Comic Review: Lab Raider #1

Lab Raider #1

Black Mask Comics

Writer: Matt Miner

Artist: Creees Lee

Lab Raider #1 starts off with a full panel page of two women, dressed in hoodies and masks, cutting the chain of a fence under the cover of night with the opening line – “We went too far.” Put that all together and it’s a solid way of setting the hook and reeling in a prospective reader into what I feel was a solid first issue in what looks to be a promising four issue mini-series.

This book follows Sarah and Jeanette, a pair of animal rights activists, as they break into a research facility that is performing horrific testing on animals. As the two move through the building, destroying servers, lab equipment, and documents along the way the present day story is interwoven with flashbacks that inform us of the characters back story, which is great but also presents this books biggest weak point.

The way Lab Raider employs non-linear storytelling is a great way of introducing characters and plot points but it also cracks under its own weight a bit. There are three separate flashbacks (one split into two parts) plus the present day story and it all feels a bit scatterbrained. I will say though that there are some mysteries that those flashbacks present that I am looking forward to see play out over the next three issues. And while the flashbacks in their format present the books biggest failing, it also presents maybe my favorite scene.

Given that the book opens with our two leads breaking into and destroying a lab, it comes as no surprise that the story delves into moral grey areas. I have never classified myself as an animal rights activist however I will say that there is no place for animal cruelty in this world (bold statement I know). If you’re going to hunt, kill as painlessly as possible (and eat the meat). If you’re going to raise livestock, do it humanely. If you’re going to test on animals…. well…  nevermind, how about you don’t? With that in mind, I can identify with Sarah and Jeanette and their mission to stop animal testing/cruelty. It’s the way they go about their mission that’s hard to agree with, especially in one of the aforementioned flashbacks. It’s one of my favorite things when stories operate in the moral grey when characters do the wrong things for the right reasons (or the right things for the wrong reasons as the case may be) and Lab Raider #1 spends most of its time in the moral grey.

As far as the art goes, it’s pretty solid. Creees Lee’s art doesn’t present the most challenging of styles but I also never saw a panel that took me out of the book or a transition that confused me. Where the art shines though is in the character’s facial expressions. Lee put a ton of care and attention into nailing the character’s facial expressions which results in you never having any doubt what anyone is emoting. This is even true for the scenes where Sarah and Jeanette have half their faces covered by masks. I’m no artist but even I know that’s no easy feat.

Most of the time when selecting comics, I stick close to my comfort zones, namely X-Men and the Bat-Family. Recently though, I’ve been wanting to push past that and get into some stories that are off my well-worn path because I know there are great books out there that I’m just straight up missing. Lab Raider is one of those great books, I really enjoyed it and I am absolutely going to see this series through to the end. Hopefully, you will too.