RASL
Much like Bone, RASL is done in black and white and utilizes Smith’s distinctive style, with as much attention being paid to the sweat on his character’s brow as there is to the environments, or expressions. The art work is both vital and organic and springs off the page to pull you into the story despite it’s very 2D style. Don’t let the cover fool you, the internals are very much classic Smith. Unlike Bone, RASL is intended to be independently published by Smith’s own Cartoon Books Company in it’s entirety. With the money rolling in from the many different international and US editions of Bone it looks like he’s going to have plenty of time to dedicate to crafting the story he has been developing for quite some time. The following paragraph contains spoilers so read at your own risk.

RASL starts out with the main character in the desert, beaten, tired and wandering. This introduction to the main character works well in it’s wordless simplicity. The influence of the older Disney comics can be plainly seen, just as in the art style of the Bone books, however this character is much grittier than even Lucius, and while Smith is not known for drawing characters with exacting proportions, RASL’s are particularly disconcerting. On first read I assumed that he was human, but looking back over it, I am not so sure, especially given the range of characters he runs into over the course of the book.

The first several pages, along with the last two pages of the issue serve to bookend a shorter story which may or may not be the catalyst to the the main character’s current predicament. We learn the basics, and only the basics. RASL is an art thief, he travels between realities in a process that is both painful and imprecise using technology that looks like a cross between salvaged parts of Astro Boy and an African Tribal mask. Naturally hijinks ensue and our intrepid hero (mostly) escapes, but you’re not getting any more than that out of me. Being a fan of Bone, and entirely enamored with the idea of parallel universes, this one looks like it’s going to be right up my alley. I would totally recommend this to anyone who is a fan of indie comics and isn’t afraid of reading something that doesn’t implicitly involve spandex.

If you’re looking of an origin story, elaborate or otherwise here, this isn’t the book for you. Knowing that Smith has committed to a two year run (give or take) and has stated that he knows where this story is going I would expect to have nothing more than hints at the big picture, but that’s part of the fun of reading comics isn’t it?

Check back in May (hopefully not April) for a review of Issue 2.

Lion Stout
Ah, Lion Stout. With a a whopping 96 rating at ratebeer.com and an ABV of 8.0% it was perhaps not the best choice of beer to review on a Wednesday night, but propriety be damned. According to the label it’s one 5 international gold awards, which I suppose should be impressive, but honestly, with the economy in the crapper who can afford to even dabble in the gold market these days? It pours out exceptionally smoothly and was much more cocoa in color than I had anticipated with a head that I would not hesitate to call “thick and luxurious” if not for the fact that I’m a firm believer in phrases like “thick and luxurious” being reserved exclusively for hair care product commercials. While Lion is definitely a stout, it is lighter than one would expect judging by the dark brown foam and near black color, and has almost no alcohol taste despite having a pretty respectable ABV. That isn’t to say that I didn’t feel it, it would be easy to imagine a world in which one would hear daily of incidents of poor innocent livers being mauled mercilessly by alcoholic lions. On it’s own I would recommend Lion Stout in a second to anyone who enjoys stout. It’s very representative of the style and doesn’t disappoint in the least. Plus at $4 a bottle it’s fairly reasonable.