Action Lab Entertainment 2015
Created & Written by Jay Faerber
Created & Illustrated by Jamal Igle
Coloured by James Brown
We open up with a bank robbery that’s interrupted by a man who wishes his identity to remain unknown. A big burly guy with long hair and fairly nicely dressed who as a good samaritan stops the robbery takes the bank’s tape and leaves through the floor to get away without causing himself undue attention. He heads back home and chills watching television it’s the classic signs of someone who was once a hero and has left that life behind to live one of obscurity. Makes you wonder why Venture left the spotlight to begin with if he’s only going to keep behaving in this manner.
I’ve got to say Jamal hasn’t lost his touch at all in illustrating this. The characters look magnificent each one unique and the detail in their depiction is marvelous. Reggie’s attitude and the folks he works with are expertly depicted and show some wonderful emotion. Mr. Campbell’s hair needs a good shortening, long hair on men just isn’t my thing, but otherwise Jamal has cut a rather impressive figure and the young woman at the school he’s a high school teacher at well she’s a spunky young thing and unless I miss my guess a budding investigative journalist.
Reggie’s current assignment from his main source of income is with to get a “human interest” story about Gloria Rosen whose boyfriend recently escaped prison after a fire and the transport he was on overturned. Reggie isn’t thrilled with this assignment but then again you do what you have to to pay the bills right? Still his luck might be changing for the better, after selling photos to his side job, Bigfoot in L.A., he’s with Gloria in her apartment when her ex shows up. Donnie isn’t like other people he’s got superpowers namely fire and what he does with it well it should make any reader believe that he’s a criminal.
Now if Donnie hadn’t recently gained his powers in prison he’d be more adept at using them when Mr. Campbell came upon the scene and was able to take him out as easily as he did. Once again he does his best to leave the scene without being able to be identified only he hadn’t counted on Reggie being a reporter or that his hand held camcorder had been running the whole time. Suddenly when Reggie’s reviewing the footage he’s the scoop of a lifetime he’s got the man who rescued them recorded.
This isn’t going to bode well for Mr. Campbell as soon he’ll have his face plastered all over the place thanks to Reggie’s big break. Love that the press doesn’t think twice about ruining someone’s life so long as they get the story. He’s spent the past six years teaching high school students and quietly doing what he can to save lives and rescue those in need. Now he’ll have no choice as he’s going to be outed and it will be interesting to see how Miss Lacey latches onto it.
Alright this is a nice reintroduction to the character who made his debut over at Image. He’s been MIA for six years and now he’s once again going to be forced to adapt to life whether he likes it or not. There’s plenty going on here behind the scenes as it were and Jay’s managing to weave into this many different aspects, points of view and reasons for the characters doing what they do. He’s creating another series that’s must read stuff so get on board now!
Action Lab has become the home for great series and stories that make an impact on the reader and should impact how you read superhero stories. This is something you need to find it’s interesting, fun and full of surprises.