Jeff Smith, best known as the creator of the enormously popular fantasy epic "Bone," stretches his cartooning skills, themes, and his storytelling abilities in his new series, "Rasl."
The first of a projected three-volume series, "The Drift" begins with the hero stealing a Picasso in a world very similar to Earth. This is not only a different world, it's a different dimension as well, and Rasl begins to wonder about things when he finds "Blonde on Blonde" on a jukebox recorded by Robert Zimmerman (as opposed to Bob Dylan). Rasl's stolen Picasso becomes worthless when someone following him puts a bullet through it, making it impossible to resell. Although Rasl believes he's the only one who knows how to travel between time and dimensions, he's being pursued by someone intending to kill all the people Rasl cares for. Before becoming an interdimensional art thief, Rasl was a scientist who helped create the technology that allowed movement between space and time. But the experiment went awry, leaving Rasl the scientist dead while giving birth to Rasl the thief.
