Jeff Smith, the visionary writer and artist behind the epic fantasy Bone and Monster Society of Evil, unveils his newest series, the stark sci-fi series, Rasl! Meet Rasl, an art thief searching for his next big score - and trying to escape his past! Where other thieves plan their heists with breathtaking precision, RASL has an ace up his sleeve - he can travel through something he calls 'The Drift' to parallel universes - allowing him access to museums that no ordinary thief could dream of! In this issue, Rasl faces an assassin's bullet and stumbles across a mystery that not only threatens to expose his own illicit activities, but could also uncover one of the world's most dangerous and sought after secrets. Smith's first major independent work since the critically acclaimed and award-winning Bone will be 32 pages long.
Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his comic book BONE, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards helped propel Cartoon Books and BONE to the forefront of the comic book industry. In 1992, Jeff’s wife Vijaya Iyer joined the company as partner to handle publishing and distribution, licensing, and foreign language publications. In the Spring of 2005, Harry Potter’s U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. entered the graphic novel market by launching a new imprint, Graphix with a full color version of BONE: Out from Boneville, bringing the underground comic to a new audience and a new generation. In 2007, DC Comics released Smith’s first non-creator owned work, SHAZAM! Monster Society of Evil, a four-part mini-series recreating a classic serial from comic’s Golden Age. Between projects, Smith spends much of his time on the international guest circuit promoting comics and the art of graphic novels.