Advance Review: Clark Bint’s Artwork Stuns In ‘Cyberarchy’ #1

It’s probably a safe bet that few comic book enthusiasts had Mad Cave Studio’s Cyberarchy on their pull lists earlier this year. After all, it’s a odd sci-fi story brought to life by a few creators only hard-core fans will recognize. But if this first issue is any indication, the series deserves a closer look.

That is largely due to Clark Bint’s artwork.Bint, who worked on Rebel Moon: House of the Bloodaxe, may not be a familiar name to readers, but based off of his work here, he will be soon. He pours love into every detailed panel – and effectively uses a number of double-page spreads to tell a story that is confined to a spaceship.

Set against the black of space, Bint’s colors pop. His oranges, greens, purples, and blues pop and often give Cyberarchy a 70’s blacklight feel. It’s as unexpected as it is exciting.

Bint’s artwork grabs you from the first panel, cleverly mimicking a human heartbeat seen on an EKG with a robot processor seen in its eyes. From there, Bint introduces us to the newly activated robot Ash and Rust, its creator. In fact, the artist gives each robot its own distinct look, which is a remarkable achievement given the ship is populated solely by machines.

That’s because in this far-off future, humans are now extinct. Not because the robots did them in but simply because the automatons stopped working for them. In Matt Hardy’s story, humans had forgotten how to do anything, so they quickly died out. It’s Pixar’s WALL-E but with a hard edge.

Hardy’s story is a good one with plenty of twists. But it feels self-contained, much more like a short story than a series. But given this first issue, it will be interesting to see where the creative team takes things – and whether they can recapture the magic of this premiere issue.

Cyberarchy #1 will be available in comic book shops and on digital platforms December 3rd from Mad Cave Studios.