Comic Review: Cyborg #1 (DC Comics)

“If you consider yourself a part of this city, there’s NO WAY you can’t have a soul..”

John Semper Jr jumps right into the new Cyborg series, building off of what he set up in the Rebirth #1 issue. The story opens with the ongoing mystery of a shadowy figure lurking and scheming behind the scenes, waiting to assemble a mechanical army. Meanwhile, Victor AKA Cyborg is fighting crime and doing his usual superhero best. But that’s not what this issue is all about. This issue is focusing on the soul, whether or not Victor still retains a soul. This whole issue centers on that idea, of finding one’s soul despite feeling a lack of it. It’s a comic that hits home as Victor tries to figure out whether he is who his father describes as Frankenstein or if he is more than that. The focus of this book reels from what was set up in the Cyborg Rebirth issue, questioning one’s existence and preserving one’s humanity while others think you may have none. John Semper Jr really hit home with this book, making the reader sympathize with Cyborg and his existential crisis of existence. The dialogue in this book thematically consists of reflective and introspective conversations that lead back to every action and thought that Cyborg is processing.
 My favorite part of this issue is When Cyborg meets the Jazz player Blue. The way Illustrator Paul Pelletier draws out cyborg processing the music that Blue and his live Jazz band are playing was heart warming and hit home for me. Music can really mend wounds in ways that conversations at times are unable to do. Pelletier’s art I felt was a lot stronger in this issue, and obviously, the writing is what made that much more profound. The inks by Tony Kord and Scott Hana serves its purpose and the colors by Guy Major really help cement the overall scenery with life, especially in that Jazz bar scene. Definitely, pick this issue up, it’s surprisingly good. I  Can’t wait to see what’s next in the next part in the Imitation of Life arc.