Life Is More Than Ones And Zeroes: Reviewing ‘Cyborg’ #3

Death is one constant that can’t truly be solved through science and technology. At least, that used to be true. As Victor Stone, Cyborg, and his father have quickly learned the solution to eternal life might just be one download away.

Following an event-based hiatus, Cyborg #3 brings us right back into the story of the fan-favorite Titan’s member. It’s a tale woven by Morgan Hampton, Tom Raney, Micheal Atiyeh, and Rob Leigh.

One of the downsides to how the Knight Terrors event was structured was the collateral damage it caused to some new series. Cyborg was one of those series, that was only two issues deep before it had to be sidelined for two whole months. Monthly schedules are already a long time between issues and any longer risks any momentum a series might have been building. Especially those books featuring characters that don’t usually get their own series all that often.

All that aside, it is really good to have this series back and it loses no steps.

What this team is doing with the character is quite interesting. It’s diving into Victor’s family life, a well-mined space, but throwing a whole new twist on it with a focus on current quandaries surrounding technology.

It’s within this issue that Hampton pulls back the proverbial, digital, curtain quite a bit. Not only do we learn the nature of this digital version of Victor’s father but also what Marcus Wilcox has been up to. Some of the elements about how the digital versions of people are treated, what capitalism does to individuals whatever form they take, are very familiar. Yet, there are enough unique and interesting angles thrown in to make it Hampton’s own and make it stand apart.

I’m totally down with issues that are heavy exposition and world-building, but the superhero beat we get here is fun. A.T.L.A.S. is a solid foe for Cyborg, and the way he takes care of the villain now as a veteran hero was very good stuff.

Each bit of this issue, and series, taps into an energy that is both smooth and flashy but also rough and heavy. Raney and Atiyeh are very good at making the various tones fit together seamlessly.

Raney has a style that evokes a classic superhero sort of feel, in a timeless sort of way. Powerful emotions and expressions, deep character work and dense settings, with a very tight focus. This is a heavier story, but it moves as swiftly as the Flash, light on its feet. As noted with the fight scene, the superhero energies are strong and woven throughout the entire piece. It makes sure that the quieter moments do not slow down and match the other moments beat for beat.

We see this reflected in Atiyeh’s color choices. Heaviness is translated from the more muted color palate, allowing for some of the more vibrant elements (chiefly the digital/superhero stuff) to pop even more. It creates a grounded sense that makes the main aspects of the world feel real to us. This is just a space like the ones we know, but there happens to be robots and other stuff popping up.

All of that allows Leigh to get even more creative with the lettering, not that he needs any such allowance. Throwing around various colored bubbles and very techy sorts of fonts for different characters. Changing their voices, that we’re creating in our heads, to showcase their personality, emotions, or situations. Leigh is very much one of those letterers that I would put on the list of those I love to see their name attached to any work.

That’s because I’ve seen a wide range of lettering choices that he’s made, and they all just work. Whether it was the wide variety of character-focused backups done in Detective Comics in recent years or here, it all just adds so much to the story. Putting voices on the page but doing it in a way that elevates and compliments.

Cyborg #3 is now available from DC Comics.