21. RASL Vol. 2: The Fire of St. George

Writer:  Jeff Smith
Artist:  Jeff Smith
First Publication:  2010
Challenge:  Graphic Novels Challenge (#8)

Jeff Smith has captured my interest with his science fiction, parallel worlds, adventure series.  This collection picks up where the first one left off.  Mysteries and adventure abound.  I loved his first series (Bone) and was not sure if I would like his work on something different.  I should not have been worried.  This series has a different tone but still features the signature Jeff Smith art style.  It’s a great series that I would recommend picking up.  You definitely need to start with the first volume to get the full effect of the reading experience.

20. RASL Vol. 1: The Drift

Writer:  Jeff Smith
Artist:  Jeff Smith
First Publication:  2009
Challenge:  Graphic Novels Challenge (#7)

Rasl is a top notch thief.  Sounds like a basic action story at this point.  The twist is he has a backpack that enables him to go to different dimensions to steal expensive art, etc.  Due to the nature of the device (which may be connected to Nichola Tesla) he is never quite sure which dimension he has traveled to.  The only way to tell is to examine the new dimension and see if it is the same or different from his home.  Sometimes the differences are very slight.

Jeff Smith has set up the world of Rasl and established the basic premise with this volume.  He drops some tantalizing clues as to where the series will go in the future.

Being a big fan of Smith's previous series (Bone), I was wondering how his art would look on a science fiction adventure series.  I did not need to worry.  It still retains the spirit of the art we saw in Bone but he takes it to a different level in this book.

Highly recommended.  The story is set, now let the action begin.