IMAGE COMICS/Top Cow Productions – @ImageComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Matt Hawkins & Bryan Hill
ART: Atilio Rojo
COLORS: Atilio Rojo
LETTERS: Troy Peteri
COVER: Marc Silvestri
VARIANT COVER: Atilio Rojo
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2018)
Rated M/Mature
Cyber Force created by Marc Silvestri
Cyberforce was one of the Image Comics debut titles, and it was created by one of Image Comic' founding members, Marc Silvestri. Cyberforce #1 (cover dated: October 1992) was the first issue of a four-issue miniseries that introduced a team of mutants who had their mutant abilities enhanced with cybernetic implants as the result of experimentation. Volume 2 of Cyberforce ran for 35 issues from 1994 to 1997. Cyberforce returned in a six-issue miniseries in 2006 and made two more returns, in 2012 and 2015.
The series returns in a new reboot, entitled Cyber Force. It is written by Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill; drawn and colored by Atilio Fojo; and lettered by Troy Peteri.
Cyber Force #1 opens in a modern world defined by the technology that humanity has created. Now, a super-powered terrorist calling herself(?) “the Savior of Worlds” or simply “the Savior” strikes at the heart of that human technological progress. One of the few survivors of this terrorist's attacks is a man named Morgan Stryker. Mortally wounded, Stryker can be saved, but at the cost of his humanity. Now, his daughter, Carin, will have to make that decision for both her father and for herself.
I ignored the 2006 and 2012 returns of Cyberforce/Cyber Force, and I didn't even know about an apparent 2015 digital-only version. Still, I decided to try this new Cyber Force #1; something said that this could be good, and once upon a fan boy dreary, I was a fan of Cyberforce.
Well, the new Cyber Force is indeed quite good.
Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill's story is intriguing, and I am a fan of Hill from The Wildstorm: Michael Cray, currently from DC Comics. I think the big draw in this new series is illustrator and colorist, Atilio Rojo. Rojo's compositions are exciting and imaginative, with panels displaying a variety of angles and drawing perspectives. The colors are vibrant and sell the idea that this series is set in a near-future world of trans-humanism and constantly emerging technology. Troy Peteri's lettering matches nicely with Rojo's vivacious storytelling.
Cyber Force looks to be a nice mix of the old Cyberforce and the new, with an emphasis on the new. The original series concept offered the promise of being new and exciting, and it mostly did not deliver. For some reason, I feel that this Cyber Force is more likely to pay off on the original's promise of being dark, edgy, and futuristic. I really want that to be true.
[This issue contains the following:
– a five-page preview of Aphrodite V by Bryan Hill and Jeff Spokes. This
– an interview of Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill, and Atilio Rojo conducted by Brittany Matter.]
8.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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