Published May 13, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
Ryan Smith is located just south of Boston and is a lifelong fan of movies, comics, music and all things pop culture... and pro wrestling, but don't hold that against him.
Apocalyptic anxieties are common in modern science fiction, but never has it been presented as uniquely as in Essentials. Black Sails and Nautilus star Luke Arnold reunites with producer Chris "Doc" Wyatt to continue the visceral journey of scientist Harris Pax as he continues to navigate the extradimensional danger that threatens reality itself.
Essentials Volume 2 gathers several extremely talented artists to present the story with very specific styles that help drive home the themes present on any given page. Essentials reads as a fantastical fairy tale set against the backdrop of horrifying reality-bending chaos. In this latest volume, protagonist Harris Pax inches closer to his companion, Buttons, while being forced to navigate a cavalcade of strange new characters — from a despondent oil-rig worker on the verge of giving up, to a free-spirited artist who has mastered the ability to manipulate the reality they reside in. Essentials has been compared to Inception and The Walking Dead, and meshes thematic material found in both those stories expertly to create its own other-worldly experience.
ESSENTIALS VOLUME 2
Image via The Lab PressCREATED & WRITTEN BY LUKE ARNOLD & CHRIS "DOC" WYATT
ART BY JEFFREY KAM, DAVE ACOSTA, JOE FLOOD, ZELDA DEVON, KELLY WILLIAMS, EMMA PRICE & JASON HOWARD
COLORS BY ADAM GUZOWSKI
LETTERS BY JARED K. FLETCHER
COVERS BY BILL SIENKIEWICZ & DANI
The solicit for Essentials Volume 2 teases more intergalactic journeys ahead, threatening, asking each character to fight for their life. "Earth collides with a non-physical alien dimension, which undoes and rewrites the rules of reality, causing shotgun-wielding scientist Harris Pax and his two extra-dimensional, non-corporeal alien sidekicks (manifesting as a reanimated corpse and a toy robot) to become humanity's only hope for survival. An extremely talented lineup of artists helps to bring the surreal landscapes shaped solely by the madness to life, where other-dimensional beings attempt to manipulate humans to wipe themselves out."
Essentials Vol. 2 Sees Humanity Come Face-To-Face With A Crumbling Reality
"This fun little idea has fully taken us over and become something wilder than we ever could have imagined," Luke Arnold, a multi-talented creator known for his role as John Silver in Black Sails, said. “Finding a collaborator like Chris and generous publishers like The Lab Press has enabled us to bring this story to life with the help of some incredibly talented and diverse artists. Essentials is the playground where we exorcise our fears, hopes, and collective madness, and I hope it helps others deal with the glut of madness we’re experiencing in the world today."
Co-writer and producer Chris “Doc” Wyatt added, “When Luke first spoke to me about his idea for Essentials, it really got my mind racing... I’ve had the opportunity to write a lot of film, television, and comic books, but there’s nothing quite as ambitious as Essentials. Imagine a world where a billionaire is trying to help people? That’s already audacious territory, as our friends at The Lab would say. Then imagine a world where people’s delusions dictate their reality, and that's still just the start of where this goes.”
Essentials Volume 2 hits book stores, comic shops, and online storefronts on May 13, and will be followed by a special Limited Edition cover featuring art by rising star Dani. Volume 2 provides a perfect jumping-on point to the story, although the first volume of Essentials is still available from your favorite bookseller.
English (US) · 