ESSENTIALS TP VOL 01 (THE LAB PORTABLE EDITION) (14 Oct Release)

Presenting the very first original graphic novel from The Lab Press¸ now in The Lab Portable™ Edition! Adapted from the previously published premium hardcover slipcase edition¸ The Lab Portable™ Edition offers this complete¸ unabridged graphic novel in a smaller¸ paperback format—the same acclaimed story and artwork¸ now more accessible than ever. The Lab Press's debut publication¸ Essentials Vol. 1 won the IBPA's Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book¸ along with several other indie publishing honors. Printed Word Reviews called it "a mission statement for what high-tier independent comics can achieve¸" while Kirkus Reviews praised it as "a lively and richly entertaining adventure into alternate realities." In a world shaped by human minds¸ the greatest threat is what we refuse to face. Earth has collided with an alien dimension. Reality is no longer stable—it fractures¸ reshapes¸ and bends to the minds of the few survivors left behind. Essentials Vol. 1 follows scientist Harris Pax as he navigates a world where human thought creates entire realities¸ and survival depends on confronting the illusions people build to avoid the truth. With the help of two alien "guides"—Buttons¸ inhabiting a dead woman's body¸ and Cog¸ trapped in a toy robot—Harris races to find survivors before the same forces that shaped their worlds destroy them. Blending large-scale science fiction with psychological and philosophical stakes¸ Essentials explores what remains of identity¸ truth¸ and meaning when reality itself can no longer be trusted. Glenn Fabry¸ Jason Howard¸ Vince Locke¸ DaNi¸ Andrea Mutti¸ and M.K. Perker