is write about a person, a real person with skin and arms and stuff, who drinks and has sex and cusses and that way people won't think I'm childish and dorky." But in my book, there's nothing more childish and dorky than trying really hard to be otherwise. Just because you draw boobs and guns and cigarettes does not make you a grown up.
But is it really fair for me to criticize one author's book by comparing it to his previous work? Sorta yes and sorta no.
The book is enjoyable. It tells the story of what I wish my life could be: I've always wanted to be involved in some sort of heist - not like a bank robbery, but stealing a diamond or a famous painting or something like that. This guy Rasl is art thief. He breaks into some guy's apartment and steals Picasso's The Old Guitarist (what it's doing in an apartment instead of the Art Institute of Chicago, I don't know) and then he has a really cool getaway move: he uses these big metal gun things to transport himself into another dimension. Art theft and dimension-hopping, that's how I'd live my life if I could.
But of course we all know how tricky traveling to other dimensions can be.
Another nice thing about this book is its focus on Nikola Tesla. Yeah, that guy that you've heard about a lot and you kinda know that he was a genius, but he was also a kinda tragic figure. David Bowie from The Prestige. And if I can say one thing about Rasl, it's that it got me looking into Tesla's life. He's a freaking madman genius awesome dude!
Now there's a pretty big comic book called RASL. And it's a lot of fun. It's got the same impeccably detailed art. But it feels like the author of Bone, one Mr. Jeff Smith, thought: "holy crap snacks that was one popular book I wrote about a weird little bone creature, but it seemed kinda childish and dorky so what I'm gonna do now is write about a person, a real person with skin and arms and stuff, who drinks and has sex and cusses and that way people won't think I'm childish and dorky." But in my book, there's nothing more childish and dorky than trying really hard to be otherwise. Just because you draw boobs and guns and cigarettes does not make you a grown up.
But is it really fair for me to criticize one author's book by comparing it to his previous work? Sorta yes and sorta no.
The book is enjoyable. It tells the story of what I wish my life could be: I've always wanted to be involved in some sort of heist - not like a bank robbery, but stealing a diamond or a famous painting or something like that. This guy Rasl is art thief. He breaks into some guy's apartment and steals Picasso's The Old Guitarist (what it's doing in an apartment instead of the Art Institute of Chicago, I don't know) and then he has a really cool getaway move: he uses these big metal gun things to transport himself into another dimension. Art theft and dimension-hopping, that's how I'd live my life if I could.
But of course we all know how tricky traveling to other dimensions can be.
Another nice thing about this book is its focus on Nikola Tesla. Yeah, that guy that you've heard about a lot and you kinda know that he was a genius, but he was also a kinda tragic figure. David Bowie from The Prestige. And if I can say one thing about Rasl, it's that it got me looking into Tesla's life. He's a freaking madman genius awesome dude!
November 28, 2017
I found this to be a problematic but enjoyable page-turner. I got the color edition and I'm glad I did. The colors are wonderful but I'm sure it would be great in black & white too. I always turned my nose up at the color version of Bone and basically anything else, but maybe it's because I hadn't read (much) of this story before that I was ok with it being in color.
The mood and the overall story of this is really enjoyable. It's a somewhat confusing but fun adventure with some pseudo history baked in.
The things I found problematic were the overt macho vibe, the fact that all of RASL's love interests were stick-thin and looked like adolescent girls, and the recurring character of a small girl who appears to be disabled in some way (which falls into the trope that Kevin aptly describes as "developmentally disabled person is actually Magical"). I was disappointed that someone who wrote (what I remember to be) such an inclusive, non-patriarchal adventure in Bone would come up with something so pedestrian in so many ways. I think it's possible to do a "noir" like this is trying to be without resorting to the things I had issues with.
The mood and the overall story of this is really enjoyable. It's a somewhat confusing but fun adventure with some pseudo history baked in.
The things I found problematic were the overt macho vibe, the fact that all of RASL's love interests were stick-thin and looked like adolescent girls, and the recurring character of a small girl who appears to be disabled in some way (which falls into the trope that Kevin aptly describes as "developmentally disabled person is actually Magical"). I was disappointed that someone who wrote (what I remember to be) such an inclusive, non-patriarchal adventure in Bone would come up with something so pedestrian in so many ways. I think it's possible to do a "noir" like this is trying to be without resorting to the things I had issues with.
May 4, 2024
Love this because it feels like Smith read a lot about Tesla and then was like ‘wow someone needs to make a comic about this’— and I really relate to that mode of creation.
The action and storytelling are all really masterful and well done for a comic format. Liked seeing Smith doing something darker.
I wished it leaned into the more magical or fantastical elements, there’s a strong strain of religious mysticism that never leads somewhere satisfying.
Also wish we saw more of Maya’s character other than being a woman who has sex with two men.
The action and storytelling are all really masterful and well done for a comic format. Liked seeing Smith doing something darker.
I wished it leaned into the more magical or fantastical elements, there’s a strong strain of religious mysticism that never leads somewhere satisfying.
Also wish we saw more of Maya’s character other than being a woman who has sex with two men.
February 10, 2014
RASL is a pulpy adventure story about hopping between parallels earths and is nothing that you’d expect from the creator of Bone. Rob is an art thief who lives in our world’s underbelly, at least until he’s on the verge of being caught. Then he’ll simply hop to the next parallel earth. He’s also on the run from government agents of the earth where he helped develop trans-dimensional technology; they want it back, and want him dead. His existence of constantly running has warped his mind, causing blackouts and occasional visions of worlds transposing over each other, all of which are the coolest stuff in the entire book.
Above everything, I enjoyed being in RASL thanks to the odd choices Jeff Smith makes. It’s in his artistic choices, such that the government man chasing Rob looks almost half-alligator, and that Rob himself is an action hero, but also chunky-faced and nearly simian. It’s unusual for a parallel universe story to take place mostly in dive bars, college campuses and raw desert. Rob’s black outs and uncertainty about which universe he’s in is made so much more salient when he’s waking in what could be any of a million deserts. And beyond the feeling of losing our bearings in barren settings, you just don’t see these stories happen in these places. Rob and the crew he runs with, the everyday sex workers and book store clerks, make up a more working class SciFi. The work feels more casual, and its cast less prepared for the cross-universe chase they’re thrust into.
The personal still dominates the work, but it’s an angle. Rob can’t control things, only run from them, and make amends the best he can. There’s a real pang to him apologizing to another universe’s version of the girl he loved and will never see again. It’s knee-deep in some cheesy Noir tropes, including Rob’s affection for a particular prostitute, versions of whom he’s known for years. Yet it’s always earnest in its application of these ideas, of Rob’s descent into trans-dimensional dementia and wanting the best for people his life may eventually hurt. This plugs particularly well into the theme of the chase, and running away from his own discoveries, which Rob himself likens to Frankenstein. Frankenstein, he meditates, either has to kill his creation or be killed by it.
RASL’s weakest when it abandons Rob’s brooding and the chase motifs. There are two issues in particular that lean far too heavily on historical lectures about Nikola Tesla, much of it being ground the internet has already retread into common knowledge. Especially given that none of the classic scientists show up or participate in the story, they come across as massive tangents, and there’s the urge to skim or outright skip back to Rob’s chase, and to find out what oddities are haunting him. Those oddities in particular make the story fun and often fascinating to look at. Just figuring out the nature of the little epileptic girl he keeps seeing is worth the whole ride, though I can’t possibly her for you.
Above everything, I enjoyed being in RASL thanks to the odd choices Jeff Smith makes. It’s in his artistic choices, such that the government man chasing Rob looks almost half-alligator, and that Rob himself is an action hero, but also chunky-faced and nearly simian. It’s unusual for a parallel universe story to take place mostly in dive bars, college campuses and raw desert. Rob’s black outs and uncertainty about which universe he’s in is made so much more salient when he’s waking in what could be any of a million deserts. And beyond the feeling of losing our bearings in barren settings, you just don’t see these stories happen in these places. Rob and the crew he runs with, the everyday sex workers and book store clerks, make up a more working class SciFi. The work feels more casual, and its cast less prepared for the cross-universe chase they’re thrust into.
The personal still dominates the work, but it’s an angle. Rob can’t control things, only run from them, and make amends the best he can. There’s a real pang to him apologizing to another universe’s version of the girl he loved and will never see again. It’s knee-deep in some cheesy Noir tropes, including Rob’s affection for a particular prostitute, versions of whom he’s known for years. Yet it’s always earnest in its application of these ideas, of Rob’s descent into trans-dimensional dementia and wanting the best for people his life may eventually hurt. This plugs particularly well into the theme of the chase, and running away from his own discoveries, which Rob himself likens to Frankenstein. Frankenstein, he meditates, either has to kill his creation or be killed by it.
RASL’s weakest when it abandons Rob’s brooding and the chase motifs. There are two issues in particular that lean far too heavily on historical lectures about Nikola Tesla, much of it being ground the internet has already retread into common knowledge. Especially given that none of the classic scientists show up or participate in the story, they come across as massive tangents, and there’s the urge to skim or outright skip back to Rob’s chase, and to find out what oddities are haunting him. Those oddities in particular make the story fun and often fascinating to look at. Just figuring out the nature of the little epileptic girl he keeps seeing is worth the whole ride, though I can’t possibly her for you.
October 4, 2013
I reviewed the first part of this series, which I bought digitally, but I saw him signing the complete edition at Comic-Con with only a line of about 3 people, and I just had to jump in on that. Getting the book signed by the creator was a little awkward, because I spent most of the time complimenting Bone. He mentioned that RASL was different, citing the noir inspirations, and I didn't have the heart to tell him about my issues with the first installment.
Because at its heart the problem with RASL comes down to the art thief himself. RASL is so much unlikeable as he's the least defined character in a story that's mostly about him. The art is still crisp, the pace is nice, but I can't get a read on the protagonist. He's gritty and hard drinking, but has a past where he was a respected, innovative scientist, but that past seems at odds with he bleak present day demeanor. The two men don't feel like the belong in the same body, and it's bad for credibility over all.
At this point I think almost every nerd ends up knowing at least the broad strokes of Tesla's career, the highlights, the legends, the disputes. It feels like such well-worn territory that the excessive explanations of his life in this book come off as self-indulgent and rather unnecessary. The mythology around Tesla is certainly fun, but it feels a bit loosely linked to the actual narrative.
Also, the Tunguska Event was probably just a meteor. Can we be honest here people? If it had been a death ray, the United States would already have death rays by now.
It wasn't a bad read over all, it just lacked the heart of some of his other work. Noir may just not be his strong suit.
Because at its heart the problem with RASL comes down to the art thief himself. RASL is so much unlikeable as he's the least defined character in a story that's mostly about him. The art is still crisp, the pace is nice, but I can't get a read on the protagonist. He's gritty and hard drinking, but has a past where he was a respected, innovative scientist, but that past seems at odds with he bleak present day demeanor. The two men don't feel like the belong in the same body, and it's bad for credibility over all.
At this point I think almost every nerd ends up knowing at least the broad strokes of Tesla's career, the highlights, the legends, the disputes. It feels like such well-worn territory that the excessive explanations of his life in this book come off as self-indulgent and rather unnecessary. The mythology around Tesla is certainly fun, but it feels a bit loosely linked to the actual narrative.
Also, the Tunguska Event was probably just a meteor. Can we be honest here people? If it had been a death ray, the United States would already have death rays by now.
It wasn't a bad read over all, it just lacked the heart of some of his other work. Noir may just not be his strong suit.
November 2, 2019
I like the main idea of a scientist who discovers a method of visiting parallel universes and all the troubles that it brings. The story had good pacing and I enjoyed the art. Unfortunately, the characters were poor. I understood the main character’s reasons and philosophy but I have no idea what the antagonists are supposed to represent. I never believed that they were actual people with their own goals and existed other than just as an obstacle for the main character to overcome. There is also the issue of the portrayal of women in this comic. They are written and drawn as femme fatales and nothing more which was disappointing especially when considering that this is coming from the mind behind Bone. I’d still read anything Jeff Smith does but after RASL, I’d temper my expectations.
October 22, 2013
The brilliant cartoonist behind Bone is back with this new serialized noir, Romance at the Speed of Light, and yet it suffers from similar flaws. Smith seems to work out his plots to the Nth place, but tire of the project around toward the last chapter. As a result, the ending comes across feeling a bit rushed. Still, if you liked Inception or Memento, you'll have fun reading about RASL's adventures, and the art is top-notch and typically suffused with humor.
(page 258) Like the aforementioned Christopher Nolan movies, RASL unfolds as a mystery, complete with temporal and spatial flashbacks. Especially spatial: the protagonist is an experimental physicist-turned-art thief who mines and exploits Nicolai Tesla's journals to bounce across parallel worlds and dimensions. That's your premise going in, so if you think that's too ridiculous to swallow, don't buy admission to this ride. Naturally, this being a noir, our hero is ever chased by (and ever chasing) a sociopathic villain offended by the notion that the parallel worlds are real... notwithstanding the fact that he's actively darting in and out of them. The middle panels of p. 227 are as good a synopsis of RASL's worldview and plot as any.
Just like in Inception, the protagonist (and we, the audience) require a totem to keep track of all these facsimile realities and time-shifts. So if Earth-null (our homeworld) has Bob Dylan, Earth-prime might harbor only Robert Zimmerman, while Earth-square might show a differently-phased moon. Smith is brilliant at using subtle visual cues (backgrounds, text coloring, facial markings and tattoos, etc.) to signal these changes to the reader. On the whole, even if it's an exploration of a wholly different fantasy genre, RASL ends up being every bit as clever as Bone, and nearly as engaging.
(page 258) Like the aforementioned Christopher Nolan movies, RASL unfolds as a mystery, complete with temporal and spatial flashbacks. Especially spatial: the protagonist is an experimental physicist-turned-art thief who mines and exploits Nicolai Tesla's journals to bounce across parallel worlds and dimensions. That's your premise going in, so if you think that's too ridiculous to swallow, don't buy admission to this ride. Naturally, this being a noir, our hero is ever chased by (and ever chasing) a sociopathic villain offended by the notion that the parallel worlds are real... notwithstanding the fact that he's actively darting in and out of them. The middle panels of p. 227 are as good a synopsis of RASL's worldview and plot as any. Just like in Inception, the protagonist (and we, the audience) require a totem to keep track of all these facsimile realities and time-shifts. So if Earth-null (our homeworld) has Bob Dylan, Earth-prime might harbor only Robert Zimmerman, while Earth-square might show a differently-phased moon. Smith is brilliant at using subtle visual cues (backgrounds, text coloring, facial markings and tattoos, etc.) to signal these changes to the reader. On the whole, even if it's an exploration of a wholly different fantasy genre, RASL ends up being every bit as clever as Bone, and nearly as engaging.
March 30, 2016
Sometimes the issue with following up a magnum opus like Bone is that, no matter how good the next work is, it will just never compare. This isn't the problem with RASL. The problem with RASL is that it's just...not good.
RASL starts off good, bundled up in mysteries and an extremely strong first issue. The problem is that, along the way, the answers to the mysteries are just never satisfying. I think part of the problem is that this feels like a 6-issue miniseries that got dragged out to 15 issues. Plot points are constantly repeated without actually getting anywhere, leaving some issues wholly pointless in the long run. Characterization is barely there. I couldn't tell you anything about the main character, Robert, by the end of the story. I could tell you facts about him, but he's basically a blank slate as far as personality goes.
And then there's the issues that get worse than that. It's clear that Jeff Smith did some intense research for this story, but then it all gets laid out on the page as characters speak in exposition. But the absolute nadir is the several issues that focus on nothing but the history of Nikola Tesla. It's interesting enough, but it grinds the story to a halt and is told with all the flavor of a Wikipedia page. I took to groaning whenever I got to one of these issues, and they always seemed to come around right as I was starting to think that maybe the story would get better.
The only saving grace of the book is Jeff Smith's strong, bold line art, but if I was going to read a comic for that, I'd just re-read Bone. The comic certainly ends up less visually interesting than that, no thanks to 90% of it taking place in a desert. Add in a layer of misogyny, and RASL stands out only as a comic that should be skipped.
RASL starts off good, bundled up in mysteries and an extremely strong first issue. The problem is that, along the way, the answers to the mysteries are just never satisfying. I think part of the problem is that this feels like a 6-issue miniseries that got dragged out to 15 issues. Plot points are constantly repeated without actually getting anywhere, leaving some issues wholly pointless in the long run. Characterization is barely there. I couldn't tell you anything about the main character, Robert, by the end of the story. I could tell you facts about him, but he's basically a blank slate as far as personality goes.
And then there's the issues that get worse than that. It's clear that Jeff Smith did some intense research for this story, but then it all gets laid out on the page as characters speak in exposition. But the absolute nadir is the several issues that focus on nothing but the history of Nikola Tesla. It's interesting enough, but it grinds the story to a halt and is told with all the flavor of a Wikipedia page. I took to groaning whenever I got to one of these issues, and they always seemed to come around right as I was starting to think that maybe the story would get better.
The only saving grace of the book is Jeff Smith's strong, bold line art, but if I was going to read a comic for that, I'd just re-read Bone. The comic certainly ends up less visually interesting than that, no thanks to 90% of it taking place in a desert. Add in a layer of misogyny, and RASL stands out only as a comic that should be skipped.
December 28, 2016
I've never read anything by Jeff Smith before, although I am planning to read Bone next year. Can't say I am a fan of RASL, though. It has an interesting premise, and it started out great, but got bogged down by unlikeable characters and their predictable relationships, and also the book felt too long and drawn out. There was some interesting historical background on the life of Nikola Tesla, but it didn't quite fit with the rest of the story and slowed the pacing in the middle of the book even more. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't exceptionally good, either.
October 17, 2018
Cool concept, but disappointing... very easy to predict plot and characters I didn't care about. Still love Smith's art and all the Tesla though.
May 21, 2014
Go to http://www.comicpow.com/2014/05/14/ra... to see the review with images, this is a copy of my review on Comic POW!
A groundswell for Nikola Tesla has been building over the last couple of decades. I’d been hugely into science and technology, but other than seeing the Tesla Coil in Command and Conquer: Red Alert, I hadn’t heard much about the scientist. I didn’t know his lab was the basic for the Universal horror films Frankenstein laboratory which has come to be the default lab for any mad scientist. The first time he was brought to my attention was when I was doing my undergrad degree and one of my TAs went on a nearly hour-long rant on how Tesla was a genius who was robbed by Edison. Then he had a small, but key role in the film The Prestige. A year or so ago, The Oatmeal raised money to fund a Tesla museum. It was kicked off by this comic. Why all the fascination with Tesla? The stuff he was doing and trying to do includes both what was science fiction at the time (radio, RADAR, etc) and is still science fiction today (teleportation, free energy, etc). It is the the combination of the two that makes him ripe for use in science fiction dramas and thrillers. (Even moreso than Albert Einstein)
Rasl is the story of an art thief, named Rasl, who travels through dimensions searching for his next big score, or so the book’s marketing claims. This is a huge misdirection on Jeff Smith’s part as this story has almost absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’s an art thief. He could have had any number of reasons for traveling through dimensions and the story would remain unchanged. Eventually we learn that the technology Rasl is using was developing using Tesla’s research.
A groundswell for Nikola Tesla has been building over the last couple of decades. I’d been hugely into science and technology, but other than seeing the Tesla Coil in Command and Conquer: Red Alert, I hadn’t heard much about the scientist. I didn’t know his lab was the basic for the Universal horror films Frankenstein laboratory which has come to be the default lab for any mad scientist. The first time he was brought to my attention was when I was doing my undergrad degree and one of my TAs went on a nearly hour-long rant on how Tesla was a genius who was robbed by Edison. Then he had a small, but key role in the film The Prestige. A year or so ago, The Oatmeal raised money to fund a Tesla museum. It was kicked off by this comic. Why all the fascination with Tesla? The stuff he was doing and trying to do includes both what was science fiction at the time (radio, RADAR, etc) and is still science fiction today (teleportation, free energy, etc). It is the the combination of the two that makes him ripe for use in science fiction dramas and thrillers. (Even moreso than Albert Einstein)
Rasl is the story of an art thief, named Rasl, who travels through dimensions searching for his next big score, or so the book’s marketing claims. This is a huge misdirection on Jeff Smith’s part as this story has almost absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’s an art thief. He could have had any number of reasons for traveling through dimensions and the story would remain unchanged. Eventually we learn that the technology Rasl is using was developing using Tesla’s research.
October 10, 2016
The "Brief Bibliography" at the end of this book includes The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos, Secrets of the Unified Field: The Philadelphia Experiment, the Nazi Bell, and the Discarded Theory, Paths of Life: American Indians of the Southwest and Northern Mexico, and The Philadelphia Experiment.
Smith weaves this tale around a parallel-universe-hopping main character hellbent on trying to stuff shut the Pandora's Box he's opened. Formerly a scientist working through the practical applications of the research found in Tesla's lost journals, he realizes the dangers a bit too late. So, he does what any anti-hero might do when faced with such dire possibilities--he drinks a lot, sleeps around, and steals art from one universe to sell to another while he tries to figure out how to fix this mess.
Somehow this all reads like an action movie framed by sidebars about Tesla and held together with popular physics concepts (time travel, parallel universes, wormholes, etc.).
Smith weaves this tale around a parallel-universe-hopping main character hellbent on trying to stuff shut the Pandora's Box he's opened. Formerly a scientist working through the practical applications of the research found in Tesla's lost journals, he realizes the dangers a bit too late. So, he does what any anti-hero might do when faced with such dire possibilities--he drinks a lot, sleeps around, and steals art from one universe to sell to another while he tries to figure out how to fix this mess.
Somehow this all reads like an action movie framed by sidebars about Tesla and held together with popular physics concepts (time travel, parallel universes, wormholes, etc.).
September 19, 2018
There are so many things going for this book. It has an interesting plot about dimension hopping, some historical fiction/biography of Nicola Tesla, good art, and a wonderfully well paced script.
The plot has to do with an ex scientist that, working off of Tesla's initial theories, is continuing work on endless energy sourcing as well as teleportation for military purposes. What our lead character finds is that instead of teleporting, he can actually access parallel universes. He strives to shut down his project as he realizes the implications for the technology will most likely prove disastrous. He's fired for this and ends up jumping universes and stealing stuff to make money.
He gets involved back with his original project and vows to shut it down or destroy the project. What follows is a story of mystery, intrigue, action, and plenty of thrills. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about this book, the pace. The book constantly pushes us forward and never really pauses as far as slowing down the story. We are always along with the main character's quest and we are always striving for the end. I felt it is a very driven plot which works well with the subject matter.
And the art is good as well. It can be "ugly" at times, but it works with the plot because the story itself can get very ugly. And when the story switches to the story of Tesla, the art gets much cleaner and much more based on photographs, which provides a nice contrast.
The issue I had with the book is that there are a lot of loose ends left up in the air. The two which stick out the most to me are: who is the little girl with the weird face? and who was the person persuing our main character? And while there was a bit of explanation for both, I cant help but feel we didn't get the whole story at all.
Overall its a good book. I would recommend it for anyone who likes gritty, sci fi thriller books.
The plot has to do with an ex scientist that, working off of Tesla's initial theories, is continuing work on endless energy sourcing as well as teleportation for military purposes. What our lead character finds is that instead of teleporting, he can actually access parallel universes. He strives to shut down his project as he realizes the implications for the technology will most likely prove disastrous. He's fired for this and ends up jumping universes and stealing stuff to make money.
He gets involved back with his original project and vows to shut it down or destroy the project. What follows is a story of mystery, intrigue, action, and plenty of thrills. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about this book, the pace. The book constantly pushes us forward and never really pauses as far as slowing down the story. We are always along with the main character's quest and we are always striving for the end. I felt it is a very driven plot which works well with the subject matter.
And the art is good as well. It can be "ugly" at times, but it works with the plot because the story itself can get very ugly. And when the story switches to the story of Tesla, the art gets much cleaner and much more based on photographs, which provides a nice contrast.
The issue I had with the book is that there are a lot of loose ends left up in the air. The two which stick out the most to me are: who is the little girl with the weird face? and who was the person persuing our main character? And while there was a bit of explanation for both, I cant help but feel we didn't get the whole story at all.
Overall its a good book. I would recommend it for anyone who likes gritty, sci fi thriller books.
September 8, 2023
I miss the whimsy of Bone and I can't help finding femme fatale's painfully transparent more often than not - but I enjoyed this one well enough. I like how Smith wove Tesla's life and theories into the narrative, giving this a very different vibe than his previous work. The twists were mostly good - I guessed Uma's real identity very early on. Smith did commit the one fighting sequence sin that always irks me - a hero with no combat training is able to best a villain we can assume has at least some hand-to-hand training, a villain who killed two armed (and ready) soldiers. Nice art - very moody, with well paced pages despite a few sequences felt stiff.
This one won't stick with me like Bone did, but it was a solid read. I borrowed it from the library mostly wondering if I wanted to buy the one-volume or if I wanted to get it digitally. I think this one will be fine as a digital and I won't necessarily rush out to get it.
++++++++++++
I reread this one, got my own copy (first one was from the library) with Jeff's Tuki Kickstarter. And I took off two stars from my original rating - the cartooning is top notch, but the characters are obvious and the plot drags. I did find Jeff's long asides into the life of Nikola Tesla very interesting though. Maybe I should read a Tesla biography.
This one won't stick with me like Bone did, but it was a solid read. I borrowed it from the library mostly wondering if I wanted to buy the one-volume or if I wanted to get it digitally. I think this one will be fine as a digital and I won't necessarily rush out to get it.
++++++++++++
I reread this one, got my own copy (first one was from the library) with Jeff's Tuki Kickstarter. And I took off two stars from my original rating - the cartooning is top notch, but the characters are obvious and the plot drags. I did find Jeff's long asides into the life of Nikola Tesla very interesting though. Maybe I should read a Tesla biography.
May 18, 2017
This sounds like such a great premise but it felt so flat to me and the only reason I liked it even a little bit is because I liked all the asides about Tesla. Besides that it just seems like the main character spends most of his time hitting people and flitting between dimensions to have sex with slightly different versions of the same two women because ...uh, reasons? Maybe if the author had used that page time to answer some of the 50 unexplained plot holes this would have been better, but as it is it seemed more like macho wish-fulfillment stuff than actual sci-fi. Also I wasn't crazy about the art, it works on the cover but having to look at these weird stylized squished people for 400+ pages is not fun.
July 19, 2018
Holy moly.
Just when I thought that it couldn't get any better than rat creatures and quiche, Jeff Smith does it again.
I discovered this book at our local library and we were all thrilled to get a chance to read another book by one of our favorite graphic novel/comics authors.
I was so thrilled that our girls loved the Bone series as much as I did, and we really loved reading the series in full color.
This book contains the entire story, trade books 1-4 and comics 1-15 of the series and I was enthralled from the very beginning. The story mixes science, sci-fi, and history with a plot that will keep you rapt for all 468 pages.
I may not have fallen in love with the characters the way I did with his adorable Bone tales, but I really enjoyed reading the story.
Just when I thought that it couldn't get any better than rat creatures and quiche, Jeff Smith does it again.
I discovered this book at our local library and we were all thrilled to get a chance to read another book by one of our favorite graphic novel/comics authors.
I was so thrilled that our girls loved the Bone series as much as I did, and we really loved reading the series in full color.
This book contains the entire story, trade books 1-4 and comics 1-15 of the series and I was enthralled from the very beginning. The story mixes science, sci-fi, and history with a plot that will keep you rapt for all 468 pages.
I may not have fallen in love with the characters the way I did with his adorable Bone tales, but I really enjoyed reading the story.
February 4, 2022
Bel fumetto, ma molto meno bello rispetto a Bone, dello stesso autore, e non parlo del fatto che la storia sia più corta (anzi, quello è un pregio, altrimenti non l'avrei retta). Il concetto basato sulle teorie di Tesla è molto interessante, ma non è sempre perfettamente chiaro (ma potrei essere limitata io a capire le cose troppo scientifiche XD, ammetto). Comunque storia a parte, sono i disegni di Jeff Smith che mi sono sembrati piuttosto sottotono stavolta; forse il problema è che lo stile dell'autore si adatta meno a una storia dura, anche violenta, con personaggi reali piuttosto che a una storia fantastica/umoristica come Bone, dove Smith da' sfogo a tutto il suo immaginario con un grande esempio character design. Qui i personaggi umani sembrano tutti fuori proporzioni, e sembra che nemmeno lui riesca a gestirli, anche perché era uno stile studiato apposta per non sembrare troppo "realistico" accanto a dei personaggi cartoon come i cugini Bone. Secondo me per questa storia in particolare, il maestro Smith avrebbe potuto ricercare uno stile con delle proporzioni umane più realistiche, probabilmente sarebbe stato meglio con tutto il contesto. Ma forse è un mio gusto personale.
July 2, 2024
picked this up in a small bookstore because I found it after not knowing the title or author after reading a few pages when I was in middle school. I agree, the lack of character development made for a not exciting storyline. If it was fleshed out just a little bit more, I think this graphic novel would be stellar. The idea is great and I honestly learned some science facts i didn’t know before! At most, this book is a two, but I gave it one more because the basic plot is engaging and exciting.
February 25, 2025
3.5 rounded down. This is a compelling enough comic, I like a lot of the world and the sci-fi stuff going on here—I may be slightly parallel universe pilled given the writing I'm doing right now. There are also some cool characters here, but they don't really have much going on. I didn't feel like there was really anyone to root for here, which is stark compared to Smith's Bone.
June 22, 2018
Oversized Art, Oversized Fun
I am just going to leave perhaps my favorite panel of this graphic novel for my review.
Read it - it is fun!
I am just going to leave perhaps my favorite panel of this graphic novel for my review.
Read it - it is fun!
November 25, 2020
3 star just for art.
September 8, 2023
Helmingurinn af dómnum um RASL nefnir að bókin standist ekki samanburð við Bone. Sem er rétt. Lesið Bone.
February 8, 2014
This review can be read in full, with illustrations, here.
He used to be a physicist, named Robert Johnson. Like his namesake from the previous century, he achieved notoriety — for his accomplishments, as well as the many moral compromises made while in their pursuit.
Together with his childhood friend, he has cracked the most powerful mystery behind Nikola Tesla's boldest experiment. He's also slept with his friend's wife, taken money and technology from the military, and sabotaged the lab he worked in, resulting in the disappearance of the woman he and his friend loved.
Now he uses the technology to skip to an alternate Earth, where he steals priceless objects of art, and tags the empty space with his new identity — RASL.
He returns to what he presumes is his point of origin, where he fences the works to fund his growing appetite for vice.
He is pursued, of course: by a little girl who seems both haunted and haunting, by his friend's wife, who by rights should not exist on any plane, and by a government enforcer, named Salvador Crow.
Crow's motivations are, for a while, opaque. He appears unconcerned about retrieving the works of art intact, or capturing Rasl alive. Only when he and Rasl meet within military confines, is his motivation made explicit.
Salvador Crow's appearance, demeanour and even motivation bear pointed resemblance to those of another pulp fiction creation: Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane.
Howard's Kane is, in appearance and attitude, a Puritan. He strides forward to vanquish any variety of abomination, unrelentingly confident in his (somewhat smudgy) Calvinist world view. But there is an existential irony in these stories: Kane is too thick-headed a lunk to perceive that he participates, in fact, in a cosmic pagan-pantheist arena, where ancient scores are slowly getting settled.
Sal Crow, on the other hand, vaguely apprehends the significance of Tesla's theory of infinite cosmoses, and Rasl's confirmation of it: humanity's reality is so much smaller, and more precarious, than Crow has imagined. The tensions and ambiguities in the new reality are too great for Crow to bear. Like Kane, he behaves like the god he believes in. Unlike Kane, his behaviour is rewarded with persistent failure.
So humanity is fraught with greater absurdity and peril than previously accounted for: where is the hand of the Divine in all this? If it exists, like everything else, it does so in a previously unconsidered manifestation.
Some questions are answered. Some of the answers raise more questions. Rasl, nee: Johnson, who throughout has behaved with sludgy moral intuition, is fortunate to finally encounter someone whose moral clarity is more grotesque than even Crow's. While the final confrontation is perhaps a bit too tidy (and unsurprising), considering everything that's led up to it, it does still meet the noir standards that Smith adheres to.
An ancient score gets settled, in other words. It's as worthy a conclusion as a reader can hope for, really.
He used to be a physicist, named Robert Johnson. Like his namesake from the previous century, he achieved notoriety — for his accomplishments, as well as the many moral compromises made while in their pursuit.
Together with his childhood friend, he has cracked the most powerful mystery behind Nikola Tesla's boldest experiment. He's also slept with his friend's wife, taken money and technology from the military, and sabotaged the lab he worked in, resulting in the disappearance of the woman he and his friend loved.
Now he uses the technology to skip to an alternate Earth, where he steals priceless objects of art, and tags the empty space with his new identity — RASL.
He returns to what he presumes is his point of origin, where he fences the works to fund his growing appetite for vice.
He is pursued, of course: by a little girl who seems both haunted and haunting, by his friend's wife, who by rights should not exist on any plane, and by a government enforcer, named Salvador Crow.
Crow's motivations are, for a while, opaque. He appears unconcerned about retrieving the works of art intact, or capturing Rasl alive. Only when he and Rasl meet within military confines, is his motivation made explicit.
Salvador Crow's appearance, demeanour and even motivation bear pointed resemblance to those of another pulp fiction creation: Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane.
Howard's Kane is, in appearance and attitude, a Puritan. He strides forward to vanquish any variety of abomination, unrelentingly confident in his (somewhat smudgy) Calvinist world view. But there is an existential irony in these stories: Kane is too thick-headed a lunk to perceive that he participates, in fact, in a cosmic pagan-pantheist arena, where ancient scores are slowly getting settled.
Sal Crow, on the other hand, vaguely apprehends the significance of Tesla's theory of infinite cosmoses, and Rasl's confirmation of it: humanity's reality is so much smaller, and more precarious, than Crow has imagined. The tensions and ambiguities in the new reality are too great for Crow to bear. Like Kane, he behaves like the god he believes in. Unlike Kane, his behaviour is rewarded with persistent failure.
So humanity is fraught with greater absurdity and peril than previously accounted for: where is the hand of the Divine in all this? If it exists, like everything else, it does so in a previously unconsidered manifestation.
Some questions are answered. Some of the answers raise more questions. Rasl, nee: Johnson, who throughout has behaved with sludgy moral intuition, is fortunate to finally encounter someone whose moral clarity is more grotesque than even Crow's. While the final confrontation is perhaps a bit too tidy (and unsurprising), considering everything that's led up to it, it does still meet the noir standards that Smith adheres to.
An ancient score gets settled, in other words. It's as worthy a conclusion as a reader can hope for, really.
January 12, 2015
If you like: Lost, Fringe, the films of Christopher Nolan, you will like RASL. If you love those, you'll love it.
This is the second complete work from Jeff Smith, best known for the innovative fantasy Bone. "RASL" is an acronym for "romance at the speed of light," a reference to lead character Rob Johnson's ill-fated relationship with the wife of his best friend. All three are physicists working under the legacy of Nikola Tesla, whose life story Smith details during the course of Rob's adventures across multiple realities as he attempts to put an end to a catastrophic experiment.
Interestingly, Geoff Johns has been working on a similar story within the pages of Superman as the mystery of Ulysses has slowly unfolded in recent months. Johns is about as associated with science as Smith would have been prior to RASL, though both share an underlying fascination with unifying concepts that delve deeper than most writers tend to explore.
A love of Tesla alone would surely inspire your interest in this graphic novel, just as an appreciation of Smith's talents would. It's excellent work that consciously slows the pace of traditional comic book material so that the art has a significant role to play without being overly showy, as many indy creators tend to do.
Smith's command of the emotional elements is also impressive, a strength that helped distinguish Bone early on as well. In fact, it might be argued that Rob's relationship issues are the best reason to read. Ah, and so maybe that's why it was entitled that way...
This is the second complete work from Jeff Smith, best known for the innovative fantasy Bone. "RASL" is an acronym for "romance at the speed of light," a reference to lead character Rob Johnson's ill-fated relationship with the wife of his best friend. All three are physicists working under the legacy of Nikola Tesla, whose life story Smith details during the course of Rob's adventures across multiple realities as he attempts to put an end to a catastrophic experiment.
Interestingly, Geoff Johns has been working on a similar story within the pages of Superman as the mystery of Ulysses has slowly unfolded in recent months. Johns is about as associated with science as Smith would have been prior to RASL, though both share an underlying fascination with unifying concepts that delve deeper than most writers tend to explore.
A love of Tesla alone would surely inspire your interest in this graphic novel, just as an appreciation of Smith's talents would. It's excellent work that consciously slows the pace of traditional comic book material so that the art has a significant role to play without being overly showy, as many indy creators tend to do.
Smith's command of the emotional elements is also impressive, a strength that helped distinguish Bone early on as well. In fact, it might be argued that Rob's relationship issues are the best reason to read. Ah, and so maybe that's why it was entitled that way...
July 9, 2013
Written by Jeff Smith to show his range following his 12-year fantasy/comedy epic Bone, RASL is an adult, film-noir-style sci-fi tale of a teleporting art thief. I love Bone, and so just seeing Smith's art style again was enjoyable. He's brilliant at pacing each panel well, and he loves to experiment with tricks that generally pay off for him. One scene in particular is great: two men fight in an entirely blackened room, lit only by random flashes from a gun firing.
Smith's attention to detail -- he spent two weeks in Arizona, to accurately draw the brush, deserts, and towns that make up the majority of the story's backdrop -- and his eye for unusual story elements keep his 15-issue comic series worthwhile.
I was a little annoyed that some things in Rasl's world are never explained, particularly the little bug-eyed girl with strange powers, who claims to be God. But the story was hard-hitting, and though some of the plot twists were predictable, they were developed with taste and given their proper weight. Smith has a confidence in his material that allows him to take his time with it. Though it deals in topics like Tesla and parallel universes, RASL's gritty atmosphere and somber, bittersweet emotions make it feel squarely in the noir genre.
Smith's attention to detail -- he spent two weeks in Arizona, to accurately draw the brush, deserts, and towns that make up the majority of the story's backdrop -- and his eye for unusual story elements keep his 15-issue comic series worthwhile.
I was a little annoyed that some things in Rasl's world are never explained, particularly the little bug-eyed girl with strange powers, who claims to be God. But the story was hard-hitting, and though some of the plot twists were predictable, they were developed with taste and given their proper weight. Smith has a confidence in his material that allows him to take his time with it. Though it deals in topics like Tesla and parallel universes, RASL's gritty atmosphere and somber, bittersweet emotions make it feel squarely in the noir genre.
August 18, 2016
Well, this is about as far from Bone as you can get... RASL is about a man passing between parallel realities to prevent a disaster of his own making. At least that's the center of it. But mostly, it's about RASL and his relationships, as he stumbles through his own life and the lives of others, trying to figure out what to do. Who RASL really is, and why he's doing everything eventually makes itself known, and turns into a pretty decent character arc, but that happens pretty late in the story. In the interim, we're treated to theft, weird-looking people with a tendency to violence, dimension-skipping devices that look like portable jet engines, and a lot of biographical information about Nikola Tesla (whose history is a fundamental part of the story). It sounds like a jumble, and it does kind of seem like it was a jumble looking back on it, but while reading it, the story carried me along with it, with its frantic times and changing cast and secrets inside of secrets. It ultimately ends fairly well, with a twist that is pretty obvious but still effective. The art style is very distinctive and works well for the time and place of the story. All told, it's a good adventure, but an acquired taste.
January 28, 2016
A love letter to Tesla, the plot feels more like an excuse to write about the brilliant inventor than the story itself. It’s a really good plot – full of intrigue, action, and mystery – so it’s a sure thing that any reader will like it despite the heavy science emphasis, but you’ll learn more about Tesla from this than from a basic high school physics class.
RASL is a great and complex character that I really enjoyed following along with and discovering his secrets and motivations. The villain of the story is a secretive government agent that hits pretty much every single stereotype associated with the type but remains a powerful motivator for RASL’s actions.
The art (especially body proportions) gets a bit wonky at times, but it’s Smith’s style and you quickly get used to it. This edition is a special colored version and, having read a bit of the black and white version, I have to say that coloring brings a lot to the story. It definitely ups the creep factor in a couple of key scenes.
Overall, it’s a fantastic story that will surely teach most readers a thing or two, drawn in a very unique way, and told in a smart and informed voice. A total recommend.
RASL is a great and complex character that I really enjoyed following along with and discovering his secrets and motivations. The villain of the story is a secretive government agent that hits pretty much every single stereotype associated with the type but remains a powerful motivator for RASL’s actions.
The art (especially body proportions) gets a bit wonky at times, but it’s Smith’s style and you quickly get used to it. This edition is a special colored version and, having read a bit of the black and white version, I have to say that coloring brings a lot to the story. It definitely ups the creep factor in a couple of key scenes.
Overall, it’s a fantastic story that will surely teach most readers a thing or two, drawn in a very unique way, and told in a smart and informed voice. A total recommend.
December 2, 2013
Years ago Jeff Smith won me with Bone. However, this sci-fi graphic novel I found more irritating than engaging. Scientist Robert uses the t-suit he and co-thinkers created to jump in time. When drifting he becomes Rasl who discovers he also moves between parallel universes. Such proves handy in his side skill of art thievery -- steal a painting in one universe, re-sell it in another. References to real and disputed projects, such as H.A.A.R.P., the Philadelphia Project, and Nikola Tesla's journals, keep the story interesting. But the non-chronological and fragmented story-telling make it difficult to track the story line (the nature of time travel fiction, perhaps). Yet, well-written time travel is possible. Wells' Time Machine, and even Niffenegger's Time Traveler's Wife gave us time shifting without confusion and with interesting protagonists. Rasl was a very busy boy throughout the novel but I never really cared about him. The art excels -- strong strokes, dramatic with extreme angles, haunting color combinations.
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