REVIEW: Cyborg #22: Worth the Download

I always thought the character of Cyborg was really cool. I was a big Teen Titans fan back in the day (and still read every issue). I was drawn in initially by Robin and Kid Flash, but Cyborg quickly became one of my favorite Titans.Â Cyborg #22 was the first issue of Cyborg“s solo adventures outside of Justice League books and special events that I“ve read in a long time and it looks like I“ve been missing out.

This issue continues theÂ Steel and Blood storyline with its second chapter,Â Parts Unknown.Â The story reminded me of the Cyborg I read as a kid, and that was probably due to the story being written by the man who created Cyborg himself, Marv Wolfman. Despite being the second part of the arc there was no problem jumping in and following the story and it was a fun story to follow.

Giant Robots. That alone can make for a pretty cool story, but we also get a take on Cyborg that shows the humanity behind the machine, which sadly I think a lot of writers lose sight of with the character and focus on the tech. Wolfman knows Victor Stone better than that and lets the man show through. There was a moment where Cyborg is geeking out about getting to pilot a giant robot that had me grinning because I know that feeling. Cyborg is a character I have had a hard time relating to since his New 52 reboot, but refreshingly was able to again.

The art on a book like this requires a lot of detail work with all of the mechanics and machinery and Tom Derenick does an amazing job of bringing the world of Victor Stone to life. The giant robot designs were really impressive and made me reminisce about watching Tranzor-Z and Great Mazinga cartoons as a kid.

The coloring duo of Wil Quintana and Pete Pantazis took a book featuring a lot of metal robots and rather than having everything just look silver or gold delivered a really wide palate that was able to give more personality to each character or machine and help them to stand apart. Bold color choices can pay off and this is a textbook example as to why.

I may just have to peek back a bit through this run of Cyborg and see what other goodness I“ve missed out on.

Story: 3
Art: 2.5
Overall Rating: 2.75

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Marv Wolfman (A/CA) Sam Lotfi