Review: RASL #13

Bone creator Jeff Smith delivers once again with RASL 13. The story of a dimension hopping scientist art thief takes a big leap forward this issue, as Rasl goes all Mission Impossible in his attempt to stop a universe shattering event. There’s a generous amount of action, a little suspense and some powerful emoting thrown in for good measure.

RASL is back in his own dimension, and breaks into the St George Array to try and shut down the universe bending experiment.
One of the best parts about the book are the two main characters – Rasl himself, and the Antagonist, Sal Crow. Rasl is one of those characters that you just can’t help liking. He’s got a roguish charm, and the fact that he got his education at the school of hard knocks makes him the loveable underdog. Crow, on the other hand, is sinister and mysterious. We don’t know what he wants or why, but we know he’s after Rasl and that’s enough to know this guy is up to no good.

Smith’s art is, as always, powerful and expressive. He communicates Rasl’s pain, his determination and stubbornness, even his surprise and shock, with seeming ease. Bold lines juxtapose softer scratch-like texture, while the backgrounds ground the action firmly in it’s setting. Rasl is nothing like Bone, but it has a distinct Jeff Smith feel, and is one the best stories currently being produced in comics. Well worth a look.