So, the comic world can finally rest easy: Jeff Smith has released his next big project.  I can tell you all, without a doubt, that I was really stoked about this book.  Bone is one of my favorite works of all time, and it’s one of the few comics that I read at least once a year.  There’s something so magical about that book; The characters and the world they inhabit just sucks you in.  But this isn’t a review for Bone;  this is a review for Rasl.

For me, this book was but a slight whimper on the scale of awesomeness.  When I think about Bone and how it grabbed me, it grabbed me because it threw me right into the story.  I learned the characters names, action was happening from the get go, and I was in.  With Rasl, Smith takes a more…obtuse…approach.  He introduces…well, nothing really.  As readers we get the concept of our “hero”.  We are shown a glimmer of his conflict.  And then there’s some Lizard with a gun.  Add to the fact that there is a lot of pages with no words on it, and I’m left feeling a little empty-handed.  I’ve read the first issue of this series and I can’t tell you a damn thing about it that makes sense.  And for me, that’s not a good way for a series to start. 

What this issue lays out for me is potential.  There’s potential for something here.  But Smith needs to get on the horse and fill us in with at least some aspect of what’s going on.  I know it’s a first issue, but first issues are meant to bring the reader in, not confuse them.  And I put this down confused.

Smith’s art is top notch here, and pencils just look stunning in black and white.  There’s a darker edge to this book, yet he still somehow manages to capture a lightheartedness to everything he draws. 

I can’t say for sure if I’m on this book for good.  Right now, there’s too many other things that are beckoning for my money, and this just wasn’t enough to make me commit.  I’ll probably wait and see how it turns out, and then maybe, after the potential has played out, I’ll see if it’s worth getting.