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RASL: Book Two: Romance at the Speed of Light, Full Color Paperback Edition
For the FIRST TIME in full color, the winner of the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album is available in three trade paperback volumes complete and unabridged! A New York Times Bestseller, RASL is Jeff Smith's follow up to his epic fantasy BONE. A tightly wound mixture of science fiction, noir and conspiracy theories, RASL is a gritty, hard-boiled tale of an inter-dimensional art thief caught between dark government forces and the mysterious powers of the universe itself. Deeply buried secrets beckon in the second part of Jeff Smith’s hardboiled science fiction opus. Even as Rasl pieces together the clues around him, his personal life is coming apart, and the mysterious little girl brings a warning from the multiverse itself! Originally serialized in black & white comic books and graphic novels, the award winning completed novel is embellished with muted, smoky color by Steve Hamaker and Jeff Smith. Praised by The Village Voice, USA Today, NPR, Physics Today, Booklist, The Onion/AV Club, Paste, Publishers Weekly and more. -- Jeff Smith
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
2 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Smith
624 books1,429 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 29, 2019
Reprints RASL #5-10 (July 2009-April 2011). RASL is the on the lam. With an assassin after him, Rob recalls his involvement in the St. George Project and how an affair led to disaster. Now, the St. George Project is threatened to be revived and the experiments of Nikola Tesla could be the key to doing it. With Rob holding the evidence, he must decide if he’s going to run or fight to protect those he loves and the world.
Written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, RASL Volume 2: Romance at the Speed of Light is an adult science-fiction comic book series published by Cartoon Books. Following RASL Volume 1: The Drift, the series was critically acclaimed and has been reprinted multiple times including in Omnibus collections and color editions.
A quick reminder, RASL is not Bone. With RASL, Jeff Smith is telling an adult story…with the same style of art he used in Bone. The format of the collection resembles the Scholastic Bone collections, and I could see a parent buying it for a kid…and grimacing later. RASL in this sense alone is interesting because it is interesting to see how Smith approaches a more adult subject.
This entry in the series provides more backstory than the previous volume. You learn about the discovery of the secret Telsa diaries and the growing rift between Rob and Miles over Maya and more and more mystery builds (plus, the origin of “RASL”). When you finish this collection, you question how Rob can continue a whole third collection since it seems like he’s physically and mentally falling apart (which is a good reason to spur you to read on).
What I always find interesting about this series is Nikola Telsa. I’ve heard lots of stories of Tesla. He’s been a character in movies like The Prestige, and he almost seems like a supernatural, unreal scientist…but much of what is told of Tesla’s life and experiments is true. Granted, Smith takes liberties for the purpose of the story, but much of the core story is right.
RASL is a fun ride. It is one of those comics that I really don’t know where it is going or how it is going to end which in today’s day and age is impressive. I like that it is completely different than Bone and that if it didn’t have Smith’s art, you’d never know it was Smith’s work…which shows a lot of versatility. RASL 2: Romance at the Speed of Light is followed by RASL 3: The Fires of St. George.
Written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, RASL Volume 2: Romance at the Speed of Light is an adult science-fiction comic book series published by Cartoon Books. Following RASL Volume 1: The Drift, the series was critically acclaimed and has been reprinted multiple times including in Omnibus collections and color editions.
A quick reminder, RASL is not Bone. With RASL, Jeff Smith is telling an adult story…with the same style of art he used in Bone. The format of the collection resembles the Scholastic Bone collections, and I could see a parent buying it for a kid…and grimacing later. RASL in this sense alone is interesting because it is interesting to see how Smith approaches a more adult subject.
This entry in the series provides more backstory than the previous volume. You learn about the discovery of the secret Telsa diaries and the growing rift between Rob and Miles over Maya and more and more mystery builds (plus, the origin of “RASL”). When you finish this collection, you question how Rob can continue a whole third collection since it seems like he’s physically and mentally falling apart (which is a good reason to spur you to read on).
What I always find interesting about this series is Nikola Telsa. I’ve heard lots of stories of Tesla. He’s been a character in movies like The Prestige, and he almost seems like a supernatural, unreal scientist…but much of what is told of Tesla’s life and experiments is true. Granted, Smith takes liberties for the purpose of the story, but much of the core story is right.
RASL is a fun ride. It is one of those comics that I really don’t know where it is going or how it is going to end which in today’s day and age is impressive. I like that it is completely different than Bone and that if it didn’t have Smith’s art, you’d never know it was Smith’s work…which shows a lot of versatility. RASL 2: Romance at the Speed of Light is followed by RASL 3: The Fires of St. George.
July 5, 2019
Not as strong as the first for me, but the plot thickens!!! What's going on??? There was a hint of his Bone style on the cover.
January 3, 2023
I have been a fan of Jeff Smith for awhile, even more so since I’ve been working as a cartoonist. Love the story and the art. Want to see where this goes.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews