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. It 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 backstory. 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.