Kickstarter Review - RASP: Book One
Coming soon to Kickstarter
I had a sneak peek at Rasp in 2023, meeting Martin Simpson and getting an ashcan copy!
Now, the book is ready, a Kickstarter campaign is coming soon, and I have had a chance to read book one of Rasp.
A soulless detective conducts a seemingly simple investigation that turns into an incredible experience which will change him forever.
Detective Agent Fritz Rasp works for ‘The Agency’... a ruthless, all-powerful institution that enforces order and discipline across a vast enslaved city.
He is considered the perfect agent until the day his dark and puritanical worldview is challenged by a seemingly everyday investigation that quickly spirals out of his control and comprehension.
Now forced to question everything he believes in, something unexpected awakens within him…
An imagination!
So begins the self-discovery of this once ‘soulless’ detective as he attempts to solve the greatest mystery of his life and escape from the prison he has been unwittingly born into.
This beginning starts with a call out to those in the city. It works as a fantastic vehicle for an introduction to the story and the world it is set in, linking nicely to what is happening around the city and the results of what happens in this first issue.
The gradual brightening with the city lights draws us in and we are introduced to Rasp.
For an imposing stoic character, there is a lot about him, and his prim ways as he delivers his report still make you root for him as he battles his emotions and has his worldview altered.
It is a gripping tale, with a procedural beginning, but you gradually get a feel for the rot that is in the bowels of the city, along with the iron hand that is leading it.
The fate of those in the lower levels seems to be little or nothing at all - set places of living, times of work etc. Even so, someone has deviated away from this line and this brings Rasp into the investigation.
What follows is an investigation into dark places before Rasp is brought into the light. I like how light and art are used to convey the emotion, as well as panels such as the one above, which really bring it all home.
Combining some excellent art with a storyline that grabs you and leaves you wanting more, Rasp is a terrific read, and one to back!
Sign up, or back it here on Kickstarter:
Martin Simpson is a freelance illustrator and comics creator based in Yorkshire, UK.
He has illustrated for the likes of: Apple, Image Comics, Scholastic, Templar Publishing, The Chicken House Publishing and Puffin Books.
His comics work has included a one-man Anthology called ‘Misc’ (self-published), ‘The Needleman’ (Soaring Penguin Press), as well as covers and pin-ups for a variety of comics projects and publishers.
In 2020, Martin began to collaborate with a team of six UK based comics artists to help create and contribute towards the much lauded ‘SKRAWL Comix Magazine’.
2023 saw the publication of ‘NORD’, Martin’s first full length graphic novel (Soaring Penguin Press), which earned him a ‘Broken Frontier Awards’ nomination for ‘Best Artist’.
Martin is currently hard at work on his first book series... ‘Rasp’.
