RASL series by Jeff Smith

RASL was Jeff Smith's first comic series after the hugely successful Bone.  This series takes a darker turn with time traveling, science fiction, and noir elements. 

 

1.  Jeff Smith is best known for his kid friendly cartoon epic Bone.  How does RASL differ from that series? 

 

2.  Judging from his career arc from Bone to RASL, what's next for Jeff Smith?

3.  The sexy premise of the series: a noirish time travelling art thief, does not hold even far past the first volume.  Why is this premise so quickly abandoned?

4.  What is Jeff Smith's deal with Nikola Tesla?  Some chapters were entirely devoted to the man.

5.  What is the importance of the super large pages of RASL?  So many graphic novels adhere to a standard size.  Is the size an advantage of self-publishing?

6.  Jeff Smith took a lot of time off after Bone and spent time in a remote desert drawing sketches and pages for RASL.  Did this extreme way of finding a muse pay off, did it hinder the series?  Smith also spent time in a forested U.S. national park for Bone inspiration.

7.  Smith took a year studying string theory and the latest science in parallel dimensions before he started RASL.  Did he convey that understanding to his readers in later volumes?

8.  None of the characters are terribly likeable.  Is this just an unavoidable flaw in noir stories?

9.  Most of the female characters in RASL are of little consequence or are strippers or both.  I seem to recall Grandma Ben and Thorn were well written female characters in Bone.  What happened?  Is it an effort to be “edgy?”