RASL is a 2013 graphic novel by cartoonist Jeff Smith. A sci-fi noir, it is the story of RASL (Dr. Robert Joseph Johnson), an art thief who jumps to parallel universes in attempts to steal famous paintings, but runs into danger as he is pursued by the government.
RASL draws influences from real-life events, people, and places, including Nikola Tesla, Southwestern Native American culture, and hardboiled crime fiction. The book's central storyline is narrated extensively through the protagonist's thoughts, aided by the use of flashbacks to tell the story of his past. Smith's art style is high-contrast black-and-white, and is notably more detailed and "human" than his previous work Bone.
RASL originally appeared in serial form in an independently published black-and-white comic book published from 2008 to 2012.
Development
Jeff Smith has stated that RASL came from a desire to do something completely different from his previous work Bone. He came up with the idea in 1999 during the process of inking Bone, inspired by his thoughts of how films like Blade Runner and the Bourne film series could come together. Smith then talked to cartoonists Paul Pope and Frank Miller about the idea and gained support. Smith postponed his idea on RASL as to complete Bone, and came back to it in 2007. He developed an idea of how the story would end and what would happen but needed to organize it into a full-fledged story. He flew out to Arizona, as he knew the story would be set in the desert. He found the quiet and heat helped him develop his ideas for the story and characters. Smith was also interested in the visual aspects of film noir, such as intense angles, heavy shadows, and a sense of discomfort. He then spent a year researching the latest in the theories of physics, M-theory, and string theory from the work of Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, and Carl Sagan to get a feel of what scientists believe is happening with parallel worlds.
Publication history Self-published through Smith's publishing company Cartoon Books, the first issue of RASL was released in February 2008. Originally planned for three issues a year at 32 pages, the format was changed as of issue #5 to 24 pages (22 pages of comics, and a two-page letter column titled "RASLetters") for less wait in between. Issue #6 was delayed for an extensively long time, from October 2009 to January 2010. According to creator Jeff Smith's blog, the series was to go bimonthly with issue #7.Smith, Jeff. "RASL News: New Format, More Issues," Boneville.com (May 8, 2009).
Earlier in the series' production, it was unclear whether RASL was supposed to be a limited series or a standard ongoing series. In response to a fan's post on Smith's Facebook page on August 1, 2010, he commented: "I'm not sure how many issues there will be exactly, but you'll probably only have to be collecting RASL for about two more years", confirming that it was in fact an ongoing series, and that Smith estimated the series to end somewhere between 2012 and 2013. Smith hinted in the "RASLetters" section of issue #10 that either issue #15 or #16 would be the final issue of the series. Ultimately, the series ended with issue #15 in August 2012.
Release dates Issue #1 - February 27, 2008 Issue #2 - June 18, 2008 Issue #3 - October 15, 2008 Issue #4 - April 29, 2009 Issue #5 - July 15, 2009 Issue #6 - January 20, 2010 Issue #7 - March 31, 2010 Issue #8 - July 20, 2010 Issue #9 - November 24, 2010Issue 9 Store Date Issue #10 - April 20, 2011Issue 10 Store Date Issue #11 - July 6, 2011 Issue #12 - October 25, 2011 Issue #13 - February 2012 Issue #14 - May 30, 2012 Issue #15 - August 1, 2012
Plot synopsis
The following synopses are cited directly from the collected editions of RASL, respectively.
Chapter 1 – The Drift RASL, a dimension-jumping art thief with a tattoo of a woman's name (Maya) on his left arm, wanders in a desert, battered and bloody. He recollects his memories on a job where he steals the Picasso painting The Old Guitarist. After tagging the location of the painting, RASL escapes from the police by using an immersion suit (resembling 4 airplane turbines strapped to his shoulders and legs and an African mask) to enter "The Drift", a place where he is able to travel to other dimensions.
He comes to a seemingly regular world and hides his suit, then visits a bar. While looking through the songs on the jukebox, he notices that Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album is instead credited to Robert Zimmerman, and realizes he is in the wrong place. An assassin with a lizard-like face comes in and shoots at RASL; as he escapes, his painting is shot.
The assassin chases RASL, but he beats and disarms the man. He finds no I.D. and is startled to see a small rectangle block in the man's wrist. Hearing sirens, he decides to go find a quiet place to meditate for a couple of hours (to be put in a more zen-like state of purity so he may enter the Drift again). He muses that someone would "figure it out eventually" and that "It's never too late to fix it".
Chapter 2 – Annie RASL returns to the real world and visits his client, a prostitute named Annie, at her house. She notices RASL is in bad shape, and asks if he was "time traveling again". He corrects her by explaining that he jumps dimensions using "thermo-magnetic engines to bend the space" around him. Annie notices the painting was shot in the foot and she can never show it to anyone. RASL asks if Annie has seen the lizard face assassin, mentioning he was from "The Compound". It is revealed that under the assassin's wrist was a security chip. She has not seen the man. RASL is frustrated that "they" are unable to control him, so they sent an assassin.
Annie shows him a medallion depicting "The Man in the Maze" (a nickname for the I'itoi) which represents the journey of life and its turning points. RASL thinks about how while he is in the void, there are portals, and he goes through the one he sees. Annie believes that worlds also choose him. Later, the two have sex and fall asleep. RASL wakes up later worried that he might be in the wrong place, and RASL decides to go out and drink.
He returns later to find that Annie has been murdered. RASL knows he must go after the assassin and gets his jeep. As he drives past The Compound he recalls when he first played with magnets and learned Maxwell's equations to make his immersion suit. He asserts that "nothing is certain in the world of quantum physics". He gives an example of this by stating how electrons are not able to be pinned down in an atom. He narrates: "I can't remember where I heard the theory that these particles were actually leaking into other dimensions. But I can remember the first time I followed one". He then burns the Picasso painting and uses his immersion suit to enter The Drift.
Chapter 3 – Maya RASL re-enters the world where "Dylan isn't Dylan" and, with his jeep gone, he walks into town. At a bus stop he sees the Man in the Maze symbol used as an ad for a Maze of Life exhibit for a museum. He meets a shady character who introduces himself as "The President of the Street" and pays him 40 dollars for his help in finding a vehicle. Soon after, RASL begins his drive to the museum (during this we learn that he counts while drifting so he can focus and not black out). Blacking out is how he came to the current dimension the first time. Assuming Annie's killer is following him, he wonders how he got the technology but admits it wouldn't be hard to master, but he mentions that two people saw his (RASL's) complete designs, and that one of them is dead.
The story flashes back to when he worked for The Compound (a military base). He works with a man named Miles and his wife Maya. RASL's name is revealed to be Robert, and that he and his partners are working on a "St. George Array" (based on ideas by Nikola Tesla). According to Miles it's an anti weapon which serves as a barrier against missiles. RASL feels reluctant going through with the plans, but Miles points out that in the past he supported Robert's teleportation suits (t-suits). At this time, however, they do not function properly. The phone rings and Miles answers the call and tells them the project has now been green-lit and the budget doubled. While he gets a bottle of champagne Maya kisses RASL saying "Even if you could leave him, I know you can't leave me" (indicating an affair between them). Maya tells Miles Robert won't back out, leaving Robert himself unsure of the future.
In the museum he meets the curator who looks exactly like Maya who in this dimension doesn't know him (instead her name is Uma Giles). After showing her the silver medallion to examine she says it looks like Hopi silverwork, though his “friend” (Annie) was part Pima. He leaves the museum shortly after making plans to meet her again, reeling from the experience. He decides to visit Annie's house. As RASL is about to leave (after watching a client walk out of her house), the assassin with the lizard like face pulls up in a car to come kill her. RASL enters and sees the man has her hostage and greets him by his first name telling him: "You have something that belongs to us and we want it back".
RASL takes the gun and points it at the assassin but is startled when the assassin says that there are infinitely many different Annie's but only one of he and Robert. A brutal fight ensues while Annie picks up the gun and aims it at both of them. The assassin runs outside while RASL makes sure Annie is ok. Outside, the assassin (with his own immersion suit) enters The Drift. RASL prepares to do the same telling Annie to get to safety. She asks where he is going, to which he replies "After him!" He enters the Drift, leaving this dimension's Annie with the gun, in awe and bewildered.
Chapter 4 – Opening Doors The story opens with RASL declaring himself a liar, in a world filled with liars. And that even a liar can find it difficult to tell what is truth and what is legend. During this, a boat spots a life raft holding a dead (and possibly mutated) sailor. It is learned that this is 6 days prior to the Philadelphia Experiment, which is narrated as follows:
In September 1943, a military convoy is leaving from Casablanca bound for Norfolk Virginia via the Atlantic (waters patrolled by German submarines in this era). As the ships pass within 100 miles from Bermuda, an immense flash is seen on the horizon, followed by the muffled sounds of depth charges. A distress call is picked up yet no ships or German subs are seen. 2 days pass and the calls and noises persist. The next day, the dead sailor is found. On the sixth night, a loud succession of explosions is heard and an unknown ship is seen with its stern on fire. Alarm is issued and the traveling boat goes to rescue the other. As they approach, it is gone and not seen nor detected on radar. Going further, the sailors look down into a trench in the shape of a hull. A loud pop of electricity is heard and the sailors look shocked at what is described as "a man-made horror/a travesty of nature". RASL narrates that this incident is the beginning of a series of lies that leads to the current point in his story. A quiet barrio in Tucson.