Portal 2’s 100-or-so-year leap from the original has opened up a lot of questions; namely, “What the crap happened?” and, “Seriously guys, what the crap happened?!” Meeting fans halfway, Valve is releasing a comic book entitled Lab Rat, which will bridge the gap between the two games through the story of a “much-rumored yet never seen character” – presumably the fellow whose wall scribblings Chell encountered in Portal.
The comic is an in-studio production featuring illustrations by comic book vet Michael Avon Oeming (opens in new tab) and Valve artist Andrea Wicklund, with writing by established author Ted Kosmatka (opens in new tab) and a collection of Valve staffers. Speaking to IGN (opens in new tab), where the comic is set to debut this Friday, Oeming said his work on the comic has been on par with past projects, noting, “We’ve all been learning to letter together. It’s a group effort, and I’m as proud of this as any comic I’ve ever done outside of Valve.”
Oeming didn’t give much away about the book’s plot, only that it will dig into Aperture Science’s history pre-Portal 2 and contain some long awaited answers, hinting, “We hid the truth about cake pretty deep in the story. If anyone finds it, be sure to go out and have some fun, it means you have too much time on your hands!”
You can check out a few pages from the upcoming comic at IGN, or you twiddle your thumbs and wait a couple more weeks for Portal 2’s release on April 21st.
[Source: IGN (opens in new tab)]
April 7, 2011
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