Essa graphic novel não me atraiu. Assim sendo, o tempo que levei para concluir sua leitura me fez desconectar de sua trama várias vezes. O que parecia ser uma história interessante sobre como criar uma empresa, descobertas tecnológicas, uso recreativo de drogas e dilemas familiares se transformou em uma massa apática com um protagonista pouco carismático.

Entretanto, as ilustrações devem ser ressaltadas como bem desenvolvidas, coerentes e atrativas.

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This graphic novel did not appeal to me. As such, the time it took me to finish reading it made me disconnect from its plot several times. What seemed to be an interesting story about starting a company, technological discoveries, recreational drug use and family dilemmas turned into a listless mass with an uncharismatic protagonist.

However, the illustrations should be highlighted as well developed, coherent and attractive.



Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The Lab is a graphic novel that tells the story of French pioneers of the future that never really were. It is an imaginative story about how France could have been a pioneer of the technical revolution. A mix of weed gives Jean-Yves, the son of a french copy machine owner visions of future technology which gives him ideas and thus lead him in setting up a team to revolutionize the technology by creating what he saw in his 'vision'.

This book also talks about the condition of women in the 70s. Jean-Yves's sister is the narrator of the story and it would have been better if we could read more about her

The best part about the book is its illustrations. The colour palette is very pleasing and the artworks are very beautiful and intricate. And the parts where Jean-Yves gets visions were fun.
As a whole, I couldn't understand what the book was about.

Awesome graphic novel. Brilliant for readers young and old, this would light up any vivid imagination and inspire new generations of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Thanks Net Galley for my copy. What if France had created the computer with further success complicated Illustrations are fantastic. Some drug use is noted by players in the creation of computing. Not the usual graphic novel with heroes.

This was such a strange, directionless book that didn't seem to know what message it was trying to give, or even which part of the plot to concentrate on. In theory, what it was supposed to be about was a man in the mid 70s who smokes some weed and sees into the future of computing, which he decides to try and replicate.

Alongside this story is another story, of feminism in the 70s and the way women are treated. This is strange, because while it is shown that this is the man's sister telling the story, she herself is a side character in it. Her struggle with finding her place in the world of men and everything she achieves despite it was actually so much more interesting and would have been a better story.

What did save this strange little graphic novel was the art, which was so pretty. The tones are quite muted, with pops of blue and red. This art style really saved the whole book from being dropped by me, because the story was not enough.

[I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review]

The Lab, a strangely humorous graphic novel with well-researched looks back in history, is an excellent social commentary with an undertone of 'what if...?' which reminds me of the kinda of alternate-timeline from The Man in the High Castle. This book really brought back my love for graphic novels, the bright cover drew me in but the wonderfully illustrated scenes throughout the rest of the book made it such a gripping read.

A fun and quite strange book, that proposes that France could've been first in creating home computers - France was leading the way in a lot of technology in the 70s.

It is told as a family history, and the strong point here is the art, which harkens back to the 70s itself.

It is a book where, when you reach the end, you're kind of at a loss to say what the point of it all was.

3.5 stars

Wasn't bad but wasn't very good either. It was still a good story. I highly recommend for anyone that loves Bourhis and Varela's work. Will give it another shot down the road.

The illustrations are beautiful, it really captivates the readers. The story moves along with the plot that gives us this perspective of France being a towering builder and renovator of computer technology.
The stroy tries to be funny, pulling it off as some point but not too much. It was not enough to hook me to it. Overall it's a nice book.

How France almost lead the technical revolution in the 70s. This graphic novel nails the feel of the 70s, with people smoking everywhere and hippies in California mailing weed out with their book orders. A potent mix of California weed and goat cheese gives Jean-Yves, the son of a french copy machine giant, visions of the future and computers. He tasks a team cobbled together from fresh out 0f college graduates and bored personel from rival companies to make what he saw in his vision (including a peripheral they call "the vole").

If you're into early computer lore and whacky trips, this graphic novel is for you. There's a great section at the end with a lot of information about the start of the digital age.

This was a strange one. This book takes us into an alternate history where all the mahor inventions were made in France. While I surely couldn't figure out what would be different before reading, The Lab gives very detailed insights. The reader isn't given much worldbuilding and the characters seem flat. Additionally, I couldn't just quite get a grip on the used humor. I guess this just wasn't my book.

Originally written in French, this was quite a strange graphic novel without much 'world-building' for a non-tech specialist reader. The story takes us through an alternate history where major innovations in computing happened in France instead of the US. The plot wasn't super interesting and I felt that it was trying to be funny but wasn't. Perhaps jokes were lost in translation. I did enjoy the storyline of the sister and the glimpse into her life after the story in Japan as a video game designer - if only the novel had focused on her instead! The final pages give a lot of context to the story - I wish these could have been incorporated into the novel instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I read this in one sitting and could not put it down. It is an interesting piece of speculative fiction about what if France had been pioneers in computer technology.

The illustrations are gorgeous, I loved the amount of detail in each panel. It was an enjoyable read.

What's the book about?
France could have been the leaders in technology but the French pioneers in the field couldn’t make a mark in history. 'The Lab' looks at why exactly this didn’t happen through social commentary and an alternate history.

My thoughts:
I enjoyed this graphic novel so much! Not only is the artwork superb, the script is very compelling. A thoroughly enjoyable read that I finished in just one sitting.

So-so narrative of early computer pioneers, and how France came close to coming up with a lot of what we make use of every day, back when people had Zardoz film posters on their walls in unironic fashion. Visually, it's a green-less, Matt Groening kind of world; narratively – well, you have to be in the mood for something that thinks its hilarious, quirky and a telling must-read about our online existence. Yes, it has a character (courtesy the Californian imported weed subplot) have visions of Trump and the bilge of current social media, but hindsight isn't that great a thing.

I honestly was kind of concerned I'd hate this, when I was starting it.
I didn't, I have mixed feelings, but I definitely didn't hate it.

There are points in reading this that I did genuinely laugh.
It is also is an interesting piece of "Speculative Historical Fiction?"

But what I honestly want I enjoyed in the end is the fact that narratively. is the repeating cycle of men underestimating and pushing women out, only for them to become more successful for it.

But what I just can't forgive is the choice to call a mouse, a vole. I hate it so much.