‘The Lab’ (review)

Written by Hervé Bourhis
Art by Lucas Varela
Published by Europe Comics

With such a seemingly generic title, you’d maybe not expect something as fascinatingly weird as what the comic’s creator, Herve Bourhis, gives us. Best described as a piece of historical fiction, The Lab, focuses on a fictional copier company that sets out to create the earlier forms of computers, the internet, and smartphones.

Bourhis spins a tale that incorporates actual events that happened with the tech revolution but his, “Labo,” is of course wholly imaginary and made up of figures inspired by real-life folks even if they didn’t exist (some backmatter at the end of the graphic novel explains a bit more about what was real and what was created wholly for the book).

Even if Labo and its employees aren’t real, the story of an early tech company getting too big for its britches is an all-too-relatable yarn when one looks at the graveyard of tech companies.

There is a bit of a sci-fi edge to, The Lab, as one character’s main inspiration for coming up with the cutting-edge technology Labo struggles to build come from drug-induced visions of a future that is our all-too-familiar present. The Lab, is full of insightful moments as well, examining at points how little recognition women in tech received in the past and still don’t always get now.

All this sci-fi and allegorical messaging doesn’t mean, The Lab, lacks humor, however.

Just as in real life where eccentric figures created our tech, The Lab, has many interesting and quirky individuals who bring us some sharply funny moments. I cracked up at a scene where two coworkers get in a brutal fistfight over a woman they are both attracted to but upon being notified one project has started working go from punching each other to joyfully patting their backs with glee in the span of minutes.

Bourhis’ artwork is a delight to witness. Whether drawing meeting rooms filled with cigarette and cigar smoke (this was the 70’s, after all) or presenting surreal visions of, “The future,” over gorgeous two-page spreads, it is a treat for the eyes. Bourhis really makes his story feel grounded in the past and as if it could be a true retelling of a forgotten tech company, regardless of any fantastical elements. His close attention to the minutiae of pieces of tech is especially striking. His copiers and computers look full of complex wiring and parts, they are impressive to witness.

The Lab, is–as I said–an odd piece of historical fiction mixed with a dash of science-fiction. Even with all the technology on display, it tells an all too human tale of ambition and hubris bringing about the downfall of promising innovations. With a striking story and gorgeous illustrations, I’d rate, The Lab, as being…

5 out of 5 stars.