Bartosz Sztybor

Now this one was a rather weird read. I will give it 4 but in reality it is more 3.5 (much closer to 4 than 3).

I guess if this was released as a book it would be 100 pages long novelette. Is it gripping and edge of the seat? Well .... no. It is story of an investigative journalist that constantly gets pushed back because his findings are for all means and purposes confirmations of what everybody knows (no matter how bloody and inhuman) - because of this he comes across as a grim fun-killer and general bore.

With this being said, potentially exclusive story involving notorious nuclear attack on Arisaka building in Night City gets him hooked very soon. But his enthusiasm goes away as he starts to sense he gets played by almost everyone involved and that his story is nothing but plant to upset the opposition [of whomever is planting the story].

What is the saddest part of the story? Well the end, because our hero is basically an activist and not an investigator. After finding out he is treated as a legitimate danger by powers unknown - he is happy! He knows nothing, cannot prove anything .... as a matter of fact he does not know what the dickens is going on, but he is happy because he is seen as danger! Pathetic and so reminiscent of mass media and majority of journalists today (not to mention very, very deadly in Cyberpunk universe).....


Story itself would be a much better done as a novelette because for a comic it is a slow burner, not to mention not that interesting for younger readers (unless they like political thrillers and not action only adventures).

Art is attempt at Manga (or its South Korean counterparts). So it is not terrible, far from it, but just seems too .... sketchy I guess. Me, personally, I would prefer more golden/silver era drawings here, sketchy art was present say in agent Havoc adventures, Al Williamson was known to use this approach (just remember Corrigan/X9), Garth comic and say Modesty Blaise comics in era after Jim Holdaway (my absolute favorite artist) but they all had more voluminous art, it just had depth. Here unfortunately there just isn't enough volume and shadows, so everything comes very flat when colored. Maybe, if they published it as black and white it would look much better.

Interesting story but might come out rather flat for people expecting more action oriented story. If you like thrillers give it a try.… (plus d'informations)

While I like a good action story, I would like to read something that ends up on at least some high, positive, note. I understand Cyberpunk universe is not full of these, but to have endings like in this comic (and almost all the others) is a little bit soul crushing, truly. I mean, punish some characters who deserve it but let some sunshine in, dont let it end up in gloom and doom every time.

Story is of revenge. Mother, shaken by loss of her child in the Night City decides to find the killer and make him pay, whoever that might be. When she starts asking questions and breaking bones her history starts to (re)surface and as time goes by more and more people are on her trail out of pure fear what she might do during her investigation.

I wont go into more details here because I do not want to spoil it for those who did not read it.
All of the characters in the novel are believable and have their motivations (mind you, not in terms, I know that guy from his early childhood and so I know everything that makes them tick, more in a sense of Parker novels, shady gangers, fixers and corpos with their teams ready to fight bloody fights, chasing our protagonist out of sheer fear of possible problems she could inadvertently cause).
Even actions in the end ..... are believable, because people are sometimes just stupid.

Ending is as grim as it gets, I do not see why there was a need to make it this grim. In my opinion some beam of light could have found its way through this dark cloudy mess. I will just say say, stories of Horus Heresy are hopeful when compared.

Art is excellent. Number of details on every panel is just great, Valentinos gang boss is just very fascinating character visually, his almost melding with shadows inside his club .... exquisite, just accentuates the horrible nature of the character. Our protagonist also, you can just see how tired she is when she is drawn back to the Night City and its underground. But when needed she is as deadly as any opposition she encounters, but you can see that her age takes its toll.

Coloring is done exquisitely well, all colors are very grounded, even those present in pretty flashy gangers and fixers team. Comic artists managed that rather rare thing - use color to actually elevate the pencil art and make the pages come to life in a most wonderful way. Very well done indeed.
And again, most important thing here (at least to me) is that art is consistent throughout the book.

All in all excellent thriller, in vein of Driver, and Parker novels. Maybe more grim than required but that is just my outlook on the trend when it comes to Cyberpunk 2077 comics.

Highly recommended.… (plus d'informations)